5:37PM, Thu Dec 20, 2012

Head And Shoulders Above: North East Women Wear Highest Heels In Britain

By Jenny Wotherspoon Location: Newcastle

How big are Tyne and Wear's highest heels?

Women in the North East wear higher heels than any other region in Britain.

The average heel worn by by a North East woman is 3.46 inches, according to a survey carried out by footcare retailer Compeed.

London is close behind with an average heel height of 3.37 inches, followed by the West Midlands with 3.35 inches.

The results of the survey also revealed British women wear higher heels than anywhere else in Europe.

The results come as British women are revealed to be among the shortest in Britain - an average of 1cm smaller than Spanish women.

Head Lecturer in Fashion at Northumbria University, Douglas MacLennan, said: The typical North East woman is statistically smaller in height, so it gives them a confidence boost."

Technology like metal stilletos have allowed heels to become higher

"High heels are about talking to someone's face and not their navel."

The origin of high-heeled shoes is widely contested, but early models have been depicted in Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Greek murals, thought to have been worn as a symbol of class.

A platform shoe called the 'chopine' was also developed in the Middle Ages to prevent the upper class having to make contact with the dirty streets.

Technological advancements such as the metal stilleto have enabled heels to become higher over past decades.

Mr MacLennan told Sky Tyne and Wear: "Good shoe design is all about creating something new, and challenging what has gone before."