Strawberries & Stilettos: 2016

Dear All bloggers, here is my first university essay on the historical relevance of high heels, check it out! :

“A woman carries her clothes. But the shoe carries the woman.”- Christian Louboutin.

Shoes to some women, including myself can be the most crucial part of an outfit. Over many centuries, shoes and high heels in particular have developed significantly and become a huge part of the fashion industry and retail expansion. As a devoted fashion follower, I am always looking out for the most recent trends and how areas of fashion every day are becoming more revolutionized. The progress and even scientific development of shoes, and high heels in particular has become so fascinating and so relevant to the needs of consumers of todays society, that I feel as though it would be appropriate in this essay to explore the development and differences between high heel designs of the past and present.

I personally have a huge obsession with high heels, and in particular Kurt Geiger’s range. There is a pair of shoes I bought in the autumn of 2014, that are by far my favourites, not only to look at but also the way they make me feel when wearing them; although they are very impractical and impossible to walk in. They are silver metallic in colour, they have a point at the front of them, and have a twist strap that begins at the front of the shoe, and supports around the ankle. Despite being my favourite shoe, they are six inches in height and create an arch shape in my foot that can be very uncomfortable if worn for a long period of time, and defy the anatomy of a foot.

Since the summer of 2012 I have been working for Clarks Shoes, and it has been incredibly interesting to see how certain shoe manufacturers including Clarks take so much consideration into the shape, size and comfort of a shoe compared to others who base their designs around trends only.

Clarks not only emphasizes the importance of a well fitting shoe, but also highlights the importance of comfort.

To keep up the brands reputation, each staff member is thoroughly trained on how to measure a foot properly and how to fit a shoe correctly. Clarks not only has half size shoe measurements to get the most accurate size possible, but also width fittings, so there are shoes suitable for almost every foot shape. The training is more crucial when working in the children’s department as parents trust us to make sure their children’s feet will grow healthy, and the right shape, causing no pain including blisters or rubbing. Each child’s shoe is fitted with growing room, allowing them to last a reasonable amount of time, and certain shoes have technologies to improve practicality and comfort. The adult’s department also takes great care in making sure we design and sell the most practical and comfortable shoes necessary. The unstructured range in particular keeps its reputation for comfort as it contains no metal in the shoes, with increased padding; and also the cushion plus range that has a layer in between the soles to cushion and reduce strain on the ball of the foot, enhancing the ability to walk and use the shoe for longer.

Clarks has been a well established brand since 1825, and have since been trusted to create the most practical and sensible shoes for every day wear until present day. It is clear to see the importance of practicality and comfort in footwear has existed for a long period of time, and it is fascinating to compare this to haute couture designers of the past and present who do not care about the practicalities of a shoe or the anatomy of a foot.

Despite having a relative amount of knowledge on shoes, and the features that make them beneficial to our feet, I still get almost hypnotized into buying shoes by how they look, and how they improve our esteem when wearing them. In November I visited the Shoes: Pleasure and pain exhibition at the V&A museum, and the diverse shoe designs, and designers were surreal. The exhibition taught me so much about why women wear certain shoes, and what image they are trying to portray by wearing them.

Shoes have always been a symbol of status, seduction and authority, and even dating back to 1^st century Egypt, the international shoe story of Cinderella has been teaching young girls the importance of shoes, and how It can aid you to find true love.

Throughout the years designers and cultures have used these themes a lot when designing shoes, to connote the reputation of a brand and their social status. An example of this would be the brand Louboutin, Christian Louboutin designs with the well recognizable red sole symbolize the high social status that the brand holds. The Shoes: Pleasure and pain exhibition stated that they show a message of supremacy and privilege, due to their upmarket reputation, price and known for how they are ‘seen and heard’.

Many women, and also men see high heels as a power tool, In Valerie Steeles book, Simon Doonan quotes ‘High heels connote a level of authority’ [1], and David Bailey says ‘I like high heels, I know its chauvinistic, but it means girls can’t run away from me’[2] showing how not only men like the thought of high heels, most likely for a lot of the same reasons as women. High heels promote femininity but also sex, as shown in another statement by Valerie Steele in her book ‘In popular imagination, it seems that “feminine” shoes must be sexy and uncomfortable’[3]- this could derive from how female’s feet should come across as dainty which could originate from the foot binding in China. In another Valerie Steele book it says ‘Foot binding apparently arose at the Chinese imperial court during the tenth century, when it was associated with dancers… In silhouette, it gave the effect of a high heeled shoe’[4] The Chinese culture believed that women’s feet should be very small and dainty to promote their feminine qualities but also in the same book, Valerie suggests ‘The sexual symbolism of this seems obvious...erotic literature indicates that the toe was used in sex play as a phallic substitute’[5]. This indicates that despite creating a feminine image, it also links in with sexual influences, and shows that high heels may not only be used for glamour purposes. Valerie Steele quotes ‘High heels implicitly convey the idea that comfort is not the only consideration, that under certain circumstances glamour happens to me more important’[6] but not only glamour, also our self esteem. Veronica Webb says that ‘High heels put your ass on a pedestal- where it belongs’ showing that us women should feel more confident with their figures in heels. Christian Louboutin ‘Shoes transform your body language and attitude, they lift you physically and emotionally’ stating that shoes improve our self esteem; and it has been psychologically proven that women feel slimmer, and better about themselves when wearing them. An online article says ‘Since the heel is so thin, it offers a direct contrast to your legs, giving you both height and a thinner silhouette...makes the calves contract to make you look more lean.’ [7] Women also believe it shapens the waist more and enhances breast size due to posture.

Rogor Vivier was a king of designing shoes that women would lust over, with innovative heel shapes, that created such diverse looks and shapes on the catwalk, and in his own words ‘To wear dreams on ones feet is to begin to give a reality to ones dreams’. To me this suggests that the concept and desire of heels has developed over many centuries, and through many cultures. Designers of the present and future have begun to enhance and push boundaries to produce elite shoe designs, for practicality but also for image and status, and to promote the development of science and technology, to eventually create designs that appear impossible and almost magical.

[1] Steele, Valerie. Shoes A Lexicon of style. London: Scriptum editions, 2005. Print.

[2] Steele, Valerie. Shoes A Lexicon of style. London: Scriptum editions, 2005. Print.

[3] Steele, Valerie. Shoes A Lexicon of style. London: Scriptum editions, 2005. Print.

[4] Steele, Valerie. Fetish Fashion, sex and power. London: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.

[5] Steele, Valerie. Fetish Fashion, sex and power. London: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.

[6] Steele, Valerie. Shoes A Lexicon of style. London: Scriptum editions, 2005. Print.

[7] Jennings, Danielle. "What Shoes Will Make Your Legs Look Skinner?" Motherhood. Demand Media, -. Web. -.

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