I had a crisis in the shoe store yesterday, looking at a row of elegant black high heels. I need new work shoes, and was looking for something black, sleek and flat. I find high heels agonising to walk in for long stretches, so in order that I can dash up to court and walk halfway across town to a restaurant for lunch, I need to wear flat shoes to work.
But sometimes I get frustrated by my lack of options. There are only so many things that designers do with flat shoes. There are hundreds of women in this city who stalk along to the train in towering stilletos - hell, there are crowds of lawyers rushing around the courts wearing stilleto heels. The weirdest sight is junior lawyers carrying senior lawyers’ heavy bags while wearing stilettos. And while most of the time I wonder how on earth they manage to do that without crippling themselves, sometimes I feel a bit of envy for their ability to walk around in such improbable shoes. I think women in needle thin heels project quite an aggressive image (sometimes I occasionally like to cultivate), although I’m not sure why, given that it’s a style of footwear that makes women very vulnerable.
At the moment, I wear a pair of extremely comfortable flat mary-janes to work, as they work well with with pants and skirts (another issue I agonise over). I have a pair of very chunky heels that I wear with skirts, but I change into my flats when I arrive and leave work, to avoid walking too much in them. Is it possible to acclimatise oneself to heels without going to the extent of permanently shortening your calf muscles? I’m trying to reinvent and improve on my professional image, and I’d like to join that crowd of corporate women wearing heels a bit more often.
Women who work in professional circles, do you wear heels? Flats? Do you change shoes when you leave work? And on a related note, pant or skirt suits, and why?
5 Comments
7 July, 2006 at 7:10 am
I wear both skirt suits and pants suits, depending on my mood and the judge that I am appearing before, whether I feel like I need to outrightly kick ass or demurely kick ass
For shoes, I tend to go for pointed toes with about an inch of elevation only. Too high and I will tumble down the stairs with them.
I wear flipflops in the office
7 July, 2006 at 6:24 pm
I wear very high heels much of the day. Granted, I don’t walk around too much in them, but I have been wearing heels since I was fourteen. I am now 32. I should also tell you that I am a man. It took some time to get used to wearing heels regularly, but now I have become quite good at it. I think it’s important to wear them around the house and then be able to wear them out in public. Stilleto heels are always very sexy, but you could easily get away with a very beautiful one that is 2-3 inches instead of the 4-5 inch heels that I prefer. Buy some, wear them around at home, and find out if you like them or not and then you can always take them back…
7 July, 2006 at 11:01 pm
I have the same dilemma. I like heels much better but find them agonizing to walk in.
I try for a mix of both depending on what tasks I have to do for the day. A day of sitting-down-meetings? Heels. A day of dashing around? Flats. Sometimes I get caught out, but I’ve become good at organizing my calendar and my shoe choices synergistically.
8 July, 2006 at 12:59 am
I’m a flats only woman; don’t see the point of torturing myself for vanity’s sake and personally, I feel more powerful standing on solid ground.
As for the pants and skirts, I own both though tend pants 98% of the time because it’s easier to squat, climb, and generally do the things I need to do in them. I keep the skirts for the rare times I’m feeling “romantic” or “flowy”…but I still wear them with sneakers.
10 July, 2006 at 4:55 am
Mela - I think a mixture of pants and skirts is what I’m going to end up with, and perhaps I’ll start practicing with heels.
Candace - I’m thinking of getting a pair of medium heels and wearing them on days I know I’m not going to be doing much walking around. It’s good to know that practice makes perfect!
Telfair - I’m thinking of matching pants with flats and skirts with heels. So, skirts and heels on court days, pants and flats for days in the office when I won’t be seeing anyone.
Cat - yep, that’s pretty much how I feel. But I’ve been feeling the need to expand my choices of footwear, simply because of a desire to be fairly successful in a corporate world, and accepting, reluctantly, that people pay way too much attention to how women are dressed for work. I keep telling myself that when I’m older I’m going to be more adventerous with my work clothes.
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