Hey there, blog readers!! I hope you are all enjoying life. My life has been pretty peachy. Everything has slowed down just a bit, so I’ve had time to just breathe and I couldn’t be more thankful. I love being busy but I was running out of steam and I thought I was going to crash and burn (I had a few minor crash and burns, but nothing too serious… so no worries). I’ve had some exciting things happening – I signed a lease for a house (whoop whoop! – because I’m still living with my parents currently!), I have an internship lined up, and I’m feeling like an adult (forever a kid at heart though!) So although life got hectic, there were some pretty cool outcomes – but now it’s back to the grind of finishing out this semester strong. Can you believe there are less than 10 weeks until Christmas??? UNREAL. Side comment (and please don’t hate me for this): I am not a huge fan of Christmas. I’d rather stay in summer all year long, because I can’t stand the cold! Indiana has been getting pretty chilly lately and I am NOT loving it. I love warm sunny days, so I’m probably going to have to move haha! And once I move, I may like Christmas more – in a warmer, sunnier place 🙂 Buuuut, that got off topic…. SO without further ado… let’s talk about shoes (that’s why you are here, after all).
This week on the blog, I want to talk about high heels. I want to talk about where they originated, what’s trending now, are they healthy?, how you can avoid blisters and pain when wearing them, and also just debate on whether or not they are worth it. We’re really digging deep. You’ll be a high heel expert after this – and I will too, because all this information will be coming from my own research. (Just because I’m a shoe blogger, doesn’t mean I know everything ;)) And I’ll let you know where I find my information, so you can do your own research too! But before we get started… here’s a few jokes. (You’re about to read a ton of information, you deserve a laugh!)
- My wife said I should get high heels for her birthday.
I’m getting some weird looks as I walk down the street. (Total dad joke, I’m sorry)
- Yo mama’s so fat…
She went out in high heels and came back in flats.
- What do you call a dinosaur wearing high heels?
My-feet-are-saurus.
And that’s all folks – I know, they’re terrible, but that’s the best Google had.
Now for your history lesson… High heels originated in the fifteenth century. Can you believe that? High heels have been a part of fashion for hundreds of years. More shocking, they were actually first made for men. I think I maybe knew this prior to doing my research, but it still made me stop for a minute. Heels have become such an icon for female fashion that to think of them being worn by men just seems odd. Teen Vogue says that soldiers, aristocrats, and royals have been known to wear high heels over the years. They also said that men across the globe have worn high heels over the years, so it’s not specific to a certain area or region. The original pair of high heels came from Persia though. It makes sense too – they were created to help secure men’s footing in their stirrups when riding horses. That immediately made me think of cowboy boots and how sometimes even men’s cowboy boots today have a slight heel in them. The article said that people from Persia were responsible for bringing high heels into parts of Europe, where heels became popular to increase the height of male aristocrats. Then the shoe trend began to crossover into women’s fashion. Some women wore high heels with heels as tall as 54 centimeters – that’s insane! Apparently, they even used their maids as crutches when they wore such high heels because they couldn’t walk. I don’t understand the logic in that… If everyone knows you’re wearing heels to make you taller and you can’t even walk in them, what is the point??? Well, the article answered that question too – it was all about status. Not only were high heels a symbol of status, but so was red soles. King Louis XIV made the shoes popular in 1673 – who knew??? (I would have never guessed that red sole high heels originated with King Louis in the 1600’s. ***shoutout to my man, the sun king*** I know that from HIST 150, so also shoutout to Mr. Orchard.) King Louis XIV only allowed his circle of nobles to wear the prestigious red sole shoes, but it quickly became popular. Lastly, stories like the Wizard of Oz and Cinderella helped popularize high heels – with the Cinderella story dating back to first-century Egypt (although the slipper probably wasn’t a heel then).
Source: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/heels-history-men
Our next topic of discussion is: what high heels are trending now? So, a few weeks ago I talked on the blog about what shoe trends are currently popular, which had limited information on high heels…. so I tried to find more information about high heel shoe trends in 2019. I was able to find a few sources, though each briefly mentioned specific high heel trends. A few included:
- Architectural heels – yeah, I know… what the heck does that mean??? They said stilettos are out and architectural heels are in. Apparently architectural heels are shoes with oddly designed heels. In my opinion, they look super weird (at least most of them do), and I would not choose to wear them. I know that some trends apply more to celebrities and not to regular people like you and me (well, I guess it’s possible that a famous person could be reading this, though not likely – BUT if you are, make sure to comment!!! haha). Anyway, I definitely learned something new and I love that they are called “architectural” heels, even if I think they look a little bit crazy. These are also known as “sculptural” heels.
- Refined heels – Did you feel the need to say that in a fancy British accent? Because I totally did… The word on the street is that “Ugly” trends are out and refined heels are in. I have no idea what the “Ugly” trends were but if they were ugly, then I guess it’s good that they are out. Refined heels are classy, simple, and “sexy” in the words of fashion illustrator, Jenny Walton. I like them. I’d totally wear them.
