Some unusual facts you may not know about heels:-
When it comes to shoes, I love them all whether it be sandals, wedges, pump, loafers or boots, they all have a place within my wardrobe. However my favourite has got to be heels and here are some interesting facts about this type of footwear that you might not be aware of.
Wedding Heels
It is thought that Catherine de Medici helped introduce high heels for women. She was short in stature and a 16th century noblewoman about to marry the future King Henry of France. Just like any bride to be, she wanted to elevate her height and make a statement wearing high heels to aid this, during her wedding.
Men and Heels
Did you know that heels were first adopted, in the main, by men! The heel signified aristocracy and wealth and, in fact, the heel helped men to stay in the stirrups when horse riding too!
The Queen of High Heels
When it comes to heels, if there is one lady who springs to mind apart from Carrie Bradshaw, it has to be Imelda Marcos. For over 20 years she was the first lady of the Philippines. When her family was forced to flee the Malacanan Palace her immense wardrobes contained over 1,000 handbags, 15 mink coats over 500 gowns and an incredible 1056 pairs of shoes, many of them heels!
Heeled shoes - Always in fashion
Even during the Second World War, when rationing was at its height and materials were scarce, high-heeled shoes were in vogue. Fashion designers created uplifting, tall heels using materials such as snakeskin and wood straw, which were not rationed.
Most expensive high-heeled shoes from a film sold at auction
These were the heeled ruby slippers from the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ which were worn by Judy Garland. They were made by Innes Shoe Co., which was based in Los Angeles. They were lined with white kid leather and made from red silk faille, which was then covered with beautiful hand-sequined georgette. These iconic shoes were sold on the 24th of May at Christie’s, New York for 666,000 US dollars.
High Heels at great heights
When it comes to the sky being the limit when it comes to wearing heels, Oxana Seroshtan really does take things to new heights. This Russian lady walked a tightrope of 15 metres, wearing high-heeled shoes on the 10th of July 2014 in Milan, Italy whilst on the set of ‘Lo show dei Record’.
Oxana was allowed to use a fan in one hand to help keep her balance. She walked two 7.5 metre lengths with a daring turn in the middle to complete the total distance of 15 metres. So when you next worry about taking a tumble in your killer heels, think about Oxana’s Guinness World Records dare-devil feat, pardon the pun!
