Kathryn K. Zarella is the fashion editor of OFF DUTY, the lifestyle supplement of the Wall Street Journal
“Abandon my high heels? Never!”, that’s what I announced above the pages of this newspaper in 2018. But apparently I’m not good at fortune telling, because I haven’t been able to wear high heels for several months now. About 30 pairs of heels will gather dust for the foreseeable future, which is especially annoying because heels are officially “back in a big way,” says Will Cooper, vice president of womenswear, bags and accessories at Saks Fifth Avenue. My spine started to hurt and it would have to be surgically repaired. When the doctors told me that high heels would not help my medical condition, meaning that I should not wear them at all, I burst into tears in the doctor’s office. A very embarrassing situation.
In the last decade, fashion critics praised the flat shoes, claiming that their role was to free women from oppressive heels. But I never thought high heels were oppressive. Of course, these aren’t the healthiest shoes, but wine isn’t the healthiest drink either and a lot of people who wear sneakers drink it. In the last 15 years, high heels with a height of 10 cm or more have become an integral part of my personal and professional persona. I’ve worn them in the office, on the subway, at events and even during closings. So giving them up isn’t just hard – it’s shocking.
● Frit clothing every man must have in his wardrobe this winter
● The branded bags are out, the simple bags are not in: the hot trend of winter 2023
● The warm male clothing item of the coming winter: how to wear a golf shirt correctly?
Walking on a flat can be scary
Maika Hemphill, 38, works in financial trading in San Francisco, and thinks like me. When she lived in New York about a decade ago, she wore high heels, five or six times a week, and accumulated an impressive wardrobe, not to mention the wardrobe. However, 10 years ago she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The level of pain “goes up and down”, she says, and sometimes does not allow her to wear shoes that are not flat. She avoids wearing many of her favorite clothes, because she says flat shoes don’t do them any favors. “I don’t know who I am,” she says. “It sounds superficial, but the existence of the disease in any case disrupts your identity. Wearing sneakers in addition to that, is another little arrow in my heart.”
The fear of wearing shoes without heels is not superficial. “The fact that you need to change the way you look, due to medical reasons or any other reason, also affects the way you perceive yourself,” says British psychologist Carolyn Meir.
Give up the heels
So what do you do when a significant part of your identity is erased? There are many ways to cope, depending on the height of the heels you used to wear. A tailor may shorten your skirts and long pants. It is also possible to reinvent the style of clothing.
Leslie Payne, 50, a San Francisco-based startup CEO consultant, ditched heels after the lockdowns. “Corona destroyed me,” she said. “My feet just couldn’t take it.” Before the pandemic, she wore heels to business meetings, and not Only because they gave Payne, who is about 162 cm tall, what Dr. Meir calls “equal height” – a similar status to her male colleagues, both physically and psychologically. “High heels are a kind of statement of power. It’s your look and you’re taking ownership of your femininity,” says Payne. Recently, she’s restored the confidence her heels gave her with accessories (like statement earrings and a diamond pendant) and sneakers that can’t be missed. If you’re mourning the loss of your heels, her advice is to “Ask yourself why they were important to you” and then you’ll find something to fill that void, whether it’s a belt, bag or jewelry.
Salvatore Ferragamo boat shoes / Photo: Reuters
What shoes can replace the heels?
“Consider replacing heels with moccasins,” says Will Cooper. “Now is their season.” Besides, thick-soled moccasins “give a little more height and make you feel well-dressed,” just like heels, he emphasizes. Cooper thinks moccasins should be worn with sophisticated socks, such as fishnet tights or embellished socks. If you prefer the elegant look, stylist Rachel Wang from New York recommends smooth shoes, such as ballet shoes with a pointed toe. They are especially suitable for trousers with a flared cut. The illusion of height, says Wang, will be given by a performance consisting of flat shoes and solid-colored clothing. “Color, from head to toe, makes the silhouette look longer,” she clarifies.
The history of high heels
Many women’s attraction to high heels stems from their connection to femininity. In Western Europe high heels were initially worn by men. Later they were adopted by women in an attempt to imitate the male wardrobe. In the middle of the 17th century, shoes became gendered, says Elizabeth Smelhak, director and senior curator at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada. “Until the end of the 17th century, the heels were meant to hide the woman’s foot under the dress to make her look very small,” says Smelhak. If we skip to the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, “in advertisements intended for the male audience, women wore high heels.” By the 1950s, “this idea that heels are not only feminine, but associated with sexual and desirable femininity was already established.”
Military style shoes / Photo: Wikipedia
The effects of shoes on health
In most cases, high heels don’t cause a bunion or arch, says Holly Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York who specializes in the foot and ankle. However, they can make existing problems worse. “What I tell patients is If they can carry the high heels, then everything is fine. If it hurts, it’s obviously a bad sign. Just be attentive to your body,” she advises.
Johnson served as a consultant to Nelly Kim, 45, when she designed her flat shoe collection. Kim founded “Raden” in 2021, after suffering from neuropathy, which erupted after the chemotherapy treatments against cancer she underwent. Kim lived in high heels until she was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. “When I went back to work, I was ready to wear my old shoes. But they hurt so much, I couldn’t.” Since then she has adopted the flat shoes, and also a new approach: in the past high heels were her “wow factor”, but now “the ability to move freely, in flat shoes, really gives a powerful feeling”.
I can relate to that. Now I sometimes use a cane, and it’s easier for me to walk around in military style boots and ballet flats than in 6″ platform shoes. I was told I could go back to platform shoes after surgery, and I probably will, but my new flats will last a long time .