The first shoes, worn by women in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, represented sandals without heels. However, even then, it was observed that the shoe wears much faster than it is in the heel area, therefore, in these locations make small steel thickening. The first Heels came just in ancient Greece, but only as part of the shoe actors - if on the role of an actor was supposed to be high, and the growth did not come out, he put shoes on a high platform.
The idea of the platform later adopted in China and Japan - it is an alternative to tying the legs of girls, since not only inhibit the growth of the foot, but also created great difficulties when traveling. Little steps the girls were small and delicate, that is the best play to the advantage of ruling ideas about the role of men over women.
In the XV-XVI centuries, the Renaissance fashion on a high platform and adopted the European ladies. This was aided by the rise of the idea of man over the rest of nature - the same, thanks to which the spiers of Gothic churches tend upwards. The height of the platform at the same time could be up to 60 cm - girls in such shoes needed constant maintenance of the Cavaliers, otherwise they would not have gone far. Traveler of the time Joe Evelyn once wrote in his travel diary that these women - "half of the flesh, half of wood." By the way, men were also not averse to try on sandals on the platform and to the XVII century a similar fashion swallowed whole of Europe.
Usual for this time form the heel acquired in the Baroque era. True, the first heels were cut in the form of an arch under the arch of the foot, but eventually thinned heel. This was due to the desire for an abundance of decorative elements and pretentiousness - bet was placed on the aesthetic rather than practical function of the heel.
Very real revolution in the history of the invention of the heel made studs - it happened in the 50-ies of XX century in France. Designers then looking for a way how to accentuate the elegance and fragility of women. Due to the hairpin, they succeeded perfectly. High Heel completely changes the women's gait - steps become less confident and long, and men in general it is not clear how a woman can hold onto this thin heel and subconsciously want to support it.
Now the woman is free to choose the height and shape of the heel, and designers continue to experiment in this area. Perhaps in the future history of the heel waiting more than one revolution.