Thanks for posting that. I think the history of costume is indeed fascinating. I enjoy going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in NYC when I'm there, and visit regularly online when I'm not.

Since this is off-topic, I will add to this my surprise at finding out these shoes were the fashion for wealthy men in the 17th century.


The French Court championed excessively ornamented clothing and accessories, perhaps as a manifestation of the romantically exuberant decorative arts, or as a reflection of the gross superficiality of social custom. In the same fashion that the formal women's robe à la francaise was designed to showcase the luxurious embroideries and silk damask fabrics of the century, so too did the impossibly tight breeches, skirted waistcoats, and shapely shoes of menswear provide an adequate canvas for the period's woven artistry. Men's adornment was every bit imbued with the elegance, tactile variance, and ostentation that marked women's clothing of the era. The fashionable eighteenth–century man was expected to convey a certain grace, and was required to enjoy the fine arts, music, and dancing. The romantic curviture of these shoes encourages the voyeuristic eye, each arc paralleled by the sensuality of the male arch and calf.
Before pants, men's leg's were the ones being ogled, not the ladies' in their voluminous skirts.

Regards,
Rex.