High heels completely eradicated from central London

[TheOGCCL]

I was in central London yesterday at lunchtime observing the office workers getting lunch. And not a single non flat shoe to be seen. Mostly the trainer and dress combo (all sorts of dresses and all sorts of trainers), also as its summer flat sandals. Same at the all-female conference I attended including all the speakers.

I've always been mystified by very high heels as they tend to look more unattractive than attractive as the wearer hobbles down the street like they've been hit by a car but think lower heels can look nice and add a bit of height and style. Clearly most people are not prepared to put up with uncomfortable shoes now.

Yup. It's glorious.

I did see a few women in heels in my London office yesterday and honestly my thought is that it looks quite dated now. Even on the very formal end of work dressing, loafers or brogues look much fresher than heels. Plus, you know, comfortable and practical.

I think it's been that way for a while TBH. Although I think there is a lot of variation depending on the postcode. I still see heels in the City. Not so much around Bloomsbury, Marylebone, Victoria.

When I lived in London 2007 - 2011 I always noted women on the tube going to work with trainers. Obviously their work shoes were in their bag as corporate work back then would mandate a heel and a bit of power dressing.

Good. Designed purely for the male gaze with the lovely side effect of making it harder for you to run away. Horrible things.

I've barely worn heels since I was 18 so I've no stake in this but, having seen pics of my niece and my son's female friends out for the night in London, I think talk of their demise is misplaced. Heels as a dress code might soon become a distant memory but, as a fashion accessory, I think they'll be back (and arguably already are).

Good riddance to them too! hope they remain in the closet.

Thank goodness!! Praise be. I worked in central London through the “noughties” and I’ll never forget hobbling all over London, trying to switch shoes, dragging a huge laptop bag (often stuffed with boxes of Aptamil too), arriving at meetings and trying to look like a cool cucumber rather than a pained and sweaty mess. Not wearing heels - high ones - was severely frowned upon, women just didn’t wear flats in my industry.

Glad to see the back of them. High heels, off you fuck.

I agree with this however now most people don't bother to change at all. My office has always had a smart dress code but I'd say that most of us wear trainers all the time and it's been the same with any other meetings I've had with lawyers/people in banks and big corporates. Super interesting that it's not massively translated to men though; most seem to have gone back to pre-pandemic dressing with suits/ties in a way that women haven't.

Going against the grain here, but I love a nice high heel. (Nothing to do with the male gaze here, I'm married - I just like the look. I often wear quite vintage-y stuff, and some outfits just look all wrong with flats.)

However, I think the heels on a lot of designs have just got way too high (as in, impossible to walk in unless you're a sleb who only has to totter from car to red carpet) and I wonder if this has had something to do with their decrease in popularity.

Maybe I was just very unobservant but back in the 80s I don't think there was a blanket rule that women in office jobs should wear heels and makeup. I didn't and it didn't hold me back. I was a chartered accountancy trainee in the London office of a huge multinational firm.

😭 I LOVE my high heels. I adored my posh work dresses and high heels. I'm a SAHP now so live in flat shoes. While my hamstrings and yoga practice thank me, I miss them so much. I wore heels to a party at the weekend and it was great.

If I went back to working in corporate London I don't think I could not go back to heels too.

For context I'm 6ft and regularly wore 4inch heels ...

I have friends who still work in the city (I moved away many years ago) they all keep work shoes under their desks so unless they are getting into a cab to go to a meeting you won't see them in heels in public

@mynameiscalypso That's because men have always been comfortable. No need to change their shoes and as for suits & ties etc, men wear them because they like how they feel in them, rather than mandated for them by women

Same, I'm 5ft 10 and in 4 inch heels today for a funeral
It just didn't look right with flats

Gaspode, we'd never have been able to teeter down to the cellar to pick out our sample of 300 sales invoices in heels ...

I've been watching some American law TV shows recently - the professional women invariably wear enormously high stiletto heels. I'm assuming this is just for TV, American lawyers don't really do this? Or do they??

I still wear heels in the office. I just don't wear them to lunch or on the way to work.

I prefer some outfits with heals, it's more flattering on my not so thin legs. They're a sensible height and I can walk in them easily.

I can't remember the last time I wore proper heels, though I am now aging and can't be doing with squashing my trotters into anything remotely uncomfortable.

I rewatched The Fall recently and Gillian Anderson in her power dressing suits and ultra spindley high heals seemed a really dated concept.

I'm in the US and I can't remember the last time I saw a woman in very high heels in real life, but I don't see sneakers/trainers in professional settings much either. I see lots of shoes that read flats, but have a smallish heel and lots of smart loafers. Also I live in a warm climate so smart sandals, either flat or with a small wedge, are everywhere in the workplace.

That's good news OP.

I still think they look great for a special occasion but as work wear - no way.

American lawyers don't really do this? Or do they??

No they don't. They also don't wear bodycon type dresses that also seem to be popular on some TV shows depicting women lawyers.

Where I work the corp people wear heels and the creatives wear flats. It's become like tech conpanies and hoodies back in the noughties.

I feel badly for the corp women. I don't miss the show wardrobe I used to have under my desk

Show? Show!

Oh my god. Shoe! This phone hates me

I'm so glad. I used to have a drawer full of heels at work to go with suits. I haven't seen suits or heels for a good while now.

I had tended towards brogues pre covid anyway but covid has spread it across the corporate world. It's mostly dresses and trainers now in my office or boots in the winter