When were high heels invented?
The high heel may have been invented by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Controversy exists over when high heels were first invented, but the consensus is that heels were worn by both men and women throughout the world for many centuries and for a variety of reasons. Although high heeled shoes are depicted in ancient Egyptian murals on tombs and temples, the earliest recorded instance of men or women wearing an elevated shoe comes from Hellenic times. It is suspected that the wear of an elevated sole, or heel, occurred centuries before, but there is little direct evidence to support this, although there is indeed much indirect evidence that lends credence to the use of high heels by both men and women for many reasons. Around 1500, European nobility developed heels as a separate part of their shoes, primarily as a means to help keep their feet in the stirrups. The wear of heels by men quickly became the fashion norm, primarily in the courts, and this practice spawned the term, “well-heel
