tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post740274973798188393..comments2023-10-20T11:17:47.246-04:00Comments on Two Nerdy History Girls: Shoe-History Repeats Itself: Venetian Courtesans, Lady Gaga, & the High Price of Walking (Very) TallUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-59412118386817235642010-11-13T11:09:07.423-05:002010-11-13T11:09:07.423-05:00Looks like they're trying to bring chopines ba...Looks like they're trying to bring chopines back http://cocoperez.com/2010-11-13-9-inch-platform-sky-heel-shoe-will-be-the-tallest/?from=PHHeather Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03544318718074061879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-8861984092720395062010-11-12T07:42:12.900-05:002010-11-12T07:42:12.900-05:00I agree, Theo -- the 15th c. shoes are more tall s...I agree, Theo -- the 15th c. shoes are more tall shoes than high heels, which does make them pretty clunk to modern eyes looking for a hot stiletto (esp in red!) Then there are those strange Gaga shoes that have the arch for a high heel, but no heel at all....Isabella Bradford/Susan Holloway Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997375216314200469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-1197821807255412802010-11-11T21:28:06.482-05:002010-11-11T21:28:06.482-05:00I love high heels. I think we've had a convers...I love high heels. I think we've had a conversation before about how there's nothing in the world better than the perfect pair of red heels. Total power shoes!<br /><br />I do notice though that all of these designs are actually flat. They're on stilts, yes, but the actual sole of the shoe itself is quite flat and not the 4" heel design we see now. Clumsy, but probably not as bad on your back provided you don't end up on it! ;)nightsmusichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05984119792540771870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-24331506616487426812010-11-11T17:06:23.133-05:002010-11-11T17:06:23.133-05:00I don't have any answers as to the WHY of Lady...I don't have any answers as to the WHY of Lady Gaga-- Just reporting the facts! *g*<br /><br />Still, this link (thank you Chris Woodyard) tries to explain the scientific reasoning behind high heels:<br /><br />http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/11/physics-high-heels-fashion-lady-gaga/<br /><br />Deb and Lady B., I hadn't realized that chopines had their place on the Shakespearean stage. Interesting!<br /><br />Heather, being a tallish woman myself, I wondered about that, too. <br />Some older historical costume sources label chopines as belonging only to courtesans, but newer research has determined that chopines were more a sign of a big bank account rather than anything else. But apparently there was some confusion between the good girls and the bad - if everyone is dressed fabulously, how can a hapless Venetian nobleman know for sure? *g*Isabella Bradford/Susan Holloway Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997375216314200469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-34334135065373973362010-11-11T10:12:51.124-05:002010-11-11T10:12:51.124-05:00The visual of a prostitute literally standing out ...The visual of a prostitute literally standing out (or up!) from a crowd due to her chopines always puts such a comical picture in my head. I wonder if there were abnormally tall fine young ladies who repeatedly got confused for courtesans.Heather Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03544318718074061879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-83768818849233380052010-11-11T07:40:26.904-05:002010-11-11T07:40:26.904-05:00Deb, you're quite right. In Shakespeare's ...Deb, you're quite right. In Shakespeare's time, boys who were playing the women's roles often wore chopines to make themselves taller and appear to be mature women. Shuffling about a small stage on stilts, however, is not striding through an airport, as Lady Gaga appears to do. Don't know how (or why) she does it.Lady Burgleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09262125653902478062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-82679886330932599892010-11-11T06:59:17.108-05:002010-11-11T06:59:17.108-05:00I seem to remember that Hamlet tells one of the ac...I seem to remember that Hamlet tells one of the actors (obviously a boy who played female roles) that he has grown by the height of a chopine since Hamlet had last saw him. I suppose sometimes even men had to get in on the act!Debnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-61045875528751239142010-11-11T06:57:53.406-05:002010-11-11T06:57:53.406-05:001) Lady Gaga's shoes are ridiculous. Wonder ho...1) Lady Gaga's shoes are ridiculous. Wonder how bad they are for her feet. I'm all for making a mark w/your own style but SERIOUSLY? Sometimes I think she's over the top (I love her music)<br /><br />2) Those antiques look like they were HORRIBLE things to wear, and that one phallic symbol is SOOOO appropriate for a courtesan! LOL Great post!Monica Burnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13801472688555176112noreply@blogger.com