Ch 1: Men's high heels

"The fashion for slap-soles began in the 1630s when men started to slip their high-heeled riding boots into flat soled mules as a means of keeping their heels from sinking in the mud. Women soon adopted this practice as a fashion statement and before long shoemakers were making very feminine versions." - Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum

"Boots worn by King Karl X Gustav. Swedish, c.1655." - Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum

"William II, Prince of Orange and Princess Henrietta Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I of England by Anthony van Dyck, 1641." - Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum

"English, late 17th or early 18th century. Mules, or backless shoes, were popular for men as a form of footwear worn around the house." - Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum

"Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum, P90.201. Probably French, mid-17th century. This shoe was probably made in the middle of the 17th century for a boy. The stacked leather heel was painted red to convey the socio-political privilege and status of the wearer." - Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum

Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe, by Elizabeth Semmelhack