Usually, the spotlight here is on handbags. But today, I’m dedicating today as the start to an entire week’s worth of Chanel’s charms. This brand is completely iconic and timeless. But, aside from cultural convincing, how is this so widely possible? Why do many a woman smile when they think of this designer?
From the beginnings of the brand itself, when the career-minded Coco Chanel opened the first boutique, she had practicality largely in mind with her designs. She used quilting and clean lines in her proportions.
To this day, one of the signatures of Chanel is the color scheme: black and cream. This color duo can be worn anytime, from day to night, for a striking effect.
I love it when the brand stretches itself a little. Karl Lagerfeld, the creative brains behind the brand now, is known to do just that. I happened across these fun platforms, and was reminded of the fun interpretations of the brand. These high heeled platforms are so original, I could almost imagine them displayed on a shelf as an artist’s silent muse. The heels are 4 3/4″ (perfect for me!). I saw them at Bluefly for $700. These would be superb with a black and white tweed pencil skirt, wide leg pants, or boot cut jeans.
While many think of this style of shoe as synonymous with bellbottoms, flowers in the hair, and mirrored balls, the history of platform heels actually stands much taller than that.
Platforms are thought to have originally appeared in China with practicality in mind. The wearer was elevated above the mud, water, and other muck through which they trampled. It immigrated to Europe as the “chopine” at about the 14th century, where it’s function became more aesthetic in effect. It was usually constructed of cork, wood, and velvet. The shoe came to connote social status and wealth. After the 1600s, or late Renaissance, the shoe disappeared. (Perhaps people were more concerned with scientific discoveries, and rediscovering long lost inventions of the Ancient World. And then they lost their fun and fanciful footwear fetish.) Oh, and P.S.: the invention of left and right shoes only came about in 1818, making for a rough road to travel before then.
Surprisingly, the platform buoyantly emerged once again on the sands of the 30s (think Carmen Miranda), and then the 70s (think disco boogie).
Yes, as I am pleased to say, the platform high heel still lives, in more or less style and grace.
This post is tagged Chanel
