Why Men Invented High Heels

A rider shooting a bow at a gallop needs support. His foot must press against the stirrup without slipping, especially when he rises and turns his torso. The heel solves this in the simplest way: it adds a stop to the sole.

That's why heeled footwear appears where cavalry was powerful. In Europe, it wasn't used until Persian embassies arrived there in the early 17th century, bringing with them a fashion for all things Persian and military.

The logic here isn't about comfort, but about communication. A heel makes your walk unhurried and works best on level floors, which means its wearer doesn't work or walk through mud. That's exactly why it became valuable: it showed not the strength of the leg, but the owner's status.

Then came a turning point that fashion historians call the Great Male Renunciation. At the end of the 18th century, men's clothing became sharply simpler: bright colors, lace, powder, and heels disappeared. Severity became the new sign of dignity, while ornamentation moved entirely into women's wardrobes.

The heel survived only in women's footwear, where people later came up with a new explanation for it: the beauty of the leg and the way it changed your walk. That explanation took hold so firmly that the item's military origins now sound made up.

The traces of its original purpose haven't disappeared, though. Cowboy and Cossack boots are still made with a pronounced heel, for exactly the same reason: to keep the foot in the stirrup. It's just that no one considers this footwear fashionable.