Ridiculously high heels - Apprentice Final Four

[axolotlfloof]

Just watching this week's episode.
Really pleased to see 4 women in the final, but why the heels?
Even Karen is wearing them.
They are bad for your feet, balance and just ridiculous.
My Mum's feet were destroyed by heels in the 60s, and I prioritise walking over heels.
Aibu?

I've been told today that I have to teach my class (Y8) that heels are part of a work wardrobe for women, and that if you want to succeed, it's essential to wear them

I must say, if my child were taught this, I think I'd be complaining to the school.

I've been told today that I have to teach my class (Y8) that heels are part of a work wardrobe for women, and that if you want to succeed, it's essential to wear them

I can't imagine that happening.

[quote axolotlfloof]@Iamthewombat
Here is my OP
Just watching this week's episode.
Really pleased to see 4 women in the final, but why the heels?
Even Karen is wearing them.
They are bad for your feet, balance and just ridiculous.
My Mum's feet were destroyed by heels in the 60s, and I prioritise walking over heels.
Aibu?
You think Iabu.
I think women don't need to dress like that and it's bad for feet.
It's all in my OP so I don't know what your argument is.[/quote]
Straight afterwards you whole-heartedly agreed with someone who opined that heels and ‘trowelled on make up’ were ‘so sad’. Then you said this:

High heels make women more helpless.

“My 29 yr old DD roars with laughter at The Apprentice, the time frame in the morning etc“

I think it’s meant to be a part-comedy?

And yes - the timescales in the morning. What’s that about? Somebody half-dressed and half-asleep running down to answer the phone - “A car will be there in 20 minutes....” Then they all step out having clearly been in hair and make up for hours.

They don’t select people with ‘business acumen.’ They just select particularly opinionated people who will not be afraid to make a fool of themselves.

[quote EthelTheAardvark]@Iamthewombat, at the point I posted I had no idea whether you wore heels or not.

Is there any need to use quite such an unpleasant tone?[/quote]
Try to read threads before jumping in with misplaced remarks. You’re offended because you feel silly. That doesn’t make the person on the other side of the discussion ‘unpleasant’.

If you want unpleasant, find the post where someone opined that heels make the wearer look ‘cheap’. Or that the Apprentice contestants’ make up is ‘trowelled on’. Or that their eyebrows are ridiculous.

@Piggy666

My 29 yr old DD roars with laughter at The Apprentice, the time frame in the morning etc We were wondering about the 'dress code' as they all looked really uncomfortable And as for that odious little turd Lord Sugar...well...🤷‍♀️

Roars with laughter, how odd.

@Thoosa

The Daily Heil has a strict photo policy whereby they do not allow women to be photographed in trousers - skirts or dresses only. Another reason never to give the hideous rant rag brain space.

As for the Apprentice- completely agree with everyone saying it’s shameful and sexist. And it will definitely be a decision by the programme makers that they dress like that - wardrobe will likely be provided, and at the least stipulated. No idea what the executive producers are thinking, let alone the BBC commissioners. Disgraceful.

When I was a senior nurse at BUPA years ago, we had to wear grewy dresses with a silver buckle belt, a hat that took about 5 hours to starch and iron and pink high heeled court shoes.
They were not massively high but even so!
Can you imagine that today. Went back there recently for a look round - it's Spire now and all the nurses were in ill fitting pyjamas (scrubs).

Grey not grewy.

@Iamthewombat
Absolutely.
If you read the whole post it is about safety and lone working. Dressing practically in these environments is safer. Even though being professional is important.
Our lone working guidelines are to leave if you feel unsafe. I can leave a property quicker is soft flat shoes than I would be able to in heels.
This is the context of the out of context statement you have quoted.

It’s just gives more insight into your thought processes OP.

Heels bad, helpless women, shouldn’t dress like this, troweling make-up on, heels like smoking!

Re-read this. Seriously.

So being professional is important then, you agree?

So Does that means heels are, or aren’t professional?

The contestants are obviously told what to wear. Just look at the scene where the fired candidate goes off in a taxi - always in a big coat and scarf, regardless of the weather, presumably to give to impression of being 'out in the cold'.

That is so true. And they always leave with just a small aircraft cabin size wheeled case which would hardly fit clothes for a day, let alone a 12 week 'process'.

No one thinks wearing heels are a way to get on in business.

Apart from the other teachers at Jaffapaffa's school!

BlueBellsArePretty Thanks for that photo. I've watched The Apprentice since the first series but I hadn't registered how different the candidates (men and women) look now compared to when it first started.

