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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not understand why some women wear heels when they can't walk in them?

70 replies

DearJohnLoveSavannah · 17/04/2013 23:18

I can wear and walk in heels, although I have t draw the line at anything above 5" because I know I'd struggle.

Tonight I went out to dinner, was sat right next to the window - so obviously people watching. One woman walked by wearing average sized heels - doing the walk where your bum sticks out because you just can't walk in heels.

Aibu to not understand why some women do this?

OP posts:
GingerBlondecat · 17/04/2013 23:20

^^ I do that. hence why I do NOT wear heals Grin

TigerSwallowtail · 17/04/2013 23:22

I'd love to be able to walk in heels. I can't though so don't.

BlackeyedSusan · 17/04/2013 23:25

perhaps they think it makes them look good/tall/sexy or they wear them to feel good/desirable/sexy/taller.

i am firmly of the sensible shoes camp. too much of a wimp to suffer any discomfort in the feet for the sake of fashion.

elQuintoConyo · 17/04/2013 23:29

I think it's also posture as well as knowing how to walk in 3-4-5" I have some 3" sandals that I can't wear as my back is buggered after having ds. Pre-ds I could wear them with grace and ease and run for the bus, now: hippo in iceskates Hmm

somedayma · 17/04/2013 23:31

maybe they think heels look nice? maybe they feel a bit more dressed up/sexy with heels on? I rarely wear heels even though I have dozens of gorgeous pairs because I'm worried someone like you will be laughing at me

SirBoobAlot · 17/04/2013 23:33

One of the wonderful things about being on walking sticks if that if I brave it out in heels (very rarely), I have something to lean on, AND to blame if I wobble. Grin

eachtigertires · 17/04/2013 23:34

Because if you're really short like me, sometimes it's nice to have a conversation with someone without getting a crick in your neck

SquirrelNuts · 17/04/2013 23:34

I think its purely for the entertainment of mumsnetters. My DP would tell me if i looked ridiculous, hes nice like that Hmm
I am usually in my pumps that are awful for you're feet, if i go out i tend to wear heels but i spend the day before practising walking in them.
Changing the subject slightly i just gave loads of shoes too charity because my feet have grown since having DCs Sad

eachtigertires · 17/04/2013 23:35

Standing up I mean, for sitting down I recommend booster seats

pumpkinsweetie · 17/04/2013 23:36

I cant walk in them, my feet just aren't made for heels, god made me to wear trainers.
Although i do make an effort to occasionally wear them for dh to look sexy and for meals, nights out, because i can hardly wear trainers on those occasions.
Pumps are even worse than heels, they rip my ankles apart and cause me to blister.

SacreBlue · 17/04/2013 23:37

YANBU (but I might be at having tiny snigger when I see girls walking like they are John Wayne. I went to fashion show 2yrs ago and even some of the models clearly couldn't walk in heels (or long dresses) - surely a basic skill a catwalk model should possess if not us regular girlies

Somethingtothinkabout · 17/04/2013 23:38

I totally agree. They may feel like they look sexier, but they'd actually look much better if they were able to stand up straight and not walk cent legged, IMO.

After years of ballet (and painful practise) I am very grateful I can walk in high heels comfortably, but over 5inches I can't, so I don't plus I think they look like hooves when they're too high

I get that some people buy heels for sitting only, but you have to walk to the table/bar at one point, and look silly.

WafflyVersatile · 17/04/2013 23:45

you probably shouldn't buy these then, somethingtothinkabout

www.punitiveshoes.com/database/ballets/img_catalogo/ph_rancho.jpg

Original poster
DearJohnLoveSavannah · 17/04/2013 23:50

because I'm worried someone like you will be laughing at me

Someone like me? You make me sound like a monster.

I wouldn't laugh at anyone.

But you honestly wouldn't be thinking why the hell has she worn those after watching this - ??

OP posts:
picnicbasketcase · 17/04/2013 23:54

I have one pair of heels I can walk properly in without looking like a constipated duck, and thats only because they're kind of cushioned inside. Otherwise I just can't get the hang of it. Are you meant to walk on the flat bit of your foot or go heel, toe? Because both look wrong when I do it. It makes me a bit sad actually, I think I'm missing some kind of girl heel intuition or something.

somedayma · 17/04/2013 23:54

sorry I didn't mean to sound so dramatic! I love high heels and feel really hot in them but I'm paranoid that people think I look like a dick in them!

ZZZenagain · 17/04/2013 23:54

I don't know why women don't practise at home till they can do it. It doesn't look great if you are hobbling along in shoes that might look good on your feet but not in motion.

I had the impression when I was in Venezuela that every woman in Caracas can not only walk in very high heels (without lookng ridiculous) but even run or clean in them. I think it is to do with the hip movement. I can walk in them but not if they are excessively high. In that case I can't even stand in them!

A lot of places are really inconvenient for heels - lots of cobble stoned streets near where I live, they are shoe wreckers.

SacreBlue · 18/04/2013 00:00

ZZZ think that's true. I was wearing really high heels from don't want to put how young age and could have spent all day happily in them. Not so much these days Grin but you would think a bit of practise was in order..

Original poster
DearJohnLoveSavannah · 18/04/2013 00:03

my feet have grown since having DCs

Is that really one of the side effects of having children Shock

OP posts:
TheCraicDealer · 18/04/2013 00:08

That thing about the hip movement makes sense, rhythm and all that. I find it hard to walk in heels and can't dance for shit. Working hypothesis is "if you can't dance, you can't walk in heels".

SummerRainIsADistantMemory · 18/04/2013 00:31

I actually walk better in heels, but they have to be well balanced. If I'm not supported I look like the girl in the video. But I'd never leave the shoe shop in a pair that did that so I'm safe Grin

It's all in the ass, if you concentrate on your feet you wobble, you have to walk from the hips.

And yes, my middle child sent me up a shoe size (and gave me fat fingers so now none of my rings fit Sad)

Startail · 18/04/2013 00:37

I don't know why anyone wears heels. They are sexist instruments of torture.

Why the hell does any woman want to walk with her arse sticking out like a demented barbie doll.

MacaYoniAndCheese · 18/04/2013 00:43

I don't know either Confused. I never wear them because I feel like a little girl playing dress-up...or a drag queen and because they look bloody awful on my chunky legs but I can appreciate the artistry inherent in a tall, willowy, leggy type in a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choos.

What I really don't get is moms that wobble around in them with small children in tow. Just...how? I can barely keep pace with the DCs in sneakers/Birkenstocks.

beals692 · 18/04/2013 01:04

I've not even thought about what my posture's like in heels and am now paranoid that I'm one of the bum-sticking out people that the OP is talking about. Blush

Startail · 18/04/2013 01:59

Or ruin their smart suited work attire by having heels covered in sticking plasters.

Sorry, but the high powered in command, business woman goes out the window if you haven't the sense to wear shoes you can actually work in. You look like a dippy student on works experience.

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