The high heel usually conjours up images of long legged women teetering around in towering shoes.

Women have this love/hate relationship with them. Some just save them for special occasions whilst others, loving the benefits of their legs appearing slimmer and longer, won’t wear anything else.

Surprisingly way back in the 17th century it was men who commonly wore heels which is quite a frightening concept. Nowadays the only shoe a man would wear with a heel would be a cowboy boot.

High heeled shoes actually change a woman’s posture and of course shows off their calves, makes their legs appear slimmer, longer and of course adds a little height enabling the woman to feel a little more confident.

High heels emphasize the walking gait which basically means your walk becomes far sexier because the height of the heel actually forces your hips to swing a little further to each side as you move.

Despite the associations of high heels being painful to wear, shortening your walk stride, damaging feet and tendons and of course increasing the risk of tripping over, resulting in sprained ankles, the enormous benefits and overall appearance they give makes them irresistible to most women.

Platform sandals can be traced back to 200 years B.C. and it wasn’t until 1955 that the world famous stiletto heel was invented in Italy.

Despite the ever changing variations of the high heels, the stiletto has always and will always remain in vogue.

Fashion has a tendency to repeat itself. The high heeled styles of the 1960’s like the winkle picker, the platforms of the 1970’s and stilettos of the 1980’s have all had a second time around throughout the nineties and into the millennium.

You could buy yourself a decent pair of high heels and never feel they go out of fashion. There is always an occasion or an outfit that those shoes will look good with and remain in fashion with.

For more information visit the Womens Shoes Guru: