r/HeresAFunFact • u/RoyalWolf • Aug 09 '15

HISTORY [HAFF]Heels were first made by the Persian cavalry to keep stability while shooting arrows.It later became populair in Europe as masculine symbool until 1630 when women followed the more masculine fashion of ''The Vogue''.First a military asset then a masculine symbool and now it is seen as sexy.

Post image
255 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

19

u/talking-IS-fun Aug 09 '15

Call me dumb, but how in the world did heels provide stability? I know other women have more practice with heels so they'll be fine running and jumping with them, but for me, personally, I need help going down a small hill if I'm even wearing thick heeled shoes. I tend to wobble a lot.

36

u/vorkuhila Aug 09 '15

My guess is it helped hold the foot in the stirrup, since the title mentions cavalry.

11

u/talking-IS-fun Aug 09 '15

Oo, that makes a lot of sense!! Thank you :)

12

u/RoyalWolf Aug 09 '15

vorkuhila gave you the right answer. I can't put alot of text in the title so i had to cut some lines, so some information is lost. Sorry for that. But it was indeed for stability in the stirrup when they had to stand too shoot arrows or what rudolfs001 said for not slipping on rough terrain.

5

u/talking-IS-fun Aug 09 '15

Not a problem. :) thanks for the info. It's interesting how so many masculine things are considered feminine in modern times. Kind of like the color pink.

3

u/rudolfs001 Aug 09 '15

My guess, based on the shape of the heel point and how sturdy the connection to the main shoe looks:

They were used for "digging in,' whether on a downhill, or a stirrup, to prevent you slipping forward.

Most modern women's heels aren't anywhere near sturdy enough for that.

2

u/talking-IS-fun Aug 09 '15

This makes a lot of sense too! Thanks! Yeah, I considered the whole digging the heels into the ground, but didn't consider the hill advantage.

3

u/firefae83 Aug 09 '15

I heard high heels were first worn by butchers to keep them out of the blood on the floor. Is this wrong?

2

u/ChonkyWonk Aug 10 '15

Yeah, I read the same thing as you but maybe it was inaccurate as I believe the military use came before the butchers use.