How to Walk in Stiletto Heels

The current fashion craze for sky-scraper shoes — anything from 5 to 7-inch stilettos has been dubbed “The Gwyneth Effect” by the British tabloids due to yummy mummy, Gwyneth Paltrow’s recent wardrobe overhaul, and her passion for vertiginous footwear.

The "Gwyneth Effect"

Whilst the Gwyneth Effect has causes a sudden surge in sales in the high-street, according to the Daily Mail’s “The Gwyneth Effect: Why Sales of Super-high heels are Soaring,” of 6th May 2008, this has also increased the dangers, warn podiatrists, of seriously damaging your feet. The Mail quotes Dr Chris Steele as saying “the most likely results of wearing heels is that people will fall over and sprain or break their ankle.

With UK sales of high heels currently outselling flats by 5 to 1, says the Mail, this sky-high trend has been further exacerbated by the recent release of the Sex and the City movie, and more and more celebrity A-listers embracing the trend.

The biggest difference between high-fashion and high-street customers is that most ordinary women walk rather than travel by limo. Ordinary mortals will be required to walk more than a few paces, and don’t have an entourage of stylists and advisors to help them when it comes to gliding down the high-street.

How to Walk in High Heels

Walking in stilettos is an art form that runway models have off to a tee. The Sunday Times bestseller, How to Walk in High Heels, by Camilla Morton, dedicates a chapter on how to aisle glide and how to walk in heels on all surfaces.

According to Morton, Marilyn Monroe perfected her famous wiggle by having one heel cut half an inch lower than the other, “so she would always have an exaggerated rear.”

Steps for Walking Effortlessly in Stilettos

• Beginners should start with a safer shoe, involving a sturdier stiletto, and straps to hold in the ankle and the foot, advises Morton. Slingbacks and mules should be left to the advanced stiletto wearer as there is little more than luck holding them on. Bare feet grip your shoes better than when you are wearing hosiery, as the flesh of the foot is in direct contact with the shoe.
• Carefully place each foot in a shoe somewhat like a ballerina, by pointing your toes and arching your feet, and sliding into the heel.
• You will feel the balance of your weight shifting from foot to leg, with calf muscles feeling taught and ankles feeling tight. Morton equates this with the “biting point” of a car, just as you are ready to take off the handbrake.
• As you begin to stand, you will feel your thighs, stomach muscles and butt clench. Gently sway from side to side, with your feet hip-distance apart.
• With your weight now firmly on the tips and balls of your heels, Morton also suggests circling the room with your hands on each of your butt cheeks, to test the angle of your wiggle! Presumably, this is something that should be done alone, unless you want to treat your partner or friends to a really good laugh!
• After getting the feel of the shoe and your balance, you are ready to start walking properly. Lift up your right foot, clench your toes, first landing the weight on the ball of your foot, and then spreading it onto the heel.
• When you land on your first foot, make sure you land on the heel first (not toe) but then instantly move your weight forward. Wait until your foot has been repositioned before lifting the other.
• To perfect that runway walk, imagine that with each step you are doing a figure of 8. Walk straight and tall, with tiny steps, as if you are on a tightrope — allowing your hips to move first.

How to Walk on All Surfaces

Steps and staircases present their own particular challenges, ascend stairs using your toes and balls of your feet, and descend sideways. No matter how foolish you feel, it is better than twisting or breaking an ankle!

Take extreme care when walking on marble. The soles of your shoes can be roughened or scored (sand paper?) to give you more grip, or find someone to cling to! Quaint cobblestone streets are best avoided by walking in the road, as close to the kerb as you can get. When crossing grids, to avoid heels getting stuck or broke, walk in the base of your feet. The thinner your heel, the more wary you should be. Lastly, driving in stiletto heels is asking for trouble, apart from the danger aspect, you run the risk of getting your heel caught round a pedal or snapping a heel , should you need to do an emergency stop or break suddenly.

The Advantages of Oversized Handbags

By far the most sensible thing to do, if you are not going directly from home to taxi to destination, is save your sexy stilettos until you get there, and wear flatter and more practical shoes on route. Carrying your cherished stilettos in today’s on-trend oversized handbags and clutches means you will no longer look out of place.

Woman Walking with an Audience

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