HEEL HISTORY:
French Heels are women’s shoes with a curved, medium-high heel, also known as Pompadour Heels or Louis Heels.
They are highly-stylized high heeled shoes.
Originally, shoes designed with higher heels were introduced in order to allow ladies to walk high enough off the ground so that their skirts remained out of the mud of the streets and gardens.
Catherine de Medici, from the rich and famous Italian family, brought a fashion of high heels to France in 1533. But it was more than 100 years after Catherine de Medici first introduced high heels as a fashion statement that French heels were developed.
King Louis XIV (1638-1715) was a rather short man. In order to achieve a height he considered respectable, he wore special high heels.
His shoes were made of leather dyed red and hand painted with scenes from his triumphs on the battlefield.
The heels themselves were constructed of cork and also covered with red leather. Due to the king, sometimes French heels are also referred to as Louis heels.
It was good to be King - at least for a while there.
I had fun creating this Paris Pompadour Tile in the spirit of King Louis (see the word 'PARIS' in the middle of the instep) - if you love shoes or french history this tile will charm you!
If you all like them, too, there'll be lots of colors and patterns in this French Heel shape later.
2 comments:
Morning Lynn, I love the bits of history you post. I would love to see Louie's painted shoes. That idea just fascinates me. Have a good day, LeAnn
Morning, morning, the sun is shining and the snow is melting, tralala!
History is always full of tidbits. And just so I don't seem more organized than is truly real, I found the story about King Louis after I made the tile, and thought it was ironic that I had made a red pompadour style tile with the word Paris - and maybe I was tapping into some history river that was alreay flowing!
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