In the early 1950s there was one couturier whose work was talked about worldwide: Dior. So when Dior began sending models out wearing a new shoe style from the designer Roger Vivier, the fashion press took notice.
French Vogue first used the term ‘stiletto’ to describe this new style of shoe in 1952. Vivier had taken a pair of classic pumps with pointed toes and put a 10cm tapered heel on them. He used the traditional wooden heel, which initially needed to be reasonably thick in order to withstand the strain of the design without snapping. But in 1956 the Italians developed an aluminium metal spigot that could be inserted into the shaft of a plastic heel shell, giving it enormous strength; by the late 1950s the industry standard for a stiletto heel had raised to 12.7cm (that’s five inches in the old money). Plastic heels could be made quickly and cheaply using injection-moulding techniques and stilettos left the domain of the atelier and became the new look for modern teenagers.
As one of the world’s first influencers, Marilyn Monroe was a wonderful promoter of stiletto heels. A huge fan of Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo – she was rumoured to have at least 40 pairs of his shoes – she wore them in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Bus Stop (1956). According to American screen columnist Jimmy Starr, ‘She learned a trick of cutting a quarter of an inch off one heel so that when she walked she would wiggle.’
In fact, simply putting on a pair of five-inch heels caused any woman to walk differently. Just to keep their balance they needed to lean forwards, their chest pushed out and their bottom tilted backwards. Beauty books began offering advice on the ‘right way’ to walk in these new heels: ‘Shoes with heels of the right height, so that you can walk with grace and ease, are in far better taste than the smartest shoes with four-inch heels in which you waddle like a duck,’ advised model and pin-up girl Bettie Page.
The next problem came when stiletto heels were applied to backless shoes. The steep incline of the sole caused the back of the shoe to flap about and even fly off occasionally. Recognising the issue, in 1954 the Spring-O-Lator was introduced. Made from elastic and leather, it was an insert that ran under the ball of the foot, keeping the sole under tension and pushed up from below so that the foot was in firm contact with the strap. It was, said Glamour magazine, ‘the next thing to no shoe at all’.
And no shoes at all became the rule for some museums, art galleries and country homes, if the choice was between barefoot or stiletto. Steel coated plastic heels up to 15cm high could ruin an expensive floor when the pressure of a woman’s weight came to bear on such a fine tip, and in the English town of Carshalton stilettos were even blamed for ruining the tarmac.
The evolution of the stiletto from high fashion to high street had a lot to do with French designer Charles Jourdan, who partnered with Dior in 1959. An independent shoe manufacturer since the 1920s, Jourdan advertised in popular magazines, selling to the newly emerging chain stores and offering each style of shoe in 20 colours, all sizes and three widths. His stilettos often featured needle-like heels on an elegant shoe design.
While the glamour of the stiletto is undeniable, even the keenest wearer couldn’t claim the shoe to be comfortable. Hammer toes and bunions were common and in 1960, UK shoe expert Harry Roberts wrote: ‘Its absurd general shape, its ridiculous narrowness and exaggerated heels all are calculated… to cramp and pinch into a shameless heap the hundreds of sensitive muscles, ligaments and nerves.’ But the sexiness of the shoe was not to be denied; in an instant they lengthened the leg and extended the silhouette, and wearing stilettos became the defining move for a woman – the moment when her kitten heels were cast aside for an Italian stiletto.
