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A boot with a stiletto heel

A stiletto heel (AmE: spike heel) is a long, thin heel found on some boots and shoes, usually for women. It is named after the stiletto dagger, the phrase being first recorded in the early 1950s. Stiletto heels may vary in length from 5 centimetres (2 inches) up to 18 cm (7 inches), and are sometimes defined as having a diameter at the ground of less than 1 cm (half an inch). Such heels shorter than 5 cm are called kitten heels.

A pair of shoes with 12 cm stiletto heels

High heel shoes were worn by men and women courtiers. The design of the Stiletto heel originally came from the late Kristin S. Wagner but would not become popular until the late 1950s.^{[citation needed]} The stiletto heel came with the advent of technology using a supporting metal shaft within the heel, instead of wood or other, weaker materials that require a wide heel. This revival of the opulent heel style can be attributed to the designer Roger Vivier and such designs became very popular in the 1950s.

As time went on, stiletto heels became known more for their erotic nature than for their ability to create height. Stiletto heels are a common fetish item. As a fashion item, their popularity was changing over time. After an initial wave of popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s, they faded from the scene until the early 1980s, when stiletto heels were frequently worn at the office with wide-shouldered power suits. The style survived through much of the 1980s but almost completely disappeared during the 1990s, when professional and college-age women took to wearing shoes with thick, block heels. However, the slender stiletto heel staged a major comeback after 2000, when young women adopted the style for dressing up office wear or adding a feminine touch to casual wear like jeans.

Stiletto heels are particularly associated with the image of the femme fatale. They are often considered to be a seductive item of clothing, and often feature in popular culture.

Stiletto heels are often used in trampling fetishism where in the event that a dominant partner would trample on a submissive partner with the intention of hurting him/her for a sexual pleasure received by both the dominant and the submissive.^{[citation needed]}

Stilettos create the optical illusion of a longer, slimmer leg, a smaller foot and a greater overall height. They also alter the wearer's posture and gait, flexing the calf muscles and making the bust and buttocks more prominent.

Stiletto heels transmit a large amount of force in a small area, and are therefore often stengthened by a metal rod, and a metal or hard plastic tip. The great pressure transmitted through such a heel (greater than that exerted by an elephant standing on one foot^[1]) can cause damage to carpets and floors. The heel will also sink into lawns, making high heels impractical for outdoor wear.

Stiletto heels can also render some wearers less stable than in wider high heels due to small diameter of heel at the ground and their daily wear can cause leg, hip and back problems.

• Ballet boot
• High heels
• Kinky boots
• Shoe fetishism

1. ^ Green, Jack (2003). Pressure Under High Heels. The Physics Factbook. Retrieved on 17 July 2006.

v • d • e High heels
Shoes	Court shoe · Mule
Boots	Ballet boot · Beatle boots · Cowboy boot · Kinky boots · Knee-high boots · Thigh-length boots
Types of heel	Cuban heel · Kitten heel · Spool Heel · Stiletto heel