Sunday, October 12, 2008

Tis the Season of Six-Inch Stilettos


That's the title of an article in last week's Time magazine.

Money quote:

Behind the shoes' superficial appeal seems to lie a deeper truth, however. And that is that Jimmy Choos, Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins are not primarily apparel. The protection of feet is not their first priority. No, the stiletto (Italian for dagger, after all) is actually a tool. Not so much for crushing cockroaches and hammering nails, although that works, but for the projection of an image that is both feminine and powerful.

That's why Gwyneth Paltrow wore custom-made, 6-in. (15 cm) Alexander McQueens at an Iron Man premiere and Sarah Palin donned Naughty Monkey Double Dare pumps at the Republican Convention and former Lehman CFO Erin Callan navigated Wall Street in skyscraper spikes. Because heels are the perfect shoes for negotiating the complicated landscape where authority meets beauty. Think of them as a peacock's tail--if each feather were also a poison dart.


Why do you think women (and we "girls") like high heels so much?

2 comments:

Karen Singer said...

I’ve always been drawn to women’s heels. Is it perhaps a symbol of pure femininity? Maybe. I only know I love them – both seeing them on women and wearing them myself. I can’t get enough!

Karen

Pretty Sissy Dani said...

I feel exactly the same way. Any woman in high heels is automatically more beautiful and sexier than the same person in flats...and the higher the heel the sexier she is!

Wearing heels always makes me feel girlish...which is why I often wear them even with male clothes--like right now!