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.

I have always enjoyed wearing heels - I work in a male dominated environment and although I'm 5ft 9" in bare feet, in heels the extra 3 or 4" mean I tower above or am the same height as a lot of men therefore they have to speak to my face as they don't have an excuse to look down! They also helped me walk more confidently. However now I'm 53 I find 2" heels are the highest I can comfortably walk at normal speed in although I can walk in higher ones just very slowly. And for a much shorter space of time! When I was in my 20s and 30s I would happily walk around an exhibition hall for 6 hours in heels 🤷‍♀️

I think it is fashionable to hate heels on MN. Even if many of us never really liked them in the first place (that's be me!). This is why people often call things they don't feel comfortable in 'dated' - it lets them off the hook, it pleases the ego being able to look down on it as off trend because you were never comfy in them when they were trending.
And even more so if we can make it into a feminist issue. Therefore ALL woman who like high hells must be doing it for men.
As a feminist I believe that a woman has the choice whether or not she likes to dress to please men. I may not do it, you may not do it, but it is not feminist to demand everyone conforms to one idea of high heels.

But what would people do, really, and i mean really really, if they came back in fashion? I bet many of you would suddenly find merit in them and go on and on about how dated flats/trainers were.

That's how it seems to work.
I loathed wide legs and flares for decades but have to admit that now they are easier on my eye and i recently bought a pair of slouchy jeans. I would never have done that a few yrs ago, and I consider myself outside of the snares of trends.

Many of us never wore heels anyway, so it is easier for us not to care, but I bet any money if fashions dictated a necessity for higher heels (by creating longer leg lengths etc), people would suddenly find them covetable. I have seen this happen with bootcuts, flares, long and short dresses, crop or longline over the years. High hells will be no different.

Notice the trend for platform converse, superga, and blocky shoes in shops like urban outfitters, Asos, and many other stores. It is heels in a new guise, that is all. Hells in the style of casual instead of office.
Obviously a heel is not dated at all, unless you are over 40.

I'm playing devil's advocate here, and include myself in this suggestion, so no offence intended. Just worth thinking about!

I used to love my heels (7” ones) and I had no problem running or walking in them and don’t have any issues with my feet. I am quite short and heels for me made the difference between being crushed into some guys beer belly on the tube or people actually realising I exist and try to make a little room for me.

Dd is very tall with long legs. For her it is trainers and flat shoes as the norm but sometimes when she needs to be noticed, usually when she needs to stand out for business reasons the heels go on and the suit comes out and she towers over everyone in the room and people don’t ever forget her.

I love high heels and see plenty of people wearing them. As long as designers continue to sell fabulous heels people will buy them. I'm not sure why you'd wear them if you can't walk in them and need to hobble round though. That's a bit ridiculous.

fucking hell, heels not hells!

I stopped wearing them 10 years ago when I saw our director and head of HR teetering down the stairs clutching the bannister. Meanwhile the other (male) director was walking comfortably down in flat shoes.

None of my team wear them these days (all in v senior roles)

I’m early 30s and LOVE my heels. Definitely not for the male gaze (I’m gay and in a long term relationship). I wear them because I like them. I can walk (and run) in heels no problem. You can prise my Jimmy Choos out of my cold dead hands. I love all my heels for how beautiful they are and how they make me feel. If that makes me ‘dated’ then so be it!

Love wearing heels, thyleyre my footwear of choice.

V glad the days of women having to wear them are out, but I hope heels stay in style.

This is when I stopped wearing them too (although more than 10 years ago), when I realised that in addition to all the other disadvantages women have, we were voluntarily wearing things that literally meant we couldn't keep up.

I think some people still keep them in the drawer and maybe wear them in the office and trainers to go for a walk at lunch time. But yes, it's great. The biggest heels I wear are sensible square heels which I keep in my desk drawer for some outfits, but I can wear loafers or white pumps most of the time.

Jimmy Choos are ultra comfortable all days heels. Unlike high street tat.

We had an important work event recently and damn straight I wore my heels! I felt taller and more commanding and just more of an ass kicker. And in the photos my posture is much better than if I were in flats. It is purely aesthetic, a heel lengthens the leg and especially for someone petite like me, makes me feel like I have more presence. In the same way some colours make me feel drab and unattractive and others make me feel more alive. That is my choice, just like others choose to wear flats. I KNOW it's a bit superficial but I don't really care!

I’ve always worn sensible shoes and still get bunions. They’re genetic, apparently, which is a bit annoying.

I am the same as you. I have a big bag so just stuff work shoes in there if I can't commute in them. Most of my shoes are fairly sensible anyway as I am very tall but with a bit of a heel. I don't like the dress and trainers look, but others do and that's fine :)

Love to see it, my daughter is 22 and from when she started dressing up/going out as a teenager to know the vast majority of her friends (herself included) never wore a heel, always a pair of converse or vans

I was at a black tie/occasion wear event in London recently and whist I wore a small hell I was in the minority.

Lots of sparkly trainers matching occasion wear - it was great.

After suffering cramp that night from unaccustomed heel wearing they are getting chucked to the back of the wardrobe and I will be joining the flat shoe world.

On the height issue. I work with many people from China. I am not saying that Chinese people are short, but many of the Chinese people I work with are much shorter than the average British person. To suggest that a person might be taken less seriously at work due to lack of height is potentially quite harmful.

I think high heels are so so dated now.
Middle aged.

I gave most of my high heels to the charity shop last year. I kept a pair of gorgeous red patent-leather peep-toe pumps that I can't bring myself to throw away and a pair of black wedges that may be useful in summer.

But I've somehow accumulated a wardrobe of equally expensive trainers since!

Love a heel for going out (despite never going out and thus barley being able to hobble in them these days!) but they have no place in a work wardrobe in my opinion (see comment re hobbling!!). Comfort first.

Although I’m clearly old, because I don’t think trainers belong in a work wardrobe either (sports industry and physios excepted!), or with woven dresses, and in think almost all clothes they have been ‘in’ for about ten years look utterly ridiculous. So my opinion is probably pretty invalid!

Heels just look dated and cheap unless it's very formal wear. And even then they have to be spectacular.

I think it is fashionable to hate heels on MN. Even if many of us never really liked them in the first place (that's be me!). This is why people often call things they don't feel comfortable in 'dated' - it lets them off the hook, it pleases the ego being able to look down on it as off trend because you were never comfy in them when they were trending.

Agree with this.

I'm sure they will come round again but right now they do look dated on the odd occasion you see anyone wearing them. So bad for posture too.

Ban them? Do you live in North Korea? I love my heels but if some women don't want to wear them, fine but there is such a thing as personal choice you know..

It wasn't that long ago that some of us were being told we must wear heels in order to look smart at work, and it was always a grey area whether this constituted sex discrimination or not. Those concerned were never particularly keen on offering us choice only a decade or so ago.