Of course The Apprentice is entertainment but it is is still legitimate to ask what messages the candidates' appearance sends to viewers about men's and women's roles at work. This is not the same as making personal comments about how someone chooses to dress (or are told to dress by the TV production team).

Very few posts on this thread came across to me as unkind or seeking to impose posters' own viewpoints on other women. A large number differentiate between women choosing to wear heels at work and being told they they have to wear heels like Bigpantsaretheway's friend's daughter. It's legitimate to point out that women in this position may have more problems with their feet in later life compared with other women who could choose their footwear at work.

What personal attack was on here, other than telling the OP to work on making cogent arguments, in the same way she says the Apprentice contestants should work on their business plan?

How is that a personal attack?

I haven't seen the programme for several years, but back then the candidates were largely uneducated. Is that still the case ? It seemed a bad role model for aspiration/success in life.

I've been told today that I have to teach my class (Y8) that heels are part of a work wardrobe for women, and that if you want to succeed, it's essential to wear them.

WTAF? That's outrageous.

It's also bollocks. None of the women where I work wear high heels, most are in flats and a few in low heels. I've never seen a female consultant in high heels and most of them women I know working in law go for them, either.

And what if the girls want to be steeplejacks, mechanics or tree surgeons?

There are women on here saying the apprentice women are being pimped out, with vile misogynistic comments rife, insulting them for their looks, but the Moderators remove a post which tells the OP to make a better argument?!

Dear God mumsnet!

@Cerealnamechangerer

I think this thread shows feminism is completely dead on Mumsnet. Women can wear what they want to wear. They shouldn't be called grotesque and ridiculous, or have their intelligence called into question because they're wearing heels and make up. You keep on holding up the patriarchy. I wouldn't wear it but they can if they want. The idea that shama would have had more to offer because she was dressed modestly is sexist as hell.

By all means criticise them for their poor performance, or their terrible business plans, or boring business ideas. But none of that is relevant to what they are wearing.

I don't necessarily believe they are wearing what they want though. I think it's more likely that they have been dressed by a wardrobe dept who have styled them as barbies.

Women should and do wear what they want. It's pretending that you need to wear a tight dress and heels to get on as a woman that's offensive and sexist.

Especially when you think about why the producers would want this.

@Peasock as is your reply 😁

@Dagnabit

To be fair, they only wear those heels to walk across to Lord Sugar - a feat in itself! After that, they change into flats to do the actual task.

No, there've been plenty of times when they're shown running down the street during a task wearing dresses and high heels.

My daughter and two of her friends are junior solicitors and have a capsule wardrobe of Hobb dresses and a few separates. Smart shoes are also required but there's absolutely no rules re high heels.
Competitive work places are so difficult for young women and if you can't negotiate whether you wear crippling footwear you won't get far. It also promotes a bizarre idea that all top jobs are sit down roles behind a desk.

@VladmirsPoutine

I think for the show they do have to dress a certain way. If you look at it it's almost like a satire of the business world. Even when you see some of the 'challenges' they do - it's pretty much all orchestrated. The business world itself doesn't even function how it's portrayed on TV.

Yep, nail on head. It's all controlled by the producers. Right from the ridiculous "wake up, we're leaving in 30 mins" at the crack of dawn nonsense (probably filmed the day before), through to the boardroom. I'd love to see a fly on the wall documentary (or read a whistle blower book) to find out the truth about it all.

Karren Brady reminded me of a Thunderbird on this weeks episode. She just looks so uncomfortable standing there, probably inwardly cringing as well

[quote Piggy666]@Peasock as is your reply 😁[/quote]
Far odder for a woman who is nearly 30 to sit and watch a programme they evidently feel superior to just to actually roar with laughter at things that aren't funny .

They wear a coat and scarf in the taxi as those bits are all filmed at the start and for continuity purposes it then doesn't matter what they're wearing when they're fired as you can't see what they were wearing under the coat when that bit was filmed. They also get an allowance but buy their own clothes- these things have been spoken about by previous contestants.

I've been told today that I have to teach my class (Y8) that heels are part of a work wardrobe for women, and that if you want to succeed, it's essential to wear them

Discuss. Are you sure you haven’t been told to use this as a good way to open up a spirited debate in class?

@Peasock she laughs at the ridiculous timescale due to the fact that they look so polished and that it would take them, in her opinion, far longer to get ready than the time stated... you're very invested in my Daughters sense of humour aren't you?