JUST like Cinderella's glass slippers, high heels can be subject of great magic. But let's not forget, they can also cause much pain and discomfort!

Rona Berg once wrote in Vogue “Shoes are a paradox, they can make a woman appear more — or less powerful.”

And it's true – it is physically impossible for a woman to cower in high heels. She is forced to make a stand and show poise and posture as her centre of gravity shifts. Her calves and ankles also appear to be more shapely and her legs are lengthened.

The history of heels is a little murky, although they surely date back to pre-Christian times. Egyptian butchers wore raised shoes in order to keep their feet clear of the blood and gore beneath them and Mongolian horsemen had their boots heeled to allow a better grip on their stirrups.

The first recorded wearing of heels for vanity was in 1533 when Catherine de Médicis brought heels from Florence to Paris for her marriage to the Duke d'Orléans. The style was immediately adopted by the ladies of the French court.

In the next century, European women tottered on heels of 5 inches and more, having to use canes to balance and not fall over.

Because the working class could not afford to wear such impractical shoes, heels became a sign of privilege and from then on in, heel height moved up and down with fashion, politics and social etiquette.

In the mid 19th century, the high heel once again became the most fashionable style in Europe, and America wasn't far behind. In 1888 the first heel factory opened in the US, meaning women no longer needed to import their shoes from Paris.

The early 1900's woman was newly liberated and tended to wear a more practical shoe, but by the 1920's hemlines were rising and shoe became beautiful once more! Glittering, sparkly, high heeled and strappy were all the rage for the flapper girls.

The heel reached new heights in the 1950's with the advent of the stiletto heel. Throughout the 60s and 70s however, lower chunkier heels were favoured as well as wedges and platforms.

It wasn't until the 1980s that the stiletto was reborn in every colour and style that you could possibly imagine, and it hasn't shown signs of faltering yet!

Whether you think high heels are beautiful or absurd, I can almost guarantee that every woman has at least one pair in her wardrobe, just waiting for that special occasion...

You can find vintage high heeled shoes like those pictured at our vintage shop in Darwen or online at www.myvintage.co.uk.