"I would look at my shelves of designer heels and marvel that I ever thought I needed them, wondering if I should just sell them all." Photo / Klara Kulikova, Unsplash
OPINION:
Like most women, I have a complex relationship with high heels. Part of me thinks they should be banned, both as a form of repression and in terms of foot health and any chance of running for a bus. But I also know that no piece of clothing gives me a lift (in both senses…) like slipping on a pair of pointy Prada kitten heels.
In all honesty, I’d forgotten that feeling completely until last Tuesday, when I wore heels for the first time, literally in years. Probably nobody else noticed them poking out under my vintage Levi’s 501s, but I knew they were there and it felt good. It was the footwear equivalent of jumping back on the proverbial bike and, once reminded of that cheeky feeling, I was hooked again. I’ve worn heels twice since.
For the last three years, I have lived very happily in chunky flat boots for winter, Birkenstocks in summer, with feature trainers for “smart”. That was it. I would look at my shelves of designer heels and marvel that I ever thought I needed them, wondering if I should just sell them all. Even post-Covid, the new sensible-shoe code was still in place.
Heels were for weirdos who wanted to suffer. They looked dated. It has felt like a liberation. But when I saw those pointy slingback loafer-front kitten heels on the M&S website last week, I confess my shopping heart fluttered. Proper shoes!
I’m not alone. In the last few weeks, the Princess of Wales has been wearing some of the highest heels she has ever been seen in – even for a photo opportunity on an exercise bike. Dame Helen Mirren has been spotted in extreme (but fun) Vivienne Westwood platforms. Victoria Beckham declared to The Telegraph that she had been wearing a pair of six-inch heels for four days on the trot.
Kurt Geiger reported at the end of 2022 that sales of heels had overtaken those of trainers. Searches for platform heels on shopping app Lyst are up 69 per cent month on month, they say.
A trip to Fenwick to survey the new spring collections arriving in store confirmed that all sorts of fashion retailers have jumped aboard the trend for joyously frivolous heels. I tried on LK Bennett’s kitten heels for a starter, and worked my way up from there.
I road-tested courts by Christian Louboutin, slingbacks by Jimmy Choo and platforms by Jennifer Chamandi. I found the velvet platforms by Sole Bliss – the bunion-friendly label – really were as comfortable as they say, and did look stylish rather than orthopaedic.
On the high street, there are fabulously kitsch heels to be found for all budgets. Cos has a pair of sugar-pink kitten-heeled mules. Arket – home of Scandi-chic – has rhinestone-studded slingback pointy pumps. While trusty Brit shop Jigsaw has gold glitter pointy kittens, with a dainty ankle strap.
There’s nothing new here; these styles are 2023 versions of tributes to 1950s and early 1960s shoes that have been reimagined over and over since the 1990s. Plus there are new takes on the endlessly revisited 1970s stacked platform.
But there’s nothing wrong with that. These styles keep coming back because they’re so much fun and women love them. And after years of wearing those uber-functional flats, it suddenly seems very appealing to wear something as silly as a pair of cupcakes on your feet again.
These are the kind of shoes that launched a million shoe-lovers’ novelty coasters, fridge magnets, key rings and birthday cards. I confess I have a collection of shoe Christmas tree ornaments… None of them are chunky boots. So I am now very glad I didn’t sell my collection of silly shoes, accumulated over the decades I covered the fashion shows in Milan and Paris. In that professional milieu, I had to walk the kitten-heeled walk. Gucci loafers and early designer trainers were occasional lifesavers, but most of the time, I wore a heel. All of the day and all of the night.
It was made easier because, if I didn’t have a car and driver of my own in any particular season, I had good friends who did, so it was mainly short high-heeled walks in and out of shows (and bars and restaurants). On the days I knew I was going to be doing a lot of yomping round on the Paris Metro, the Gucci loafers went on. But while it was necessary most of the time in my fashion show life to wear a proper dress-shoe, I never did stupid heels, the vertiginous talons that are more like fetish wear – but some did.
Heels like that may be bonkers, but what might surprise you – it surprised me – is that a modicum of heel height is actually better for our feet and general muscular-skeletal well-being than none.
“A two-inch heel is better than completely flat,” says podiatric foot and ankle surgeon Kaser Nazir of London’s Podogo clinic.
“Below two inches, or above three inches, is bad for you because they make your hips rotate excessively. With a two-inch lift, your pelvis moves forward, your buttocks tighten and you engage with your core much better, while your back is straighter.” But two-inch heels aren’t created equally – it’s crucial your shoe has a wide base, says Nazir. “A tiny heel makes your foot unstable, which could increase your risk of ankle strains and instability, but if the heel is broader, two inches is healthier for you.”
Another tip: more straps, good; fewer straps, bad. “It’s a sequence of what’s good for you – no strap is the worst thing and the higher the heel, the more straps the better. Mules are the worst.”
So, the on-trend shoe style Nazir would most approve of this season is the 1990s-style, medium-height block heel, ankle-strap sandal. Widely available and very appealing.
The high-heeled platform sandal also gets his endorsement, to a point. “The relative heel height is controlled by the platform, so it can be an ideal two-inch differential, which reduces the pressure on the forefoot. But there is an increased risk of injury from instability,” he notes.
Styles he particularly says to avoid are pointy toes – bunions, ball of foot pain and hammer toes – and sloppy slingbacks. So that’s most of the really fun styles for this season then. But Nazir sees no harm in wearing them occasionally “to go to a restaurant”. Just not to walk around in all day.
When I wore heels before, I’d often wear them for parties, lunches and events, just slipping them on outside the venue, with the trainers or other flats I’d strode along the street in popped into a bag. That’s what we all did, remember? The shoe-change moment.
Will we all revert to doing that again? Perhaps. However we re-embrace heels it’ll be on our own terms, for the occasions, day or evening, when we want that little bit of lift.
Wearing tights with heels
If the shoes don’t have straps, don’t wear tights. Slippery hosiery will make slingbacks fly off. I wear sparkly socks instead; my sandals stay on and it’s a cute, kooky look.
Wearing new shoes in
If they’re not reasonably comfortable in the shop, don’t buy them. Heels aren’t like Birkenstocks and Doc Martens which improve with wear. Get used to new heels by wearing them around the house.
Caring for your heels
Pointy shoes look awful if the toes start to curl up. Foam shoe trees will keep them in shape.
The morning after
If you wake up feeling like your feet have been in the ring with Tyson Fury, stretch your calves, says Nazir. “Wearing heels makes them contract, making the front of your foot more loaded on the ground.”
Which heel with what?
Wear your kitten heels and courts with cropped cigarette-style trousers and midi skirts. Platform sandals look great with all dresses, but especially higher hemlines.
If your feet just say no
There are brands specifically for people who find heels a trial.
The kitten heel
Your entry-level heel, and the 2023 take on the micro stiletto, is comfier than those we wore circa Y2K.
The mid-height slingback
Not too low, not too high, this Goldilocks heel is just right - for pretty much anything.
The platform sandal
A chunky heel, a moderate incline and plenty of straps for support.
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