Thank you so much for your thoughts, Janice. The influence of Louis XIV’s red heels on Louboutin certainly occurred to me and he may very well have seen paintings, but there’s no direct connection in anything I’ve read. Funny as it may seem (in light of the king’s red heels), Louboutin’s Louis collection (said to be inspired by a walk through a garden with his landscape designer/friend Louis), is all about sneakers for men ;-)