Women and shoes from Hefner-Alteneck's 'Costumes, Artworks and Appliances,' Frankfurt, 1889. Illustration by Dr. Jakob Heinrich von Hefner-Alteneck (German museum curator, archaeologist, art historian, illustrator and etcher), lithographed by Joh. Klipphahn, and published by Heinrich Keller/Florilegius/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Hans Christian Andersen's famous fairy tale "The Red Shoes," in which the girl Karen, enchanted by a pair of red shoes, takes a downward path and loses both her shoes and legs, instilling fear in many generations of children.
Traditionally, moralists associated the colour of shoes with frivolous and immoral behaviour, which was certainly true for the Denmark of Andersen's time: Protestant modesty and restraint in clothing did not encourage the fashions of red shoes. However, originally, the red shoes signified not the immorality of their wearer but rather their high social status.
It is known that Catherine de Medici (Queen of France from 1547–1559) wore red shoes, and she even left behind a relic described in encyclopedias as: "A shoe from the wardrobe of Catherine de Medici. The heel is red, the upper made of white leather, embroidered with pink silk. The supporting sole connecting the heel to the toe is also red."
Probably French silk, metallic shoes 1760–75 /Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum/Wikimedia Commons
Red shoes or shoes with red heels were considered a symbol of nobility starting in the 16th century. For example, in France in the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, the law forbade lower social classes from wearing shoes with red soles, just as certain types of fabric and patterns, short trousers known as "culottes," and other styles were prohibited for commoners.
The tradition of "aristocratic red heels" persisted in some places (such as in Russia) until the early 19th century.
John Collett (1725–1780). A Lady of Fashion with Black Shawl and Red Shoes watercolor painting Pen, black ink and watercolor on medium, moderately textured, beige laid paper mounted to medium, moderately textured, brown laid paper. Circa 1778/Wikimedia Commons
"Nowadays, many don't quite understand what red heels (les talons rouges) used to represent. What does it matter if they're red or black—it's just fashion. Perhaps some people, not knowing the meaning, wore red heels, but that certainly wasn't the case with the Yusupovs, Kurakins, and others like them. They understood the significance and therefore continued to dress and wear shoes in their way, contrary to fashion. Red heels signified noble origin; this trend, of course, was borrowed from the French, like every other trend. At the Court of Versailles, it became customary for the highest nobility to wear red heels. We adopted this rather amusing sign of nobility, and although it was initially mocked and criticized, it eventually became popular in our country, especially among the high-ranking courtiers: how else could they distinguish themselves from the common folk? Princess Praskovya Mikhailovna Dolgorukova continued to wear red heels even into her old age."i
So the designers of the famous red-soled "Louboutins" clearly knew what they were referencing when they created their red soles.
Hyacinthe Rigaud. Portrait of Louis XIV. Between 1700 and 1701/Wikimedia Commons