36. Men wore high heeled shoes long before they were adopted by women
In 1599 Persian emissaries toured European capitals hoping to attract allies in their war against the Ottoman Empire. Many of the men wore boots with high heels, so designed to keep them from slipping from the stirrups when riding horses. The shoes and boots created a fashion trend swiftly adopted by European men, entranced with the idea of appearing taller in the new footwear. The shoes quickly became a sign of status among the nobility, leading them to refer to one another as well-heeled. As the seventeenth century wore on, women adopted the heels as well as highly piled hairdos to create their own illusions of height, especially popular in France.