Thursday, September 08, 2016
Trace the evolution of high heels across 100 years
Boing Boing: None of which explains why Bryce Dallas Howard wore them while running away from a T-Rex in Jurassic World.
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It's always interesting to see these videos that capture the evolution of fashion, particularly when they get near modern day and you can see the smaller nuanced changes that have happened even within the time that you've been alive. Even being young, it's quite interesting that there have been so many changes in fashion trends that have happened right before our eyes. The way that fashion trends evolve, it always seems like you could very easily trace what decade things have come from. However, when you're actually seeing them develop in real life it always seems so gradual and ever changing. While I'm not quite sure that 3-d printed shoes are anything other than a novelty in terms of comfort, they're definitely great design inspiration in terms of what can be done with the traditional form when given more flexibility in the way that we are able to design shoes with developments in technology.
This is a wonderful, artistic and visual way of showing the history of women's high heeled shoes. I've seen some other videos in this series, men's clothing, wedding dress, women's clothing, hats... And I think the idea of making a short video that summarizes fashion trends by showing some of the most classic or iconic clothing items or footwear or accessories is truly amazing. As viewers, it is not only exciting to see what familiar elements are used in modern shoe design, but also thought-provoking as you wonder what pushes for the change behind and why are they changed? I was actually wondering if every costume designer has their own fashion videos in their minds.
Fashion is a reflection of social and cultural changes and how appearances respond to the them. What people put on their body is not simply a thing, it shows people's social status and occupation. It indicates what popular activities are at a particular period of time as well. Shoes no longer function as something that protects your feet from the direct friction with the ground. In modern times, there are different type of shoes code for numerous different occasions. With application of modern technology and inspiration from other fields, shoes are designed with more novelty and sophistication. I can't even imagine what shoes will look like in 5 years.
I must admit that I often find myself browsing mode and buzzfeed late at night, and I often stumble upon videos like this one. 100 years of hairstyles, wedding dresses, German fashion, and others plague my history. However, it is interesting to note that the other videos produced by mode are criticized for showing and "ideal" image of the decade. They tend to over-simplify fashion (which, in reality, changes much too quickly for a short video to adequately summarize) and fail to show anything but the mainstream. This is most visible when looking at the "modern" fashion. I can only speak for myself (bear in mind that I am not an overly fashion-conscious person), but I do not own any shoes resembling the "2010's" section of this video. The video also conveniently left out wedges, which is one of the more popular high heel forms in recent years. If we can't really trust mode's fashion sense now - can we actually use them as a historical fashion reference? Nevertheless, videos such as these continue to be entertaining.
I definitely think theses videos are really useful in providing summaries and inspiring the study of fashion history. This format has grown really popular for everything from clothes to makeup to facial hair styles. However, a two minute video, or around 15 seconds per decade does not do the fashion world justice. For example, the video doesn't show if people in each decade were wearing more or fewer heels, or how the cost changes as the economy changes. These videos are important, but they can't be used as an absolute. I personally loved the inclusion of the 3D printed high heel. Whether that really is the norm for the future is debatable. I however would love to use the 3D printer for future projects and see how old styles and motifs can work and reappear with newer technology. Maybe the next one of these videos could focus on the last ten years and the specific yet drastic innovations made since.
This video makes me wish the Killer Heels exhibit was opened longer so I could have a bigger window of opportunity to visit it. I was surprised to recognize some of the shoe designs from 30/40 years ago being replicated in current commercial fashion industry. I find this video not only fun to watch but I think its clever they matched the socks with the eras. It gave the shoes more character and it would be increasingly helpful when piecing together a costume, seeing how pantyhose/stockings can make/break the convincing air of accuracy of a costume. I was also slightly confused as what the term heel encircles. When i think heel I think non flats, but I noticed no forms of heeled boots and hardly any stilettos. Maybe its because their "heel" is different than mine but I was really hoping to see some gogo boots.
This was such an interesting video to watch. It is really amazing to see how fashion evolves over the years, and it is especially fascinating to look at shoes since they always seem to really capture the main stylistic elements of any given time period. It was interesting that the heels were not that high until the 2010s. They got much higher in the 1990s and 2000s, but 2010s was definitely the highest. The background music also helped capture the feeling of each decade as it accompanied the visuals of the shoes. As some of the other people mentioned, some of the styles from the earlier decades were reflected again in the later decades. This made a very interesting full circle effect, showing how fashion can repeat itself in some ways. I think the 70s were the most clearly indicative of the fashion, but that is probably because the 70s has the most recognizable style.
Ever since I found the 100 years of __ videos I have loved all of them. It’s so interesting to see how much fashion changes 10 years apart from each other even. I love the moment where you can see the definite switch into modern fashion, and how crazy the past fashions used to look even though they were entirely normal in their time. I was also surprised at how fast the heels shot up in the 2000s and especially 2010s. For all the earlier ones, the heels were no more than an inch or two, and then they go to more like 4 inches. I wonder what made the switch happen, probably the rise of the ever present media that is constantly commenting on women’s fashion, and what will happen in the future. I think the 3D printed shoes are going to make an appearance but the ones they used in the video didn't even look like they fit the model, unlike all the other shoes they showed.
Interesting video. it would be neat to see this done over a longer period of time going back to when men wore heels as a sign of power. Still a wonderful video certainly intriguing for someone interested in costuming such as myself. Its neat to see how recently the height of heels has changed perhaps that is a statement about women's changing roles in society.
Okay, weird thing to notice, and not sure if it super matters, but this video also tracked not only the evolution of high heels itself, but the patterns we valued and ALSO the skin tones.
