Do I just accept I can't walk in high heels?

[Nakedavenger74]

I have so many beautiful heels but I'm resigned to only walking in them slowly on carpet at work. Any sign of a tile or pavement and I turn into a teetering newborn giraffe.

What is wrong with me? I walked to work the other day in flat boots and I skidded across a wet wooden boardwalk while a woman coming towards me in sky high heels strode past me solid as a rock!

If I wear heels outside I feel like I'm going to break an ankle any moment and have to walk at a snails pace. Heels end up stuck in pavement grooves, the slightest down slope causes major anxiety. Yet I watched a woman crossing a cobbled street without even looking where she was going.

I've dislocated my ankle about 4 times which I think makes me more cautious. Am I just too anxious for heels? Am I doing something wrong? Is it just that some people aren't built or set up for a heel?

These aren't stilettos btw. Mainly medium high kitten type heels

I pretty much live in flats these days but if you do want to learn I’d say

A) it’s less about heel height and more about the balance of the shoe (my five inch dance shoes are easier to walk in then my two inch work appropriate shoes)

B) (out there suggestion) try and find a pole school that offers sexy style and pay for a private session focusing on walking in heels. I imagine other dance schools might be able to do the same thing but I wouldn’t know what style to start with, maybe ballroom?

I think most heels look grim- I never wear them and it is something I associate with mumwear from the 1970s.

I go over on me ankle in flats let alone heels!

Gone are the days of high shoes for me, comfort all the way.. Oh my god I sound old!

DP prances like a mountain lion over a rocky outcrop

He must be related to mine

@nakedavenger
Oh dear hun, I feel for you, must be a bit frustrating!
If you wear them at work do you change before going out at lunchtime or keep your work heels on? Just wondering if you could gradually increase your "range" and confidence walking around somewhere you know well? unless of course your workplace is hazardous!

Kitten heels are hard to walk in because there's no back support.

Sounds like you live in more of a Goretex spot anyway op.

I also can’t wear heels any more apart from Vionic heels. I feel pretty stable in these and can walk around in them. I’ve just bought some M&S wedge espadrilles and have realised they’re too uncomfortable and although they look gorgeous I just want wear them. For everyday I live in Fitflops horrible wide feet and really painful Corns in between my toes.
Gawd, I sound like an old Granny 😳

I used to wear heels all the time, and could even run in them! And I am very far from the world's least clumsy person.

I wouldn't advise anyone who feels a bit anxious about it to start with really high stilettoes. Maybe work up to it - start with lighter weight, semi-high shoes with a bit of flex to them and a really chunky heel and work up to a narrower and narrower heel. (Kitten heels are nearly as hard as stilettoes, they are not a 'beginner heel')

I also think there's a kind of subconscious thing to wearing heels - I'm struggling to describe this a bit, but it's like you kind of tense your foot to keep the shoe on and in place.

All that said, there are heels that are just AGONY to wear - just really horrible, badly made shoes that do nothing but hurt.

I can't do it - tall with big wide feet. I've never even tried proper high stilettos as I've never been able to get any on, but even wedge heels and block heels make me walk like a baby horse who's desperate for a wee.

I once actually fell over - properly flat on my face - on a damp floor, in Greggs of all places, wearing nothing more than approx 2 inch block heeled boots.

I have no idea how people stride around or run in high heels. It's worth trying the tips here but rest assured if you can't manage it you're not the only one.

I do have some very funky flats and still enjoy shoe shopping. I also like the way trainers are becoming more and more a thing you can wear with a dress, suit etc (in some situations anyway).

Doing Pilates for the last year has meant I feel more stable altogether and heels are easier to wear. Fwiw I'm a flats person all the way and only have a handful of heeled shoes (none of which are stilettos), but since discovering this unexpected side effect of improved core strength I've been wearing them more.

There are some brands which are known for being comfortable and easy to wear (Chie Mihara, Tracey Neuls) but they're £££.

Like Catinthecorner said it's about the balance of the heel (and support of the shoe) more than height. Well-fitting heeled boots, wedges or clogs will always feel more supportive than flimsy shoes where the parts move independently of each other.

who I used to wear heels a lot, I sort of bluffed it by walking on my toes.

So my heels did not really touch the ground, I think I walk/run naturally like that any way.

You are probably a proper walker, and roll your foot down from heel to toe, how you're supposed to. But rolling the foot heel to toe is tough in heels!

On holiday last year we watched a woman 'walking' on cobbles wearing 4 inch stilettos. They were literally at 45degrees dug into the edges of the cobbles each step and she looked horrendously uncomfortable as well as a bit ridiculous tbh.

We were in Prague during the winter so it was slippery underfoot, I was amazed by Czech women wearing high heels over slippery cobblestone roads, complete with tram rails.