STANDING TALL: A CURIOUS HISTORY OF MEN IN HEELS

open until june 2016

The Bata Shoe Museum is excited to announce the opening of our newest exhibition, Standing Tall: The Curious History of Men in Heels. Standing Tall will challenge preconceived notions about who wears heels and why. From privileged rulers to hyper-sexualized rock stars this provocative exhibition will explore the history of men in heels from the early 1600s to today, delving into the use and meanings of heeled footwear in men’s dress over the last four hundred years.

While today, the thought of a man in heels is met with disbelief and amazement, invoking images of indiscretion and being different, it hasn’t always been this way. “When heels were introduced into fashion at the turn of the 17th century, men were the first to adopt them and they continued wearing heels as expressions of power and prestige for over 130 years,” said Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator, Bata Shoe Museum. “Even after they fell from men’s fashion in the 1730s, there were pockets of time when heels were reintegrated into the male wardrobe not as a way of challenging masculinity but rather as a means of proclaiming it”.

While some lifestyles today continue to accept men dressing in heels; the rugged cowboy in heeled boots is the perfect example, for most men even an extra inch on a pair of business brogues can prove to be highly destabilizing; calling their masculinity and intentions into question. But with the advantages of height currently connected to everything from higher pay to increased desirability, the real question is why don’t men wear heels? This exhibition will explore this question, as well as others including the controversial use of heels and lifts by a number of heads of state.

Offering rare examples of men’s heeled footwear from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, mid-nineteenth century military boots, 1930s cowboy boots and 1940s biker boots, visitors also have the opportunity to view John Lennon’s original 1960s Beatle boot, platforms worn by Elton John in the 1970s, and recent heels from haute couture collections, all from the Museum’s own holdings.

Standing Tall is the kickoff exhibition for the BSM’s 20th anniversary year of celebration.  For more information on what’s happening this year visit our BSM Turns 20! Page

http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/standing-tall/