Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Shoe Me Your Wingtips


Our love affair with shoes has been going on for thousands of years.

Butchers in ancient Egypt wore high heeled sandals so they wouldn't have to splash around in animal blood all day.

American moccasins originated with Eastern Native American tribes.  Ojibway, of the Great Lakes, means people of the puckered moccasin.

Did you know King Tut wore orthopedic sandals?

A 5,500-year-old leather lace-up size 7 shoe, designed a thousand years before the Great Pyramid of Giza, was found buried in sheep dung in an Armenian cave.  The baa-baa doo-doo kept the world's oldest piece of leather footwear in perfect condition. 

Chinese concubines and Turkish odalisques wore tall shoes for beauty …. and to prevent them from running away. 

In 16th century European posh society, high heels were popular for both men and women.  A person who threw around his power or money was called well-heeled. 

The Sun King, Louie the 14th, wore five inch heels that were painted with battle scenes.  A high point of Louie's career was his decree that only the nobility could wear red Louis heels and no one could wear heels higher than his own.  I guess size does matter. 

The Puritans knew how sexy shoes could be.  A law in the Massachusetts Colony prohibited women from wearing high heels to ensnare a man or they would be tried as a witch.  And we all thought Come F♥♥♥ Me Pumps originated in the 1940's. 


Gorged on cake, Marie Antoinette strutted down the runway to the guillotine in 1793 wearing two-inch heels.

Then along came the Mad Men.  As with corsets and cigarettes, high heels were advertised as healthful because high heels help alleviate backaches and stooping and make walking less tiring 
Bravely written by men wearing wingtips.









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