I have also now read the article. And I am a woman. It is pretty common for women drivers to remove their high heeled shoes before driving. I have known lots of women to keep a separate pair of flats handy or just drive barefoot. It is safer. I have driven in heels, probably just long enough to take the damn things off.

There are a great many things which influence fashion. Available technology. Lifestyle. Cultural trends. Even sometimes practical considerations.

I will suggest though that by the mid 1700s, anyone "important" was more likely to be riding in a carriage than on horseback.