Do you wear high heels for work?

[grumpyoldmareneedstea]

Partly inspired by the school uniform thread and partly by my binge watching of The Apprentice over the last week.

The female Apprentice candidates all still seem to wear high heels for each challenge (in my straw poll of the last three series). I’m not sure why. It I was quite surprised as I though business wear for women had moved on from this. I’m an HCP so trainers are the show of choice at my work, obviously!

So I’m curious: How many of you still wear heels to work, and those that do, is it a choice or expectation?

(this is not a judgemental thread at all, BTW)

I don't normally. I have a pair of low black heels under my desk that I wear to the very odd meeting. Other than that I wear loafers.

In my job it would be impossible to wear heels, walking boots and trainers all the way!

In my personal life I own just one pair of heels for special dress up occasions. However most of the time I wear either Lanx boots, Nike or Vans or wedges.

Almost all women wear flats in my large corporate, city office. The ones who wear heels tend to be older (over 55 or 60). Its a very dated look, often with the overdressed and over made up combo. Maybe the Apprentice candidates have been told to? No idea why they'd chose to make it harder to run etc and look like they're 20 years out of date otherwise🤔

I wear sketchers because I walk miles every day in my job!

Haven’t for years. And no one else in our office wear them either.

I got rid of all my heels years ago.

I think high heels look silly and old fashioned in the workplace especially.

I just can't go with the idea that I should wear painful shoes that make walking harder just because of the concept that they make women more "attractive" or "professional" .

I do because I love them from an aesthetic point of view!
Mainly desk based job so I’m sitting most of the day. I’m petite so I feel like the extra height gives me a bit more confidence.
I know it’s not current or fashionable but I tend to aim for a (hopefully) timeless and classy look and I feel like they work in that way. I do wear ballet flats also sometimes depending on the outfit.

Court shoes no, although I might for an interview- probably lowish heels though. I have some boots with heels and I do wear those. But mainly flats.

When I started work, back in 1425, it was absolutely normal for all women to wear heels all the time in the sort of office I worked in. Very common to keep a few pairs in the office and commute in trainers though.

I'm mid 40s and I wear a suit and court shoes in the office. This thread has made me feel very out of touch and not fashionable!

Ha, me too @ThirdStorm ! I’m 43 and still love my heels - though even I’m not as committed to them as I used to be. Would be rare for me not to wear them for work though.

No, 100% flats here, but we are smart casual, not business dress. I have a pair of wedges, a pair of kitten heel slingbacks and some heeled boots but all only about 2" and never worn to work (rarely worn at all). Haven't had any properly high shoes for at least 20 years, or courts of any description. Courts we completely normal in my early office days though (late 80s early 90s).

Almost all women wear flats in my large corporate, city office. The ones who wear heels tend to be older (over 55 or 60). Its a very dated look, often with the overdressed and over made up combo. Maybe the Apprentice candidates have been told to? No idea why they'd chose to make it harder to run etc and look like they're 20 years out of date otherwise🤔

But surely the TV show can’t dictate that women wear heels. That’s discriminatory, surely? I like that they tend more towards lovely colourful suits rather than dresses, but the heels make no sense to me at all.

I have a very petite relative in her 30s who wears heels regularly when going out, but that’s because she likes to look taller. If someone feels good and comfortable in them then great, but the expectation that women wear them seems to sit firmly in the 80s and 90s!

I do, by choice. Either heels or ballet flats but definitely heels for important meetings, meeting clients, senior management etc or for events. Late 40s working in a corporate environment. It’s not expected that we wear heels but I do feel the dress standards have declined significantly since Covid and I do judge people who turn up looking too casual, both women and men. I have been known to have a word with junior team members who have turned up in leggings, puffa vests, t shirts and so on. I have also found there is a correlation between those who can be bothered to put effort into dressing nicely and high performance in terms of the actual job, am sure people will disagree with this but that’s been my observation by and large, obviously with some exceptions.

No, it would be in breach of h&s.

I don't wear them outside of work either. They feel really dated, as well as uncomfortable. I'm mid-40's and tall-ish (5'8"), if that matters.

I wear flats unless we’re going to a very smart lunch or something. Before Covid they were smart, black, since Covid the dress code has relaxed considerably and it’s often converse.

Yeah, but they're under my beautiful, bigly desk so you can't see 'em.

I don’t wear them and no other women in my office do. I don’t see heels at any work events or bigger meetings either. Everyone wears flats (often trainers day to day) and I have some nice brogues and loafers when I need to look smart. If a man can look smart in flats then I can too.

Definitely not! I still own some and might depending on the occasion but I wear gold ‘smart’ trainers most days with an arch support in for comfort. I don’t think the company dress code has changed but things have naturally shifted since covid. Some people do wear posher shoes but I would agree it isn’t the younger crowd.

Christ no. I reckon I last wore them in about 2012, for a client meeting? I'm 44 and have worked in corporate since 2007. I mean I might wear boots with a bit of a heel in winter, but never a spindly or high heel. I tend to wear slim profile trainers (not chunky) or ballet pumps in summer.

I actually walked to work behind a woman in her 60's-ish wearing high heeled court shoes the other day, and thought how old fashioned it looked. But I also saw a very fashionably dressed young woman wearing kitten heels recently, clearly on her way to work in the City, so I guess they're coming back again in another guise.

Out of curiosity, do you have a dress code?

No. Smart trainers.

Only the Stepford wife HR team wear heels in our company. They look really old fashioned.

No and I’m thankful everyday my work is not conducive to heels. My feet are problematic altho so far my surgery from 2012 is still holding but if I wore heels they would be literally ruined. I do wear them occasionally for a wedding or special event but they are comfortable from the get go with an appropriate fitting toe box and typically a block heel of modest height.
always notice when Telly shows women walking in a city with heels or really high heels in the workplace…like DWP or the John and Carolyn Kennedy story. Exposed feet on Carolyn in dirty New York is appalling.

I’ve always been a kitten heel fan, as the styles can be a bit edgier. By design, KHs are low so should really be comfy. I don’t own any at the moment but would consider in future if I find a par I like.

I've always found kitten heels tricky to walk in - they're not flat so you can't walk comfortably like in flat shoes, but they're also not high enough that you adjust your stride for heels. They're just tottery. I'm more likely to go over on my ankle in kitten heels than a proper heel. Never been a fan!