High heels facts for kids
High heels are shoes where the heels are much higher than the toes. They are a fashion item for women, and may also be worn by men. Both cowboy boots and 'Cuban heels' are shoes worn by men with higher heels.
It matters a great deal how high the heels are. Heels of 2½ inches (6cm) are standard for ballroom dancing and certainly quite safe for wear once the user has experience with them. A ballroom dance competition may last, with intervals, for ten hours and is physically very demanding. Any ill effect on a girl's performance would be noticed. These lower heels are safe. The standard style for ballroom dancing is the court shoe, soled in reverse (chamois) leather, with heels wider than 0.4 inches, wider than the typical stiletto heels.
If the soles of the shoes are also raised, then they are a quite different kind of shoe: the platform shoe.
Mid-height heels are from 2½ to 3½ inches (8.5cm). They are an intermediate between standard high heels and stiletto heels, which are from 4 to 10 inches, made of steel, and very narrow at the base: 0.4 inches or less. They have been widely criticised for the health risks regular wear would bring. They have also been criticised by feminists.
Wedgies or, more properly, shoes with wedge heels, are a compromise type. They raise the heels, and are much more stable than standard high heels. Wedges for women were popularized by Salvatore Ferragamo who introduced the design to the Italian market in the late 1930s.
Assessment
Advantages
Reasons for wearing high-heels, which are almost exclusively aesthetic, include:
- they change the angle of the foot with respect to the lower leg, which accentuates the appearance of calves
- they change the wearer's posture, requiring a more upright carriage and altering the gait
- they make the wearer appear taller
- they make the legs appear longer
- they make the foot appear smaller
- they make the toes appear shorter
- they make the arches of the feet higher and better defined
- they make the lower leg muscles more defined
Disadvantages
Reasons against wearing high-heels, which are almost exclusively health and practicality reasons, include:
- they may cause foot pain
- they increase the chance of sprains and fractures
- they may create foot deformities, including hammertoes and bunions
- they may cause unsteady walking
- they may shorten the wearer's stride
- they may make the wearer unable to walk on some surfaces
Conclusion
There are so many types of shoe, and so many differences between people that no type will suit everyone. It is obvious that the higher the heel, the riskier the shoe. The more sensible versions are quite safe; the extreme versions seen on fashion show catwalks are not for everyday wear. A lot depends on their use. Nurses tend to wear flat shoes; office staff may prefer high heels. Despite the critics, high heels have been around for a long time, and are probably going to stay.
- Imelda Marcos: a collection of 2700 pairs of shoes.
Images for kids
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High-heeled shoes
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European heeled shoes from c. 1690
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Portrait of King Louis XIV in high heels
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Typical 18th-century shoe
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1850s sewing machine
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Women's high-heeled shoes with dyed black harp seal fur, by Inuk designer Nicole Camphaug
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Children's high-heeled mary janes for sale in Fuzhou
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Standard ballroom tango shoes
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1920 US Marine Corps shoe, with high heel, showing position of foot bones (vertical black marks on the x-ray are nails used to hold the sole and heel on)
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Same shoe from above, showing pointed toe box too narrow for the toes, and hallux valgus deformity. The high heel shifts weight forwards, putting additional pressure on the sides of the toes
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World War II poster of pin-up girl (Betty Grable) in high heels
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See also
In Spanish: Zapatos de tacón para niños
