When building a wardrobe as a teenager there are several places that you can start. However, one of the best places to start is your shoe wardrobe. Shoes really complete your look, but they need to be as functional as they are fashionable. It is because of this that it is a good idea to buy specific shoes for specific activities.

Casual Shoes
The first shoes that you will want to add to your shoe wardrobe are casual use shoes. These shoes will generally be inexpensive and very basic in design and fashion. Canvas tie-up and slip on shoes work well as the staple of your casual shoe wardrobe. They are low cost so you don't have to worry if they get grass stains, muddy or damaged. You will use your casual shoes for activities like mowing the lawn and hanging around the house.

Athletic Shoes
The next type of shoes that you will want to invest in are athletic, or activity specific shoes. For example, if you skateboard you will want to purchase skateboarding shoes and if you dance then you will want to purchase dance shoes. You may also want to pick up shoes for hiking, walking on the beach and walking.

Dress Shoes/Fashion Shoes
The most fun category for shoe shopping is dress shoes and fashion shoes. These are the shoes in your wardrobe that make a statement. When selecting fashion shoes you will want to look for a style that compliments your personal style and the clothes that are in your wardrobe, and you will also want to look for special shoes that will update the overall look of your clothing wardrobe.

For example, teen girls can pick one pair of fashion shoes each season that are fashion forward for that season and that also compliments their existing seasonal wardrobe. This may mean buying a trendy pair of heels or a trendy pair of sandals. Teen boys can update the look of their wardrobe by finding a trendy pair of loafers or a trendy pair of sneakers. By adding the trendy shoes to your existing wardrobe you can update the look of your wardrobe without having to buy all new clothing.

Any true fashionista knows that high heels are not "just" high heels. There are different kinds of high heels: Pumps, stilettos, platforms. But one of the more stylish kinds of high heels are known as French heels, named after their country of origin.

Origin of French Heels

Originally, shoes sporting higher heels were introduced in order to allow ladies to walk high enough off the ground so that their skirts remained out of the mud. However, Catherine de Medici, from the rich and famous Italian family, brought a fashion of high heels to France in 1533. But it was more than 100 years after Catherine de Medici first introduced high heels as a fashion statement that French heels were developed. And they were developed to help a man get over his Napoleon complex (of course, this was before there was a Napoleon).

King Louis XIV (1638-1715) was a rather short man. In order to achieve a height he considered respectable, he wore special high heels. His shoes were made of leather dyed red and hand painted with scenes from his triumphs on the battlefield. The heels themselves were constructed of cork and also covered with red leather. Due to the king, sometimes French heels are also referred to as Louis heels. They are five inches tall and curved so that they came down from the back of the heel, inward toward the shoe, and then outward away from the shoe for a serpentine look.

Modern French Heels

Today rather than cork, many French heels are made from plastic. The upper is made of plastic, leather or fabric, while the sole is made of a hard plastic material, although some soles are now being made of more supportive and springy materials that provide better cushioning. Additionally, not all French heels are as high as Louis's. Some of them maintain the curved heel shape, but on a shorter scale.

French heels can make a great fashion statement in any circle. And they are more practical for professional and everyday use than their straighter and higher cousins in the world of high heels.

While today's high heels may have gone high tech for foot comfort, the high heeled shoe has a long and varied history both as a matter of fashion and practical technology.

Like many other styles of shoes, the high heel has been in use in some form for well over a thousand years, with instances of it appearing in both ancient Egyptian and Greek art. Historically, high heels were worn by both men and women in many societies, with the emergence of the popularity of the heeled shoe in late-medieval European culture tied to equestrianism (this is also true at various points for several non-Western cultures). The heel made it easier for a man to keep his feet in the stirrups.

Heels quickly became an indicator of status. As the shoes cost more to make and were generally only worn by those who could afford to be mounted, healed shoes for men quickly became a fashion statement. Women's shoes soon followed and the term "well-heeled" to refer to refinement and socio-economic status entered the lexicon.

Historical heels hit their literal height in the reign of Louis the XIV, when they were popular for both men and women. Heel heights were high and in some cases were over four inches. Additionally heels of the baroque era were significant curved , narrowing in from where they joined the rest of the shoe and curving out again. This style is still sometimes seen today, most often in historically influenced and special occasion shoes for women. This heel style is today called the Louis heel, or, less frequently, the Pompadour heel after the famous mistress of the following king.

European heel heights plummeted for both men and women after the French revolution as people sought to avoid negative associations with excessive opulence. Men's shoes maintained a moderate heel for some time after this, but increasingly became lower to the ground with the exception of certain brief fads and shoes designed for specific purposes such as the western riding boot or dance shoes with a what is called a Cuban heel.

For women, some heel largely remained the norm even after the post-revolutionary descent, although the ballet flat dominated the early 19th century.

Because of the way a heeled shoe showcases the leg, it can be noted that men's shoes lost their heel as men's clothes became less revealing of the leg (breeches gave way to longer and fuller trousers) and women's heels gained popularity as the figure was first suggested and then revealed.

Today, high heeled shoes for women are ubiquitous, not increasingly not expected in either workplace or formal settings. Additionally, the roots of the high-heel in formal and wealthy society remain. In addition to the Louis heel, a simple, discreet women's heeled shoe known as a pump in America is frequently called a "court shoe" in Britain as its origin comes from the shoes men of note were once expected to wear to court.