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Original poster

Ridiculously high heels - Apprentice Final Four

427 replies

axolotlfloof · 18/03/2022 22:28

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
montysma1 · 18/03/2022 23:44

Or me

nokidshere · 18/03/2022 23:45

As a short person I loved high heels, though probably not as high as theirs, I liked feeling taller. Sadly it's many years since I've worn any due to RA but I definitely would if I could.

TheMoth · 18/03/2022 23:45

I've taught careers stuff as part of pshe to years from 7-13 over the years. I have never had to teach them what to wear- other than to warn kids that school uniform rules sometimes aren't as draconian as they think.

One school I worked in put high high heels on the banned list of the teacher dress code. I do admit to liking how heels make me look though.

Thoosa · 18/03/2022 23:45

@Jaffapaffa

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've objected several times, but have been told that it's not optional.

I'm really not comfortable with this at all.

But yes, apparently there's still a school of thought that says women must wear heels to be successful - hence their appearance in The Apprentice, I suppose.

Is it an academy with a business specialism?

One of mine won a selective place to a state school like that in SW London, but the “business curriculum” made us rule it out quite quickly once we had fuller details.

I believe you. Some strange shit goes on in academies. The autonomy sometimes goes to heads, as it were.

Quirkyme · 18/03/2022 23:49

@Lockeddownagain

I get a shock when I see people wearing heels why would you do that to yourself. I watched the fi Al four programme and they was a caveat at the end saying the four women are firm friends and then 10mi uses about why they liked 3ach other there is no way they'd have done that with they were men. And the dresses and skinny women with so much make up and high heels was quite depressing really
Agree. I noticed that Sugar kept asking "tell me why you're better than her" continuously, despite the fact that they weren't taking the bait and throwing the other women under the bus.

I also feel that he would not have asked the question if it was men he was talking to.
Note how if he does ask men a question it's often "why do you think you should stay" not "why are you better than him"

He's ridiculous.

trainnane · 18/03/2022 23:52

@Jaffapaffa

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've objected several times, but have been told that it's not optional.

I'm really not comfortable with this at all.

But yes, apparently there's still a school of thought that says women must wear heels to be successful - hence their appearance in The Apprentice, I suppose.

I've been told that that is the case in law circles. I once asked why female solicitors & barristers wore high heels. Power & credibility heels... I was told 30 years ago that no one would take me seriously if I wore flat shoes in a mgt job.. but I was on my feet for 10 hours a shift
Gingerkittykat · 18/03/2022 23:54

@WhatTheWhoTheWhatThe

It’s a shame Shama had to quit she was about the only woman on there this year that I could take seriously. I also thought the business plans this year were pretty uninspiring!
I liked Shama and Amy for being outside of that cookie cutter Apprentice mode, but don't think Amy performed well on tasks.

Neither of the final two have inspiring business plans. Dessert shops are everywhere so nothing groundbreaking about them and the pyjama firm is pretty boring.

I also have no idea how the business plans for protein water and Stephanie who had sold 60 items of designer kids second hand clothes got onto the series.

TheAbbotOfUnreason · 18/03/2022 23:56

@Jaffapaffa

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've objected several times, but have been told that it's not optional.

I'm really not comfortable with this at all.

But yes, apparently there's still a school of thought that says women must wear heels to be successful - hence their appearance in The Apprentice, I suppose.

That’s sexist misogynistic rubbish (as you already know).

I was a female site engineer so safety boots on site and sensible shoes in the office.

Female friend who earns gazillions in finance never wears heels.

Svalberg · 18/03/2022 23:59

@Jaffapaffa

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've objected several times, but have been told that it's not optional.

I'm really not comfortable with this at all.

But yes, apparently there's still a school of thought that says women must wear heels to be successful - hence their appearance in The Apprentice, I suppose.

I'd get sacked if I wore heels to work! H&S, steel toecap & midsoles or composite safety shoes. And as the offices are up external staircases made of metal grids with holes, the office workers don't wear them either. I've never in my working life worn heels, can't remember any of my coworkers wearing them either.
Appliancedesparation · 19/03/2022 00:00

YANBU, almost all the female candidates have been the same this series. I think they look really dated.
Their business ideas are rubbish too!

TheAbbotOfUnreason · 19/03/2022 00:05

@nancy75

My favourite part is when the get the early morning phone call saying you’re going to x the car will be here in half an hour & they all get out of bed & get ready. Like hell do those women get ready in 30 minutes!
The cars will be their in 30 minutes - but will be waiting an hour or so (at least) for everyone to be ready.
HollowTalk · 19/03/2022 00:17

@Jaffapaffa

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've objected several times, but have been told that it's not optional.

