Stilettos - Heels which prove a point
Stiletto - which literally mean ‘little dagger’ in Italian, was believed to be originally invented by Italian shoemakers in the 1950s. However, the first name associated with such dagger-like heels was Roger Vivier, a Parisian. I wonder how the Italians felt about that. In 1955, he inserted a thin metal piece into the heel which made the shoes less prone to breaking. Thus, the heels could be thinner and lenghtier - which literally spells back ache, hammer toes and bunions for women out there.
These revolutionary shoes caused a fuss from day one itself.
It was quoted that “the piercing, penetrating nature of the heel caused disturbance wherever it roamed, damaging floors and in some cases the feet of others, sparking outrage and moral panic.”
It not only was physically destructive, some believed that it was a symbol of oppression for women. In the early days, it was associated with a sexy image, and worn by actors, bargirls, bunnies (erm, u know those waitresses dressed up as bunnies)…
A few decades down the road, it was supplanted by fashionable flats (you know how they say fashion is ‘cyclical’. But by the 90’s, it was back in full force again!
I guess now is a good time to go into podiatry or orthopaedics. heh.
A Weapon of Mass Destruction
What I’m more concerned with now is… are they still putting thin metals spikes in our heels? Cuz *gulp*, it sounds awfully scary and putting my own feet at high risk of a puncture wound! Shouldn’t have thrown my last pair of heels away that quickly, or else I could break the heels open now or something.