As a very very very pale person, I cannot emphasize how often I am embarrassed of my skin. I have never had a tan, as going on a walk on a 85 degree day in July can still cause my arms and nose to turn bright red if I don't wear 70 SPF sunblock. I am not ashamed to admit I have tried self tanners, never spray tans, but the cream and dyes and stuff that you can use for a semi-permanent darkening of skin. None have been successful, or have been okay but the smell is so revolting I had to stop subjecting myself to this torture.
The model(s?) up until the 2000's were a pale lookin' girl like myself. But, in the 2000's they switched models to a tanner woman. Throughout most of the 20th century, fair skin has been a beauty ideal, and around the 1970s/80s that began to change, even though models still were usually very pale, advertisements and television began to emphasize tanness as an ideal because it meant you were sporty and spent time outside. And now, it's basically a fashion crime to not tan, because a tan is seen to show off a person's "natural glow".
Important to note that this almost only applies to white women in the US, or fair skinned women in general. Black and Hispanic women are often burdened with the expectation that being "too dark" is bad. There's a very clear "middle" in the skin spectrum that a large part of society deems beautiful, and it was weird watching that be represented in this little three minute long video.
I found this video utterly fascinating to get to see the styles and shapes of heels evolve throughout history. I really enjoyed the video because shoes, particularly heels, are not just things to cover are feet, but a tale of womanhood. In a sense throughout the video, the viewer gets an understanding of the women's perspective in each decade. For example, the heels from the 20s-40s are primarily 1-2" closed toe pumps with a sturdy heel. Feminine, sophisocated but remaining conservative. Then in the 50s you can see the beginning of a peep toe heel coming to style as women's clothing and social status progress. By the 80's you see the completely open strappy heel that usually revealed socks or some other form of accessory. Shoes at that point are statements and complements to other statement items. They were used to facilitate a woman's style, and what I believe to see as the beginning sense of independence. Then as the 2010's roll around heels are drastically higher, fuller, and smaller heel. In this decade it's used to accentuate the body. It acts as a icon for the sexy woman, the youthful woman, the fun woman. It is interesting to see the style of a feminine icon like the heel throughout each of the decades back to back. It allows for you to reflect on the historical circumstances within those time periods inspiring the women's point of view.
My personal favorite heels to wear are vintage-style ones which are fashioned after those of the 1930s-50s. When I wear them I am instantly reminded of how today's heels completely destroy the relationship of the feet to the earth beneath us. So many important muscles and nerves which serve to help us walk from A to B are disrupted and rendered useless when shoved into a narrow tube and balanced atop a stiletto. Shoes of the 30s and 40s in particular were incredibly engineered to compliment the natural shape of the foot, the comfortable placement of all those bones and muscles and nerves - at least, they certainly feel that way. Once I started wearing shoes in that style I had an incredibly difficult time going back to other more modern heels. To watch the evolution of heels into what they are today is fascinating, but it is also a reminder of the fact that there is no shame in saying you feel uncomfortable in stilettos. Women of the 20s could feel the ground beneath they feet - why shouldn't we?
Growing up as a young girl, one of my favorite activities was trying on my grandmother's heels. My mother, a size 10.5-11, could never find heels in her size (and hates wearing them), so to fill my shoe craving, I had to wait for weekend outings to try on Grandma Dorothy's extensive collection of vintage heels, all size 6. I'd slip my feet, recently clad in pink sketchers, into a pair of pastel Chanel pumps, or day a sparkly Manolo Blahnik sandal. As middle school progressed, my feet outgrew my grandmother's, and I turned to battered converse and combat boots. I entered my goth phase, and rejected anything pink or frilly, turning up my nose at the"mainstream" footwear I used to covet. High school involved walking for a half-hour to get to school, and I wore flats to both of my proms, scoffing at the girls who limped around, platform heels in hand. I was on a track to be a flats girl for the rest of my life, when I did the unthinkable and joined a sorority. My sisters, many of whom shared my shoe size, were all to eager to lend me the occasional pair. Thus my infatuation began. Seeing this short film reminded me not only of so many weekends with my grandmother, but also the power of footwear to be evocative and empowering, a form of self-expression that women in less-enlightened time had control over. With that in mind, I encourage everyone to go forth and slay.
You can see a vague segmentation and more linear evolution in the shoes presented for the 1900s. It was interesting to see how in the more modern shoes echoes of the past seemed to be more present than in prior decades. For example one could see the t-strap in certain shoes designs, as well as a platform that harkened back to the 1970s and 80s. That said, I wonder how they chose what shoes to include and omit, because when viewing the shoes of the 2000s and 2010s those styles did not strike me with any particular sense of recognition or feeling of universality for shoe styles of that time. Perhaps examining high heels was too narrow a scope, as boots and booties now form a large part of modern shoe wear, something that the video did not allude to in any way. I do however understand that the creators were trying to keep the video brief, but I would be interested in seeing other approaches to showcasing footwear trends across the decades.
These videos always snag my interest. It's certainly fun to watch the evolution of any fashion but particularly shoes. The shoe provides such a small canvas, with which designers provide so much. At the beginning of the video I think the evolution is more obvious and extreme, but like Amanda stated as we move closer towards the present era we see smaller changes and more throwbacks to previous decades. Though as we get closer to today it is easy to see that the height and platform of the heel is higher than ever! I find it interesting that the 2000's and up pull so strongly from the century before it. 2016 technology provides designers and makers alike to truly experiment with proportion, style, structure, material. The possibilities are truly endless. Certain shoes however remain timeless and will always be a staple in many people's closets. Shoes in particular truly help to flesh out the past. They say a lot about how people dressed, walked, where they lived, etc. The information provided by this video and many like it are great ways to quickly navigate years of design, and history.
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