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Original poster

High Heels WTF is it about

164 replies

FattyArbuckel · 05/02/2011 17:04

Why in this day and age do we STILL worship high heels

I think they are one step away from chinese foot binding and can't look around the pavements without cringing...

Really, why do women wear them? I think they look awful.

Rant over - just could not keep it in any longer today....

OP posts:
Pictish · 06/02/2011 16:24

Sorry, that was in regard to wearing make up.

ComeAlongPond · 06/02/2011 16:27

My housemate (her again...) spends every night out moaning because she has a bunion "arthritis" and her heels hurt her feet. Flats have been suggested, and she was utterly outraged at the notion. I think she sees it as a badge of honour that even though she's in pain she still wears heels and is 'glamorous'. Personally, I have a few pairs of heels that I love. Sometimes, when we go out, I wear them. Sometimes, I can't be bothered to deal with them so I don't. I don't see that it's worth getting worked up over. (I don't mean this thread, I mean people like my housemate.)

Said housemate also drove me to the dr this week when I was really ill, and was horrified that I wasn't going to put make up on beforehand because I was "very pale"! Normally I do wear a little bit of make up, and more if we're going out in the evening etc, but I didn't see any need to put it on just to go to the dr. Why would I? But as much as it does my head in having to put up with her all the time, it does make me sad that, for some reason, she feels the need to always be 'perfect' in how she looks, and to conform to some sort of ideal that even if it's achievable, takes up so much of her time and causes her pain.

(Having said that, until she stops telling people she has arthritis, she's getting no foot-pain-related sympathy from me!)

TheFallenMadonna · 06/02/2011 16:33

I don't need to wear heels to look men in the eye. I am 5'11". When I wear heels, I'm taller than most of the men I come across. I think feeling odd about being taller than your partner in heels isn't more laudable than wearing the shoes you want (for whatever sociocultural reason...).

Oblomov · 06/02/2011 16:38

These women who are fully made up 24/7 and wear heels always= V Beckham bunions, are the entreme.
You can't tar all women, who ocassionally wear heels, or god-forbid-a tiny bit of eyeshadow, with the same mascara brush.

Oblomov · 06/02/2011 16:40

I like being small. well, actually, even if I didn't tis not a lot that can be done, is there ?
5'2'' and heels doesn't actually make much difference. I would have to wear 4 inch platforms to be normal sized.

Prolesworth · 06/02/2011 16:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

JaceyBee · 06/02/2011 16:48

I can't wear stiletto type heels over 2 inches but I frequently wear 4-5 inch wedge heels and find them fine to walk/dance in. I do quite like the sexy curve of the arch on high heels but there's no way I would wear any shoe that crippled me, I think I would feel too vulnerable if I wasn't able to fight/run if I needed to. Not that I'm paranoid or anything!

Plus I have congenital hip dysplasia and one leg is shorter than the other so I struggle to walk in most shoes sometimes.

AnnieLobeseder · 06/02/2011 16:55

Now I know we're not supposed to do 'what about the menz?' on these threads, but I think the same thing about suits and ties. Why do men inflict them on themselves? They're really not comfortable and how boring that everyone looks exactly the same!

Now I've worn ties and I've worn high hells heels, and ties are by far the lesser of the two evils. But, why do business folk all wear matching uncomfortable clothes in order to look professional? Who started the whole mad idea and why do people keep on wearing them?

Madness....

Ephiny · 06/02/2011 17:01

Yes I sometimes think the same about ties, they really don't look comfortable, especially in hot weather. I know my DP hates wearing them. Though probably not as painful and restricting as women's shoes can be sometimes!

And workplaces do tend to be getting less formal in that regard, when I worked in banking it was pretty much all business casual (except for meetings with external clients and similar), so no ties or jackets required. I was still the only woman in flat shoes though...

TheCrackFox · 06/02/2011 17:06

Annie, I agree with you about menz clothes. They are so dull, the colours are yawnsville. I think I would find the lack of choice very frustrating.

However, menz have it right regarding shoes. If DH bought a pair of shoes that gave him blisters he would immediately take them back, but if it was me I would accept that as normal. I am sure shoes can look nice without crippling me but shoes manufacturers don't seem to care.

AnnieLobeseder · 06/02/2011 17:15

Indeed. Womenz have the clothes right, menz have the shoes right - we should get together and compare notes! Grin

TheFallenMadonna · 06/02/2011 17:15

I don't own any shoes that give me blisters, and I wear heels a lot. It's not normal!

vesuvia · 06/02/2011 17:19

There is also the sound of high heels on some surfaces. They can be so loud that the sound can make some women self-conscious in a negative way.

TheCrackFox · 06/02/2011 17:22

yy the lonely clip clop of a woman walking home from the pub at 3am.

vesuvia · 06/02/2011 17:27

Men with bad intentions don't even have to see the woman in high heels to know that she is approaching. That can have serious safety implications for the woman.

Oblomov · 06/02/2011 17:36

No blisters here. Uncomfortable ? Bin. Immediately.

dittany · 06/02/2011 17:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 06/02/2011 17:47

good grief D.

those red wedges in the pic at the top don't actually look like shoes, they look like blocks of wood strapped to someone's feet deliberately so they would not be able to walk.

noddyholder · 06/02/2011 17:58

No one is expected to wear them It is a choice You obviously need a weekend in Brighton because plenty of teetering men here Grin

dittany · 06/02/2011 18:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

noddyholder · 06/02/2011 18:03

Who expects them to?

TheFallenMadonna · 06/02/2011 18:07

The vast majority of women don't wear shoes like that though, do they? If they wear heels day to day, they wear something lower and more confortable. I am on my feet all day at work. I wouldn't wear unconfortable shoes.

MarshaBrady · 06/02/2011 18:09

It's really easy to avoid high heels if you want to and still buy nice / current or fashionable stuff.

Most women I know do wear flat and/or comfortable shoes in the day anyway. Nice ones.

FiammiFreeway · 06/02/2011 18:13

I have a few pairs which are never worn. I simply can't feel confident and safe walking in them, not from fear of being chased really but of falling over.

I like them to look at but can't think of when I might wear them - only I think in a protected situation, where I was with someone who was taking care of me and where I wasn't going to need to walk far.

So something like a dinner at home with partner. that sort of occasion.

I don't like the pain and I don't like the way it makes people walk - which is weird.

MarshaBrady · 06/02/2011 18:16

That was about feeling like one is expected to wear heels to feel fashionable. I don't think that is true.

I do have one pair of solid-ish heel (ie not stiletto) 'pumps' and a couple of pairs of ankle boots with same sort of heel. Ie not too bad to walk in. Which I wear when I go out at night.

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