I'm really not comfortable with this at all.

But yes, apparently there's still a school of thought that says women must wear heels to be successful - hence their appearance in The Apprentice, I suppose.

Who has told you that? Can they point to the part of the curriculum that it relates to?
DahliaMacNamara · 19/03/2022 00:19

The heels and identikit outfits are ridiculous, but what really worries me about the early morning phone calls is the effect on their bowels. So much pressure to perform on schedule as well as get all the slap, hair and eyelashes sorted. Nightmare.

raffle · 19/03/2022 00:21

Why did the camera have to pan onto their shoes though? So irrelevant!

Bobodebo · 19/03/2022 00:23

They look really out of date, it’s embarrassing. I turned it on and thought it was a repeat from years ago!

Cringe

Bobodebo · 19/03/2022 00:26

Oh and the leadership style is out of date too

We know that positional power doesn’t get you very far in business. Collaboration is much better for business.

Well out of date

SouthOfFrance · 19/03/2022 00:31

The whole show is really dated. The way they speak to people in the interview round is just such an aggressive parody of itself now.

The show really seems completely out of touch, and nowhere is this more evident than in what the women wear which is so off trend and dated.

The high heels this week were laughable, even Karen Brady's outfit just looked like she'd come in to film wearing flats & then someone had made her wear heals at the last minute, they just didn't go with the rest of her outfit at all.

Ionlydomassiveones · 19/03/2022 00:41

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Shiloh139 · 19/03/2022 00:46

@Jaffapaffa

If this has been said to you by someone senior to you in a 'this is school policy' way as opposed to expressing their opinion (hopefully an inaccurate one but we all know the world isn't necessarily fair) that this is how to succeed, then I think it's actually a breach of sex discrimination laws:

www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/world/europe/high-heels-british-inquiry-dress-codes-women.amp.html (sorry, I can't remember how to do tidy links). The commission concluded that the firm in question had broken the law. You should bring this case, and Google the BA Air hostess one from about 2017 to the attention of the school board and double check if they're standing by the requirement for you to wear heels. Good luck, please don't give in to this.

Procrastination4 · 19/03/2022 00:58

[quote BigButtons]@Jaffapaffa at my kids’ secondary school ( state) the girls have not been allowed to wear skirts for a good few years now. The school decided they wore their skirts too high and made them wear trousers. I find that equally as awful as it is still dictating what young women should wear. The boys were left to get on with things as usual.[/quote]
But I suppose that the boys have to wear school trousers rather than, say, track ends, which would probably have been their choice. And if all pupils are wearing trousers it makes things more equal in a way. For years girls in my own school wanted to wear trousers rather than skirts. They’d have been very happy with your children’s school set up!
As for The Apprentice this year, it was a case of identikit contestants in the main, both male and female. There wasn’t a single stand out likeable or impressive character among the lot of them. Other years I’d have been rooting for a couple of them. This year, I couldn’t care less about them.

LadyinRead · 19/03/2022 01:01

Very dated now. Wearing heels shows your age.
Not to mention looking completely ridiculous!

Joystir59 · 19/03/2022 03:03

I can't stand Alan Sugar, or his crummy jokes or the way the experts fake laugh at them. It's an awful sham of a programme but very entertaining.

Joystir59 · 19/03/2022 03:04

And the women look ridiculous.

ouch321 · 19/03/2022 03:37

I've never worn heels to work even though I worse suits and blouses for years.

In warmer weather I'd wear ballet flats.

In colder weather I'd wear flat ankle boots.

Covid has accelerated the casualisation of work clothes.

VenezuelaChant · 19/03/2022 03:47

It's been years since I last watched TA but I caught the interview episode this week. I was also surprised by the high heels, heavy make-up and cinched dresses. Fake hair(?) and false eyelashes, too. For some unknown reason, the camera made a point of illustrating all of it in weird male-gazey angles.

It was incredibly jarring to watch, especially after the upward trend for casualwear over the pandemic. Increasing numbers of women have said no to the normalisation of torture-device heels and skin-suffocating make-up, so to see this strange parade of corporate-femininity in order to impress at an interview... It looked like something more akin to Love Island than the boardroom. Frankly, it's an outdated and alien aesthetic as the existence of this thread proves and that's a good thing. Long may the trend toward women's comfort and dignity continue.