It has been commonly stated
that the first instance of the
wear of high heels involved the
1533 marriage
between Catherine de'
Medici with the Duke of
Orleans. She wore heels made
in Florence for her wedding,
and as a result, Italian high
heels became the norm for
ladies of the Duke's court in
France. Unfortunately, this
reference may be apocryphal,
as the development of heels did
not begin to come about until
the late 1580s, based on
iconographic evidence and
extant pieces. Mary Tudor,
another short monarch, wore
heels as high as possible. From
this period until the early 19th
century, high heels were
frequently in vogue for both
sexes.
Around 1660, a shoemaker
named Nicholas Lestage
designed high heeled shoes
for Louis XIV. Some were
more than four inches (ten cm),
and most were decorated in
various battle scenes. The
resulting high "Louis heels"
subsequently became
fashionable for ladies. Today
the term is used to refer to
heels with a concave curve and
outward taper at the bottom
similar to those worn
JOY FEELINGS | DECEMBER ISSUE
296