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With reading the article: Actually, they went out of fashion even earlier. The Persians invented them for horseback riding, and then European aristocracy adopt
by azernik 14y ago
With reading the article:
Actually, they went out of fashion even earlier. The Persians invented them for horseback riding, and then European aristocracy adopted them to look macho; they increased the height until they got impractical, though. Female aristocracy then adopted them during a trend toward male features in women's fashion in the 17th century.
Then in the Enlightenment, men's fashion took a turn for the practical and sober (Man is Rational!) while women's clothing kept the old ostentatiousness (Woman is Emotional and Sentimental!) - including the heels. So by about 1740-60, men's heels had gone definitively out of fashion, while women kept wearing them.
- Mz 14y agoI have also now read the article. And I am a woman. It is pretty common for women drivers to remove their high heeled shoes before driving. I have known lots of women to keep a separate pair of flats handy or just drive barefoot. It is safer. I have driven in heels, probably just long enough to take the damn things off. There are a great many things which influence fashion. Available technology. Lifestyle. Cultural trends. Even sometimes practical considerations. I will suggest though that by the mid 1700s, anyone "important" was more likely to be riding in a carriage than on horseback.
- russellallen 14y agoI'd place a big Citation Needed next to the whole Enlightenment = Sober clothing thing. Sounds like a big oversimplification. Sure there was a reaction to baroque excess but placing it at the foot o the Enlightenment is a bit just-so-story for my tastes.
- tomwalker 14y agoI do not have a citation to hand but during the Victorian era in the UK there was a shift due to changes in the class system. Industrialisation and international commerce led to a new type of self made wealthy business man. Before then, the super rich inherited their fortune. The established upper class were known for their impracticality to show that they did not have to work - being pale skinned to highlight that they did not labour outside, extravagant clothing to highlight their status, frills etc. These new self made business men, such as factory owners, were proud of their new status but wanted to distance themselves from inherited wealth. They stuck to practical, but finely made, clothing.
- russellallen 14y agoOh agreed, there was a sense in Victorian men's fashion of prudence, restraint etc (while showing your status by quality of fabrics and cut etc). There were similar fashions in Dutch Golden Age and the Puritans. But that's not the same as the Enlightenment...
- wisty 14y agoThere was also Oliver Cromwell (~1650)