Shoe blog

Ten Tips for Walking Comfortably in High Heels

Sergio Rossi Aisha Strauss; $799 at Zappos

Love the heels but can’t bear the pain? In the latest issue of Marie Claire, Sergio Rossi’s creative director Edmundo Castillo offers shoe advice for walking comfortably in high heels.

1. Change heel heights several times a day. Feet and legs shouldn’t be allowed to mold themselves to any one shoe shape.

2. Shoes are an emotional accessory; hurt your feet, hurt your feelings.

3. Befriend a salesperson who will tell you if a shoe will actually feel as good as it looks.

4. If you feel all the weight in the front of your foot, this heel’s your arch enemy — literally.

5. Your foot needs to sit in a shoe. If you can wedge two fingers between your sole and the shoe — bye-bye!

6. Platforms should be no more than one-and-a-half inches high — or you’re dangling off a cliff.

7. Think Cinderella: A heeled shoe must fit perfectly. Faking it with the wrong size will get ugly. (Hmm, I think Victoria ‘Posh’ Beckham didn’t get this memo. Didn’t she once say ‘If they don’t have my size I just stick toilet paper in…If that’s what it takes to get a nice shoe.’)

8. Don’t shoe shop with swollen feet — e.g., when it’s hot or right after exercise

9. To elongate your legs, ankle straps should sit above the ankle bone.

10. Still wobbling when you walk in your heels? Practice!

The advice makes practical sense to me. Well, except for #1. I’d love to change heel heights every hour but my shoe wardrobe is not extensive enough, my purse can barely fit my wallet and cell phone much less allow me to carry spare pairs, and my pant lengths would look goofy if I switched from a 6″ to a 1″ heel.