Ergonomic Design: FAILED

The Gospel 1455. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

There have been controversies over the internet in regards to when and where the first high heeled shoes originated. Elizabeth Semmelhack, a curator for the Bata Shoe Museum, theorizes that the first high heeled shoe may have originated in the Middle East before the 10th century. Her theory is based upon paintings and pictures of horseback riders in shoes with upside down ‘V’ like arch designs. Also present were European illustrations of Middle Eastern men at the same time donning the heeled shoe. According to Semmelhack, the purpose of the shoe was to aid the rider, for the heel created less chances of slippage on the stirrup. However, some has argued that heels originated in the 15th century from chopines – shoe overlays/covers that were highly heeled and worn by women to protect their garments and shoes from getting dirty – which led to the revolutionary heels worn by King Louis XIV of France and its further development into the shoes we today associate with.

Nonetheless, though the high heeled shoes back then were worn and used for functional purposes; and though they may have been confortable, high heel shoes in this time and age are objects and products with one purpose in mind: aesthetics. Heels can be considered a failure in ergonomic design because it fails to meet all (except one) of five areas of ergonomic design requirements: safety, comfort, ease to use, performance, and aesthetics.

DKNY from DKNY.com

According to Maria Cerruto, personnel in the department of biomedical and surgical services at the University of Verona, Italy, heels can affect pelvic floor muscle activity by “reducing myofascial pelvic pain, relaxing the pelvic floor and improving pelvic organ well-being!” However, though heels do offer this positive quality about themselves, their bad traits outweighs their good. As a safety concern (health-wise), heels can cause feet deformations (such as bunions), unsteady gaits (the manners in which a person walks / moves), blisters and corns, and many other medical related problems. Though some women claim that some heels can be comfortable, it is only most likely so due to the possibility that the heels they wore before they found the “comfortable heel” were so uncomfortable that the new comfortable heel, though still uncomfortable, provided less discomfort and was thus label comfortable compared to the old heels. Heels provide the least amount of comfort in the realm of all shoes, because it required one to stand as though on their tippy-toes,  forcing the feet to arch. Another discomfort in heels is the tips of the shoes which enforces all five toes into a tightly packed area, causing the toes to cramp and may even result in blisters at the sides and top of toes.

Givenchy from Shopperwoman.com

Ease wise, heels are difficult tools to maneuver. It may be easy to put on, but to use it as though one would a regular pair of shoes (like flats or tennis shoes) is impossible. High heels enforces the wearer to take shorter strides and apply balance to each step (especially when on cracked, asymmetrical, or raised platforms) because a slip can results in sprains and fractures. Since high heels also provide very little performance/ productivity, it adds to its failure as an ergonomic design. For in the performance department, heels will not allow for running, jumping, or any exercise related movement (other than walking and standing still).

Chanel from Mycolorfashion.com

However, the one attribute that heels have in their designs that relate to ergonomics is aesthetics. Supported by fashion power houses like Chanel, Dior, DKNY, Christian Louboutin,Versace, and Givenchy – who all have their own lines of high heeled shoes – heels have become strong components in what we consider an beauty accessory. Constructed in arrays of colors, shapes, designs, and materials to appeal to the female race, it’s hard not to indulge. Though we know the consequences of donning them, we are found willing to forsake it for “beauty.” Giving the illusion of smaller feet (according to Chinese history, they once bounded the feet of their daughters to prevent growth, for small feet were considered a sign of beauty), a taller figure with longer limbs (another sign of beauty linked to the requirements of being a model and the clothing standards in society), and better defined legs and rear, we ignore the negatives. Most of the female race can look past it the pain for the price of “beauty”. As the saying goes, ‘Pretty Hurts.”

Louboutin from NYdailynews.com

LINKS: Walters Art Museum Origin: Discussion Sex, Power, & Heels Bata Shoe Museum Suffering for Beauty Video: Health Christian Louboutin Givenchy DKNY Maria Cerruto Shoe Terms Chanel Versace