Stiletto-style heels shorter than 5 cm are called kitten heels. Not all high slim heels merit the description stiletto. The extremely slender original Italian-style stiletto heels of the very early 1960s were no more than 5mm in diameter for much of their length, although the heel sometimes flared out a little at the tip. After their demise in the mid-late 1960s, such slender heels were difficult to find until recently due to changes in the way heels were mass-produced.

History of Stiletto Heels:

Stiletto heels, the very thin high heel, were certainly around in the late 1800s as numerous fetish drawings attest. Firm photographic evidence exists in the form of photographs of Parisian singer Mistinguett from the 1940s. These shoes were designed by Andre Perugia, who began designing shoes in 1906. It seems unlikely that he invented the stiletto, but he is probably the first firmly documented designer of the stiletto heel. The word stiletto is derived from stylus, meaning a pin or stalk. Its usage in footwear first appeared in print in the New Statesman magazine in 1959: "She came ...forward, her walk made lopsided by the absence of one heel of the stilettos".

High heel shoes were worn by men and women courtiers. The design of the stiletto heel originally came from the late Kristin S. Wagner but would not become popular until the late 1950s .[citation needed] The stiletto heel came with the advent of technology using a supporting metal shaft within the heel, instead of wood or other, weaker materials that required a wide heel. This revival of the opulent heel style can be attributed to the designer Roger Vivier and such designs became very popular in the 1950s.

As time went on, stiletto heels became known more for their erotic nature than for their ability to make height. Stiletto heels are a common fetish item. They are sometimes referred to as "fuck me shoes" do to their erotic connotation.

As a fashion item, their popularity was changing over time. After an initial wave of popularity in the 1950s, they reached their most refined shape in the early 1960s, when the toes of the shoes which bore them became as slender and elongated as the stiletto heels themselves. As a result of the overall sharpness of outline, it was customary for women to refer to the whole shoe as a "stiletto", not just the heel.

Although they officially faded from the scene after the Beatle era began, their popularity continued at street level, and women stubbornly refused to give them up even after they could no longer readily find them in the mainstream shops. A version of the stiletto heel was reintroduced as soon as 1974 by Manolo Blahnik, who dubbed his "new" heel the Needle. Similar heels were stocked at the big Biba store in London, by Russell and Bromley and by smaller boutiques. Old stocks of unworn pointed-toe stilettos, and contemporary efforts to replicate them (ironically, lacking anything like the true stiletto heel because of changes in the way heels were by then being mass-produced) were sold in street fashion markets and became popular with punks, and with other fashion tribes of the late 1970s until supplies dwindled in the early 1980s.

Subsequently, round-toe shoes with slightly thicker (sometimes cone-shaped) semi-stiletto heels, often very high in an attempt to appear more slender (the best example of this being the shoes sold in London by Derber), were frequently worn at the office with wide-shouldered power suits. The style survived through much of the 1980s but almost completely disappeared during the 1990s, when professional and college-age women took to wearing shoes with thick, block heels. However, the slender stiletto heel staged a major comeback after 2000, when young women adopted the style for dressing up office wear or adding a feminine touch to casual wear, like jeans.

Stiletto heels are particularly associated with the image of the femme fatale. They are often considered to be a seductive item of clothing, and often feature in popular culture. They are also used a lot by Paris Hilton.

Stilettos give the optical illusion of a longer, slimmer leg, a smaller foot, and a greater overall height. They also alter the wearer's posture and gait, flexing the calf muscles, and making the bust and buttocks more prominent.

Disadvantages of Stiletto Heels:
Through their extreme tilting, Stiletto heels completely counter the natural functionality of the foot, and essentially removing the protective springiness/cushioning of the arch, which creates all kinds of painful problems. Continued use over weeks also shortens the calf muscle. Additionally, It is said the different posture changes the pelvis and spine stability, resulting in painful back problems. But that remains to be proven.

They also transmit a large amount of force in a small area, and are therefore often strengthened by a metal tube, into which is inserted a metal or hard plastic tip. The great pressure transmitted through such a heel (greater than that exerted by an elephant standing on one foot) can cause damage to carpets and floors. The heel will also sink into lawns, making high heels impractical for outdoor wear.

See also:
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Ballet boot
High heels
Kinky boots
Shoe fetishism
Louboutin