Style
Head Over Heels
Kiri Blakeley, 04.01.09, 06:00 PM EDT
Professional women have a fierce relationship with their heels.

In ancient China and 14th-century Venice, high heels enforced female docility, with construction so precarious that women had to hobble around aided by walking canes or husbands. But heels have also acted as a tool for female empowerment. In 1533, the 14-year-old Catherine de’ Medici, Queen consort of France, wore what many consider the prelude to the stiletto when she got married in Florence and wanted to “make a good impression,” says Meghan Cleary, a shoe expert who writes about footwear in her blog, MissMeghan.com.

Cleary takes a page from the Medici handbook: “I’ve worn heels during conference calls, when no one can see me,” says Cleary. “It’s about how powerful you feel in them.”

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