50 High Heel Quotes About the Fashion Staple

By Clifton Sankofa | Published August 27, 2023

Step into your best self with our high heels quotes.

High-heeled shoes are popular in women’s fashion, but did you know they were initially made for men?

Learn more about the history of this famous fashion staple with our high heels quotes.

What are high heels?

High-heeled shoes, also called high heels or just heels, are a shoe with an upward-angled sole.

The design of the shoe causes the legs to appear longer, makes the person taller, and accentuates the calf muscles.

Check out these interesting facts about high-heeled shoes:

53% of women who wear high heels report foot pain.
High heels were marketed to women in the 18th century.
High-heeled shoes have been fashionable since 3500 BC in ancient Egypt.

High heels in different cultures

Throughout human history, we have created an infinite number of fashion choices.

Footwear has evolved over the years, but many of the basic premises remain the same.

Most people desire comfortable shoes to protect their feet.

However, some people enjoy a little flare with their footwear.

So, where did the first heels come from?

Like many aspects of life, the oldest example of high heels comes from ancient Egypt.

As far back as 3500 BC, African butchers in Egypt wore shoes with raised heels.

They were commonly called butcher heels, and the genius footwear was designed to keep the butcher’s feet raised from the ground.

The butcher’s feet would be protected when blood from slaughtered animals dripped onto the floor.

Avoiding contact with animal blood kept the butcher’s feet healthy and prevented slippage during the job.

High heels in the Mediterranean

Roman, Greek, and Persian cultures all adopted the fashion that emerged from Egypt.

Ancient Greeks wore high-heeled shoes called kothorni.

These shoes were worn during theatrical performances by performers.

The taller the heel on the shoe, the more prominent the actor’s role in the performance.

Persians from the 16th century of modern-day Iran used high-heeled shoes in a military capacity.

The high heels allowed their calvary to stand up taller on horses and provided better foot support in the stirrups.

Heels allowed the soldiers to shoot arrows more accurately and remain stable while riding.

A change in fashion tastes

Men in various professions have used high-heeled shoes for thousands of years.

Women began adopting this fashion trend in the 18th century.

The first advertisements for high-heeled shoes started in the 1700s.

To learn more, check out our high heels quotes below.

Short high heels quotes celebrating your favorite power shoes

We begin our journey with these short quotes about high heels.

1. “I do not improvise in heels.” — Amy Poehler

2. “High heels are like a beauty lift.” — Giuseppe Zanotti

3. “High heels are pleasure with pain.” — Christian Louboutin

4. “All I want are high heels, high heels.” — Isaac Mizrahi

5. “We crossed the border in high heels.” — Eva Longoria

6. “You don’t have to walk in high heels.” — Christian Louboutin

7. “High heels empower women in a way.” — Christian Louboutin

8. “You put high heels on, and you change.” — Manolo Blahnik

9. “You don’t have to wear heels to be beautiful.” — Elle Macpherson

10. “It’s hard not to be sexy in a pair of high heels.” — Tom Ford

The top high-heel quotes about walking in your happy place

For some people, a nice pair of high-heeled shoes is the cherry on their sundae.

11. “I’m Latina. I was born with high heels.” — Eva Longoria

12. “I can’t even remember the last time I wore heels.” — Elle Macpherson

13. “I was born in high heels, and I’ve worn them ever since.” — Helena Christensen

14. “How can you live the high life if you do not wear the high heels?” — Sonia Rykiel

15. “Sometimes you have to sacrifice your performance for high heels.” — Gwen Stefani

16. “I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.” — Marilyn Monroe

17. “To wear dreams on one’s feet is to begin to give reality to one’s dreams.” — Roger Vivier

18. “High heels were invented by a woman who had been kissed on the forehead.” — Christopher Morley

19. “Is there anything more attractive than a woman in high heels and low self-esteem?” — Dov Davidoff

20. “Everyone chases after happiness, not noticing that happiness is right at their heels.” — Bertolt Brecht

The best high-heel quotes about stilettos and flats

What shoe is the best? These quotes make a case for the high heel.

21. “Too short? Wear big high heels, but do practice walking!” — Victoria Beckham

22. “If I was a girl, I’d wear a lot of high heels. High, stiletto heels.” — Isaac Mizrahi

23. “We were running from immigration; I can do aerobics in heels.” — Eva Longoria

24. “If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them.” — Sue Grafton

25. “There is a heel that is too high to walk in, certainly. But who cares?” — Christian Louboutin

26. “Stiletto, I look at it more as an attitude as opposed to a high-heeled shoe.” — Lita Ford

27. “I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes; I had one thousand and sixty.” — Imelda Marcos

28. “People walk differently in high heels. Your body sways to a different kind of tempo.” — Manolo Blahnik

29. “When I wear high heels, I have a great vocabulary, and I speak in paragraphs. I’m more eloquent.” — Meg Ryan

30. “Shoes transform your body language and attitude. They lift you physically and emotionally.” — Christian Louboutin

High heel quotes and sayings about life

These quotes remind us how high heels can make the perfect outfit or serve as a deep analogy about life.

31. “Tis not seasonable to call a man traitor that has an army at his heels.” — John Selden

32. “When my kids are in college, maybe I’ll drag my fishnets and high heels out.” — Sheena Easton

33. “If they ever do my life story, whoever plays me needs lots of hair color and high heels.” — Charlize Theron

34. “Shoes must have very high heels and platforms to put women’s beauty on a pedestal.” — Vivienne Westwood

35. “I am struggling to get into my favorite high heels, which is a shame, as I have so many.” — Pamela Stephenson

36. “I don’t think it’s the function of Congress to function well. It should drag its heels on the way to decision.” — Barber Conable

37. “After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” — Ann Richards

38. “It annoys me when celebrities put on a bodycon dress and a pair of high heels, and suddenly they are ‘style icons.’” — Georgie Henley

39. “I found myself being pinned into dresses, darting her dresses, choosing her high heels for the evening or what to wear. ” — Tom Hardy

Famous high-heel quotes about walking tall

Let’s close our list with these empowering high-heel quotes.

40. “A cause may be inconvenient, but it’s magnificent. It’s like champagne or high heels, and one must be prepared to suffer for it.” — Arnold Bennett

41. “I am so not a proper, good female; I can’t dance in high heels, and I’m just so not girly.” — Kesha

42. “I used to wear heels because I wanted to show people I wasn’t ashamed of being tall.” — Elle Macpherson

43. “Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure; Married in haste, we may repent at leisure.” — William Congreve

44. “I used to love to play dress-up, where you get your mother’s or your grandmother’s dresses and high heels.” — Suzanne Farrell

45. “They asked me why I was wearing heels, and I said, I’m trying to hide my ass. They gave me a prosthetic behind.” — Michael Rosenbaum

46. “To me, being grown-up meant smoking cigarettes, drinking cocktails, and dressing up in high heels and glamourous outfits.” — Lorna Luft

47. “I see these men with these banging bodies, dancing in heels, singing, and having so much fun with so much make-up on.” — Kesha

48. “It was so quiet that morning in Paris that the heels of my two companions and myself were loud on the deserted pavements.” — Philip Gibbs

49. “If I went out in killer heels and full makeup, blow dry, the whole thing anyone dressed up like that could be intimidating to men and women.” — Rachel Weisz

50. “I’m always the girl at the party who, within five minutes, has taken my heels off, hitched up my dress in my knickers, and probably spilled drink down my cleavage.” — Sadie Frost