In an episode of the sitcom The Nanny, protagonist Fran Fine, who revels in the past, remarks that bell bottoms were worn in the '70s to hide swollen ankles from constantly twisting in platform shoes. The disco decade was the heyday of this fashion trend, but platform shoes had also been fashionable earlier, for example in the 1940s and 1950s, when the thick sole was combined with a separate heel. Marilyn Monroe was very fond of wearing a model made of transparent plastic, the straps of which were interchangeable and could thus be adapted to different outfits.
Yet the desire to keep one's shoes far away from the ground is a much older and more global concept. Though the invention of the heeled shoe is still quite young, it was already known to ancient Asian horsemen (for whom the heel probably served to prevent slipping through the stirrup). In Europe, the heel did not come on the scene until the 17th century – on the illustrious feet of King Louis XIV of France, who also wore a red heel as a status symbol reserved only for him and the highest male members of the nobility. See also: Christian Louboutin: The Man with the Red Sole
Already in antiquity there was the so-called kóthornos (cothurn), a laced sandal with a thick cork sole, which first appeared in depictions of Dionysus as his hunting footwear and was later worn by actors of Greek tragedy. From the first half of the 15th century, this shoe fashion spread among women and the shoes were called a chopine. Especially in Venice, the trend took on bizarre forms with cork soles measuring up to 2.5 feet high. The ladies were happy about the slimming effect created by chopines worn under long skirts, and the church welcomed the associated restrictions, because moving around unaided, let alone dancing, was practically an impossibility with chopines.
See also: The Art of Fashion: Fashion in Art
Pattens (or clogs), a type of overshoe, appeared during the Middle Ages and probably served to protect the not particularly stable and thin-soled shoes from the rubbish of the unpaved roads and the feet from the cold ground. Pattens are relatively rare, which suggests that they were worn by higher social classes and were not intended for the general public.
Pattens are also depicted in Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Marriage of 1434. Since pointed-toe shoes were popular with lords at the time, pattens may also have made it easier to walk in them.
See also: From Van Eyck to Botero: The Mystery of the Arnolfini Portrait
After the heeled shoe came into fashion and the design of the shoes improved more and more, the patten became common. To protect clothing from splashing mud when it rained, women wore these pattens, while men preferred leather boots. Pattens were also used when working in a wet environment, for example when mopping floors or in bathrooms.
The nalin shoe from the Ottoman Empire could also have served as a model for this. They were worn in the bathhouses, but also in the domestic environment as overshoes. Made of wood, with two separately attached vertical plates, the soles were decorated with precious materials such as mother-of-pearl, and the higher the sole and the finer the decoration, the higher the status of the person wearing the nalins.
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In Japan, people were aware of the need to protect one's feet from the dirt of the streets. The geta, originally from China, were common there since the Heian period (794-1185) and very different forms have developed. Today, geta are mainly worn on occasions that require traditional attire such as a kimono. In contrast to the European patten or the Ottoman nalins, Geta do not have a simple strap over the instep, but a triangular bracket, which has influenced today's flip flops.
See also: Kimono: The Japanese Dress On and Off the Screen
Finally, a curious version of the platform sole takes us back to Prohibition America (1920-1933). Anyone who wanted to have a drink despite the ban had to rely on the speakeasy, which operated in secret. And of course these bars had to be supplied with alcohol, which could only be done in secret. The Moonshiners, as their name already suggests, had to pursue their illegal activity at night, mostly through the middle of forests. Once police got wind of it, the moonshiners strapped soles under their shoes, which imitated the hooves of cows to avoid detection.
Worn out of fashion or necessity, platform shoes have had a long history that is certainly not over, with brands like Valentino, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana reviving them as a popular trend today.
