Sweet and Lowdown

Some say that lower heels are just around the corner.  Leaning towers of woman are almost passe.  Skyscraper soles that put your perfectly coiffed head closer to the clouds are clumping towards oblivion.  Sleek kitten heels will be padding their way back into your closets.  Modern, easy-to-wear three-inch heels (the new “low”) will return.  You’ll be able to descend stairs without gripping your best friend‘s shoulder for support.

After a few years of shoe styles that led many fashion victims to the chiropractor’s office or left them yearning for a soothing foot bath and massage, “sensible” shoes are returning.  According to Mark Holgate in Vogue, “…it’s reduced heels that have really caught the eye.”  He advises us to “…get ready to look different and look at the world differently.”  He acknowledges, however, that his empirical research in Saks and Bergdorf Goodman yielded no takers for the new styles.  Superhigh platforms shape a woman’s legs as well as her view of the world.  A woman in six-inch heels can look her male boss in the eye.  But does equal in height translate to equal in power? 

Designers are working to make the new shoes colorful and sexy, with cutaways and ankle straps.  New styles from Christian Louboutin, Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs and others promise flirty, elegant, feminine looks.  Get ready to walk!