A type of very high platform shoe or overshoe worn in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly by women of status.
From Italian 'chopino' or Spanish 'chopín,' referring to these elevated shoes that became fashionable during the Renaissance.
Chopines were insanely tall—some over a foot high—and required assistance to walk, which shows how fashion historically disabled women for the sake of status symbols, a pattern that still appears in modern high heels!
Chopines are platform shoes historically worn primarily by women in 16th-17th century Venice and Europe. The garment became gendered feminine despite origins in both male and female fashion; linguistic and cultural records often associate them exclusively with women.
Refer to chopines neutrally as a historical footwear style without gendering the wearers. Note that both men and women wore platform shoes historically.
["platform shoe","elevated shoe","platform footwear"]
Women fashion historians and archaeologists have recovered evidence that chopines were worn across social classes and genders, challenging narratives that reduce them to female vanity items.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.