1. Hi, Lucy and thanks for your correction; you are quite right. I think that the stiletto was introduced about 1952 (as contemporary fashion adverts/articles seem to show) but didn't fully catch on until rather later, as you explain. My memory suggests that the earlier stilettos were typically a little thicker and not so high as those most usually available in the UK in the late 50's, when the true winklepicker also became the prevailing toe shape. Hence my suggestion of ‘1957’ as a start date, as I think it was the overall shoe style (heel, toe etc) that the earlier posts were referring to as being perpetuated (or not) into the 80’s.
So I think that we are all saying much the same thing – stilettos started in the early 50’s, caught on in the UK by about 1955 (in much the style suggested by Skirted-UK), developed into the typically higher and more pointed style by 1960 (which High 10 seems to have had in mind and which are now seen as the ‘classic court’ style), went out of style in the mid-60’s and were seen again, with variations, from the mid-70’s onwards. (I well recall a Daily Mail article in 1974 announcing the return of the stiletto court, from Biba amongst others, but it was a year or two before they literally hit the high street, mostly with more rounded toes and small platforms.)
In retrospect, it is scarcely surprising that the stiletto era and the rock-and-roll era so closely coincided – an unbeatable combination!
2. Firefox is also quite right about the physics of heel pressure and resultant damage. If the weight is more on the toes with a higher heel, the damage caused when standing still will be reduced. But, when walking, if the heel goes down first, the wearer’s weight must be wholly on the heel until the sole makes contact, so does the heel height have any relevance at all to ‘walking damage’ (which is the main concern for those whose floors are at risk)? This is a 25 mark question; you may begin now. |