In addition to serving the practical purpose of keeping the feet dry, chopines, as other high heel shoes, symbolically enhance the wearer's stature. It was once thought that very high chopines were worn by courtesans to establish a highly visible public profile. Later accounts suggest that height may have been associated with the wearer's level of nobility and grandeur. The Venetians made the platform sole into a status symbol, revealing wealth and social standing for women. It was difficult to walk in chopines. A Venetian woman would have had to be able to afford servants, who could accompany her, so she could lean on them for balance.
The chopine even made it into Hamlet: "By'r lady, your ladyship is nearer to heaven than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chopine."
The women who wore them must have felt the need to elevate themselves from the rest of the world by walking on a platform that exhibited their stature as the high and mighty. Chopines represent beauty, excess wealth, and sexuality. They were worn by both aristocratic women and the courtesan or prostitute from about 1400-1600.
(After clicking on the link, you may have to click on �chopines� to get to see the details. This link does not always work well.)
-Laurie Schecter
Double heeled chopine seen here and also here
