On a Pedestal: From Renaissance Chopines to Baroque Heels
13:40, February 25, 2010

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A Venetian chopine from 1550-1600 is on display in the "On a Pedestal: From Renaissance Chopines to Baroque Heels" exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto December 15, 2009. Centuries before Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama were sized up over their shoes women's feet had been a platform for showing off their economic and political status. This new exhibit of more than 60 pairs of rare platform and high heel shoes shows how extreme and impractical footwear became a fashionable symbol of social standing in the 16th and 17th centuries. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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