- Super strappy heels – Naked heels are out and super strappy heels are in, folks! I think this one is pretty self-explanatory, but in case you’re a bit lost, naked heels don’t wear clothes (jk, haha, my sister told me to say that). Naked heels are heels with minimal straps to hold them on. I like both styles, but strappy heels probably stay on better. They are harder to put on though. I didn’t mind the naked heel style, but I’m not mad about strappy heels trending now.
- Square-toe shoes – Sharply pointed heels are out. I think this is a huge bummer because I looooove pointed-toe shoes. When I think of square-toe shoes, I think of my mom. I feel like she has a ton of old square-toed shoes. I think pointed-toe shoes and heels are very classy-looking and they should not be booted out, but that’s just my opinion.
- Kitten heels – I feel like kitten heels are always in, but in case anyone disagrees, Who What Wear confirms that they are in style currently. I think kitten heels are a staple in any girl’s closet, although I don’t own a pair. I’m not sure why I’ve never gotten a pair of kitten heels. I guess I’ve always went for a little bit higher heel. Kitten heels are great for business attire, formal events, and more. I fully support them being in style.
Sources: https://www.whowhatwear.com/best-shoe-trends-2019
https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/a25736244/top-shoes-trends-2019/
https://www.whowhatwear.com/outdated-shoe-trends-2019
Next topic: Are high heels healthy for you to wear? My guess was no, but I had to do some research… An article by Today briefly talked about the health issues that follow the daily wear of high heels. They said that most women don’t even think twice about wearing high heels everyday, but that doing so can cause pain and other health issues in your feet, legs, knees, and back. I’ve heard always heard that “beauty is pain” and I even say it from time to time, but beauty shouldn’t have to equal pain. The article by Today said that wearing heels forces your ankle forward, which has the potential to restrict blood circulation in your lower limbs causing spider veins, as well as, shorten the muscles in your calves and stiffen your Achilles tendon causing pain and muscle spasms. Wearing heels can also induce stress on the muscles in your spine, leaving you with a sore lower back. Your knees can experience wear and tear from wearing high heels, like osteoarthritis. More than 25 million Americans suffer from this. Their suggestion for combating the pain of wearing high heels is to stretch. They suggest that you stretch your quads, calves, and hip flexors.
Source: https://www.today.com/health/are-high-heels-bad-your-feed-t106163
Fourth topic to discuss: how to prevent pain and blisters when wearing high heels. Have you ever worn a pair of heels that left your feet in agonizing pain with blisters everywhere??? Girl, I have been there too. It ain’t pretty. Blisters are the freaking worst and they take forever to heal. One time I wore a pair of heels for a whole day and had about ten blisters all over my feet. It was brutal. So I wanted to do a little bit of research on how to avoid pain when wearing high heels – I don’t know about you but I don’t like backing down to challenges, so just because it hurts to wear high heels, absolutely does not mean that I’m going to avoid wearing them. I also want to tell you guys about what products I have used to combat blisters and pain. So I’ll begin with that… I just recently had great luck with an anti-friction balm. I got it from Target for less than $10 and it worked like a charm. It looks like a tiny deodorant and you just rub it on the areas that you think may be affected by blisters. It combats the friction between your foot and the shoe and saves your feet from nasty blisters. I love it. It was a huge blessing on the day of the career fair 😉 I also like to put a heel grip liner on the inside heel of my shoe. This extra cushion helps prevent blisters on the back on my ankle as my ankle rubs against my shoe. These two products alone are fabulous, but I have a few more tips for you from my research. An article by Fox News (I’m not sure why Fox News was writing about blisters but hey, it seemed like good information) gave a short list of advice for dealing with blisters. They suggested that you “tailor the shoe to your foot” (meaning wear your heels around the house before you wear them in public in order to find areas of pain), “pad the heel” (pretty self-explanatory, put a heel grip liner on the heel of you shoe as I suggested), “mold them to your foot” (if possible, wet the shoe and wear them until they dry to form to your foot *note: this only works with certain materials), “lubricate” (apply a anti-friction balm like I suggested, or simply apply Vaseline to problem areas), “buy shoes at the end of the day” (they said your feet swell during the day, so buy new shoes at the end of the day to find shoes that fit your feet even when they are swollen), and “get off the sales floor” (apparently shoe stores purposely make the sales floor super cushiony so you’ll think the shoes are comfortable, when in reality, on a hard surface, they are definitely not comfortable). These are some very valid suggestions, some I would have never thought about.
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/bye-bye-blisters-love-your-shoes-and-wear-them-too
Alrighty, that was a lot of information… we learned about where high heels originated, what types of high heels are trending today, if high heels are bad for you and how, and finally how to avoid pain when wearing high heels. So my final question: ARE THEY WORTH WEARING? My answer is yes, but I know everyone’s opinion differs. Even if I have to suffer a little bit of pain, I still love the look of a good heel and I’m going to wear them. Now I know what health problems to look for if I wear high heels too often (which I don’t and don’t expect to anytime soon – they’re just fun to wear every once and awhile). I know how to wear heels without destroying my feet with dozens of blisters. I hope you learned as much as I did. I had fun researching all things high heels for you this week. Have a fabulous week and weekend, and I’ll catch you on the flip side! 😉
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