The High Heel: A Men's Wartime Invention That Became Women's Fashion

High-heeled shoes were invented in Iran a thousand years ago, but their purpose was not to increase height, but for something else. 

High heels are currently very popular as a fashion statement among women around the world (Envato).

People all over the world, including Pakistan, have been enjoying the blessings of the month of Ramadan, while they are also shopping for Eid to avoid the rush in the markets near Eid.

Along with clothing and jewelry, shoes are also included in this shopping and since summer is almost here, women are also buying high heeled shoes i.e. heels.

According to many women, one of the main purposes of wearing high heels is to make them appear taller, but many people may not know why, how and for what purpose heels were created.

The history of the high heel is very interesting, reading it may give the reader an idea of ​​how an object or practice becomes part of the culture after being in a society for a long time, just as it was first considered a 'sign of power'. Wally heels are now attributed to popular fashion among women.

When and how were heels invented?

A look at the history of the world shows that useful inventions were made under war technology that were later adopted by the masses and today few people know that the things they use every day are actually war. were created for the purposes

According to NATO's website, such inventions include stainless steel, tea bags, digital cameras, nylon, T-shirts, microwave ovens, GPS, Alfie glue, Dorne, and even the Internet. 

Similar inventions include high-heeled boots, which were originally intended for military use, but later became fashionable. 

Men started wearing high-heeled shoes in the 10th century. At that time, horsemen in Iran were concerned about how to keep their feet firmly in the stirrups while galloping. Straight-soled shoes were slipped into the stirrups, especially when the horse was galloping over uneven ground on the battlefield and where he had to change his direction frequently to attack or avoid an attack. During this time, if the rider fell from the horse, his life could be in danger.

To solve this problem, the Iranians created an innovation in the traditional shoe called 'galish', whereby the heel was raised. Now the stirrup was wedged between the sole and high heel, giving the rider a firm grip.

Wearing these types of high heels gave cavalrymen two advantages during battle. One is that they sat firmly on the back of the horse and were protected from the danger of falling, the other is that due to this balance it was convenient for them to use a sword, bow or spear during the war.

According to a research paper on Google Art and Culture, during this period, male horsemen and warriors began to use heels while riding.

Later, the custom of wearing heels gradually became common among men and this custom also spread to Europe. By the 17th century, boots with one-inch heels began to be worn by people other than equestrians.

According to an article published on Google Art and Culture, owning a horse was a sign of the rich at that time, and wearing heels also became a sign of wealth and power. Then there was also a romance and attraction associated with warrior horsemen (knights), which caused their fashion to spread rapidly.

At the end of the 17th century, after the custom of men wearing heels became common, the Shah of Iran at that time sent a delegation to Germany, Russia and Spain, and seeing men in heels in Europe, saw them as a sign of 'military prowess'.

Louis XIV was the King of France, who holds the world record for reigning for 72 years (broken even by Queen Elizabeth III), and he reigned from 1643 to 1715. She is considered one of the famous heels wearers in history. During their reign it was common that the higher and redder the heels, the more powerful the wearer.

Louis did two things regarding wearing heels. One is that they wore shoes with red heels and one of the purposes of this, apart from increasing height, was to make people think that the wearer was powerful and that their shoes were not dirty.

Another thing Louis did was that heels would only be worn by the elite of the time, the common man would not have the right to wear them, while the color red meant that the wearer was powerful enough to crush anyone.

Why did men stop wearing heels?

Now let's come to the point that when the wearing of heels was started by men, how this custom was transferred from men to women.

According to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, after 1730, the custom of wearing heels by men began to die out, and the same reason that women started wearing them.

According to the paper, men at that time believed that since women had started wearing heels, wearing heels would challenge masculinity. This is the reason why the use of heels by men almost disappeared after the French Revolution.

But what happened was that not heels but similar cowboy boots were introduced which were made as high as heels but slightly different in design.

These same cowboy boots are still worn today and for the same old reason of keeping balance on a horse. Its practice is very common in the Western world, including Europe, while horse riders now wear cowboy boots instead of heels.

Let us tell one more thing that butchers also used to wear high heels. According to an article published in The Modern Directory, high heels were worn by butchers in ancient Egypt as early as 3500 BC.

The advantage of butchers wearing heels was that they were less likely to get their feet and clothes dirty from the blood-soaked floor as they walked over the animals in the slaughterhouses.