They’re easy to walk in, make you feel taller and add a funky soul era edge to any outfit – which is why platforms will always keep coming back. 

The platform shoe trend is showing some serious staying power since its most recent reemergence on the fashion scene starting in 2007. Instead of being given its walking papers for next season, ever blockier footwear was spotted on the Fall 2012 runways of Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Balenciaga and Miu Miu suggesting the sky’s the limit for the future of this trend.

Chopines from 15th Century Venice

The origins of the platform can be traced back to 15^th and 16^th centuries when both courtesans and patrician women would wear wood or cork overshoes that at 20 inches high, protected both their shoes and dresses from mud and street soil. Called Chopines, they were covered in leather, brocades and jewel covered velvets that often matched the wearer’s dress. Besides their practical uses, the height of the Chopine became a symbolic reference to the cultural and social standing of the wearer; the higher the shoe, the higher the status of the wearer. However, the modern platform – as we know it today – has its roots firmly placed in the emergence of the (Look At) “Me Generation” and 70s disco culture.

“You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.” -Vivienne Westwood

Celine’s much copied Spring 2010 collection of wood-heeled sandals-cum-clogs

Today’s platforms are worn for both function and style. The footwear of choice for those seeking added height and leg lengthening in enduring skinny jeans styles, the weight of the shoe balances a delicate outfit and adds just the right amount of yesteryear gravitas when worn with vintage-inspired pieces.

Despite deploring the ubiquitousness of the dominatrix style hybrid of platform and stiletto pump in her recent On the Runway blog, Cathy Horyn, the fashion critic of the New York Times agreed that this shoe style isn’t going anywhere soon, declaring, “Women love platform shoes.”

Bianca Jagger’s Dancing shoes. Fashionable platform shoes first appeared in the 1930s and 1940s, but reached their greatest popularity during the 1970s. They were revived for the nineties club scene, the Goths, and now look set to stay as part of high fashion style.

Now & Then: The History of Fitness Wear

Now & Then: The History of the Paisley Print

Now & Then: The History of the Pencil Skirt

Now & Then: The History of the Cocktail Dress

Now & Then: The History of the Trench Coat

Now & Then: The History of the Bold Brow

Now & Then: The History of the Cuff

Now & Then: The History of Turtlenecks

Now & Then: The History of Tights

Now & Then: The History of Skinny Jeans

Now & Then: The History of the Chevron Stripe

Now & Then: The History of Penny Loafers

Now & Then: The History of Go-Go Boots

Now & Then: The History of the Poet Blouse

Top Image: Mui Mui’s Fall 2012 Platform Boots

The post Now & Then: The History of Platform Shoes appeared first on EcoSalon.