Why Did Men Stop Wearing High Heels? They Were Invented for Men

The first high heels weren't made for women. They were made for soldiers. Persian riders wore heeled boots to stand firm in their stirrups, Shah Abbas's 1599 embassy carried the style to Europe, and for more than a century the most powerful men in Europe wore heels, with Louis XIV deciding who could wear red ones. Then, in the age of reason, men walked away, and heels became "women's shoes". Here's how a soldier's boot became a symbol it was never meant to be. Chapters 0:00 Made for war 0:40 The riders of Persia 1:34 The Shah's embassy 2:28 Higher means richer 3:18 The red heel 4:30 Women borrow the heel 5:14 Men walk away 6:16 The heel comes back 6:57 Cowboys and Beatles 7:53 The twist Should men bring heels back? Comment below. Next on The Gilded Box: why is the world's most famous luggage covered in a dead man's initials? → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7V0K_-1Vrs&list=PLE9IQQkHCxhw Previously: Chanel No. 5: Why the World's Most Famous Perfume Is Just a Number → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7wobEysgFo&list=PLE9IQQkHCxhw Every episode, in order: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE9IQQkHCxhw Sources: BBC News Magazine, "Why did men stop wearing high heels?" (2013); Bata Shoe Museum, "Standing Tall: The Curious History of Men in Heels" (2015) and "The High Life" (Google Arts & Culture); Getty Museum, The Iris; FIT Fashion History Timeline (Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701); W Magazine (2015); London Museum; Wikipedia: High-heeled shoe, Beatle boot, Great Male Renunciation. Illustrations: AI-generated. Narration: AI voice. No brand logos are shown.