Louis XIV, a short man, liked both his high heels and women red hot! Scarlet was his shoe color of choice. He would have liked vintage postcards too!
The insects dusting these Mexican cactus pads are called cochineal.They're a dusty grey color, until they're squashed -- and then their plump abdomens burst with rich, red liquid. It was used for dying the royal shoes and clothing of the Sun King. This exotic import was highly prized and expensive!
The Sun King's footwear fanaticism drove him to ban everyone except the nobility from wearing high heels. But nobody was allowed to have higher heels than the king! He also had miniature battle scenes painted upon these leather status wielders.
Heel wearing was only curbed by the French Revolution in 1789. It became a disdained sign of nobility. Many silver shoe buckles were "donated" to the Revolutionary cause as their noble owners lost their heads at the guillotine.
I would much rather wear my scruffy converse. There is no need for head rolling here!
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Louis XIV Puts His Best Shoe Forward
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6 cool cats commented:
Fascinating post. I love how you combine history, beauty and your passion for post cards on your blog.
When last in Paris I noticed that Converse appeared to be the tennis shoe of choice. Here it's Nike, Adidas or Vans. As for red, Michael Jordan's first line of Nikes were red and a vintage pair can sell for hundreds on eBay. David
Maybe we should have done the audio tour when we were at Versailles. Great history lesson.
Louis XIV... what a heel! Thanks for another great history lesson and facinating fun filled factoid.
I had no idea Louis XIV was a drag queen.
Hm. This makes me wonder... how was the high heel invented? Probably for a man looking to be tall, and not a woman looking to be alluring. Sneaker power!
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