The post title sounds like a lead into something seriously kinky and sexual, but in fact it’s taken from a mainstream exhibition running at the Victoria & Albert Museum – ‘Shoes: Pleasure & Pain‘. There’s a good article on it over at the Guardian, which talks about the history of shoes, and how they’ve been intertwined with culture, fashion, sex and fetishism. This particularly bit made me smile…
For a few decades in the middle of the 17th century, there was a fashion for ladies’ indoor shoes to come attached to a flat panel, which joined the bottom of the high heel to the toe. Not only did this lift the wearer above imaginary dirt and clod-hopping Puritans, it also provided a satisfying sound as the shoe made contact with the floor. Soon that flat-footed slap, which could be heard several beats before the wearer entered the room, became the mark of real lady.
I don’t particularly fetishize footwear, but I can still appreciate the the click of a heel and the sound of a strutting boot on a hard floor. It’s a pretty effective mood setter, particularly when someone is tied down and can’t easily turn to see what’s happening. I often find myself smiling at the cliche of it, but enjoying it all the same.
This rather beautiful drawing is from the Croquis Nocturne tumblr. From the posts on the tumblr I’d guess that the artist is also the tumblr owner. Worth checking out if you appreciate this image.