Are high heels becoming obsolete?

[SlipperOrchid]

I rarely wear anything except flats anymore. It wasn't intentional, simply practical footwear for chasing young children around.

However, more often than not, if I was going out for the evening, I wore mid heels as I felt more 'dressed up' in them. My heels were neither comfortable nor uncomfortable although if I had to choose, I will say the latter as when I got home I kicked them off

My social life has changed from late nigh bars to restaurants and putting on heels to go and sit down with my feet under a table seems bordering on insanity.

Trainers are now more popular than ever. I have over ten pairs and wear them daily apart wearing flat boots when it rains (like today!).

I follow En Brogue and she never wears heels and although I know this started for medical reasons, her choice of flat shoes makes perfect sense for everyone.

At the weekend, I had a great seat by an upstairs window in a coffee shop in a capital city where I spent over an hour people watching. Everyone was wearing flat shoes or trainers. I saw one woman who clumped around rather ungracefully in heeled boots and she stood out quite a lot.

Afterwards | went shoe shopping (for a pair of loafers in Aldo) and noticed for the first time that the section for 'high heels' was tiny.
Am I simply totally unstylish these days? Do many of you still wear heels? Or have heels had their day?

I should add that I under 5ft 3" and always liked feeling taller in heels :).

I work in investment banking.

I never wear heels, I have a work colleague who wears ankle boots with a heel but other than that most of my colleagues wear either brogues or trainers (HCP) heels are no good when you’re on your feet for 9 hours.

Re. the flats being bad for your feet thing, I've discussed this with a couple of podiatrists and the issue is VERY flat shoes like ballet shoes with little support or structure. A decent pair of trainers, brogues, boots are fine.

Good! They're ruinous for your feet.

I really hope that fashion is being influenced by the growing realisation that women are not just there to be decorative. Next on my hope list: pockets in all women's clothes big enough to fit a phone into!

I had a boyfriend about 20 years ago who tried to get me to wear heels. Dumped him pronto.

its all about CC flats now

What are CC flats?

How can people generalise that all heels are dated? There are so many different types! Do you just mean stilettos? Kitten heels are quite in at the moment, and block heels still are. I wear a lot of pencil skirts/dresses to work and they look terrible with flats on me. I'll probably get told the pencil silhouette is dated too

For instance I've got these shoes and these boots which I wear at work atm. The boots feel flat to me.

What do you all wear with skirts? I hate ballerina shoes and need to wear tights so that make sandals a no no.

For example if you are a wedding guest?

At last! I wear heels as little as possible but have succumbed to expectations and worn them sometimes. I've been hoping they'd eventually become less fashionable and disappear for a few decades now

I think heels are still fashionable, especially for dressed up occasions. I always wear flats for work but wouldn't go out in the evening without heels usually or to a wedding etc.

I was having this conversation with a friend the other day!

We are late 20s and have noticed on a couple of nights out that all the teens wear trainers and Vans. They will have nice hair and glam makeup etc but usually jeans and trainers.

10 years ago it was all about the tallest heels on a night out, 99% of girls would be in stilettos and platform heels and usually a tiny dress.

With skirts I wear boots, trainers, sandals, ballet flats (Fitflop brand).

Never understood heels at weddings where you'll be standing a lot or dancing. I wear dressy flats.

Just not interested in being uncomfortable for fashion and never have been.

Although I have noticed a lot of sandal-type heels are popular in high street shops.

I can't wear flats with anything but maxi skirts or trousers though. Chunky calves. I have loads of comfy heels and don't feel dressed up without them. I certainly don't "totter" and I hate it when people say that. Just because you can't walk in heels doesn't mean noone can!

Also, just because something is worn more by over 50s doesn't make it dated! I hate the casual ageism all over MN.

Dd aged 16 and her friends wouldn’t be seen dead in heels. I think they’ve definitely had their day. So bad for your feet too!

Flat shoes are bad for your feet. You should be opting for a very small heel on all your shoes

Even a cursory glance at the human anatomy would show that this is not true. It may be that some people have worn ill fitting shoes for so long that their calf muscles are too tight to wear flat shoes comfortably.

A regime of foot, calf and thigh stretches are one solution, a small feel is another.

To suggest that flat shoes are bad for feet is .., I have no idea where that would come from.

No one wears them where I work, its all trainers and flat boots (regardless of age). I think they are a very dated look for daytime, can still look good for a night out or wedding but more and more people I see wear flats for both now. I haven't worn heels higher than about an inch for years (and I'm over 50).

I think they're definitely less popular now, I very rarely see anyone wearing them in clubs now but I do live in an area where clubs are more low key.

the issue is VERY flat shoes like ballet shoes with little support or structure.

The issue with for example valley flats are that they do not stay on your feet without effort. Starting with your foot flat , move the foot as if to step forward. If the shoe stays in the ground, the way a ballet flat would and a trainer or any lace up does not , then your feet are having to do something to keep them on. Very likely cramping the toes.

I think flats and mid-heels are far more current now for casual/work and going out. I think high heels do look dated and try-hard.

Agree with op re girls wearing vans or trainers with makeup and hair done - I think it's a great look and, with modifications to account for age and bulge, it's style I'm copying from them

My sister works for a yacht company- in the office & at boat shoes they are actually required to wear heels except when they walk onto the boats when they are expected to put on deck shoes instead.

As if "requiring someone to wear heels" doesn't open all sorts of sexist cans of worms anyway, surely this is the last role where anyone should be wearing heels, especially if they then have to change them to, you know, actually do part of their job.

Anyway, I quite like a heel (not the skyscrapers) but we have a set of very dodgy stairs at work and the kitchen and bathroom are down there so I'd be taking my life in my hands if I wore heels. I do wear quite high wedges to work in the summer though.

A friend of mine was still driving in stilettos until about 18 months ago when she had to give up driving for medical reasons.

My teen daughter also wears her Vans or Nike Air Max on nights out.