Why do we consider pain a
necessary rite of passage for fashion?
I ask because Christian
Louboutin recently told Grazia that he doesn’t care if you find his shoes
uncomfortable. “If you can’t walk in them, don’t wear them,” he said. Having
seen many a woman hobble around London, pigeon-toed, red-soled and cramped with
pain, I’d have to agree with him. But not for the same reasons. Louboutin says
that high heels are a “pleasure with pain” experience. But why is that so?
Historically, the super tall
heel was a sexual thing, fetishized by men who loved the way it made a woman’s
back arch just so. And then it became a symbol of female empowerment,
underscoring the power suit. But over the past ten years, we’ve seen the
vertiginous shoe become a hardcore fashion thing, gradually growing in height
and garishness. And the pain that comes with stuffing yourself into, say, a
tight leather toe box propped up on a six-inch wooden heel becomes something we
learn to ignore. Never mind that we’re losing feeling in our pinky toe. It’s
all about the look. And so we think nothing of squeezing on a lust-worthy, yet
treacherous pair of size 40s in much the same way Victorian-era women used to
risk a bruised rib for a corset.
I know first-hand because
I’ve purchased a good many pairs of stilettos and platforms that work much
better as eye candy on a shelf in my bedroom than on the hard pavement on my
way to work. It’s not that all high heels are painful to wear. They aren’t. But
oftentimes, the most thrilling, camera-catching ones are. Hardware, metallic
tips, spikes and chunky crystals don't always make for the softest wear.
Meanwhile, sales of ballet flats go through the roof as we all continue to look
to them as that little source of relief to be rolled up and tucked away in our
handbags. So … on top of walking around in uncomfortable shoes, we’re also
carrying a purse that is twice as heavy as it needs to be. Fun! Maybe I’m
feeling a little more sensitive to this issue than usual because I’m at the
tale end of what has felt like a forever-long pregnancy — one in which my
decreasing patience for foot discomfort has led me to start collecting fancy
flats.
In the process I’ve begun to
develop a new appreciation for those women who defy the age-old attitudes that
we’re at our most beautiful and empowered when we’re teetering around on nearly
seven inches. Shala Monroque, pictured below in shoes she can actually walk in,
comes to mind. I’ll never forget one of our fashion week lunches together in
which she refreshingly mentioned that she has zero tolerance for overly
vertiginous heels. Her endless array of delicate, kitten and moderately high
heels look ten times more interesting and unexpected than the tallest, most
tricked out platforms. Meanwhile, recently in Paris, the shoe designer Chrissie
Morris told me that she often finds herself feeling sorry for women who wear
six inches during the day simply for the fact that their mobility is so
limited. Her fall collection features a great selection of flatform creepers
and low-heeled ankle boots.
To be honest, the fashion
world seems to be gradually moving away from the ostentatious heel (or the
‘freakum shoe’ to quote a close friend.) It's too closely associated with the
stuff of NBA wives’ closets and music video looks. Plus, it reads a little old
dated. Witness, how fresh Manolo Blahnik’s more understated BB pumps, in every
possible colorway and texture, looked in J.Crew’s fall show.
I bring all of this up not to argue against the tall heel. I have no plans
to retire my leg-lengthening Alaïas anytime soon. But perhaps its time to
recognize the fact that, as women, we’ve started holding each other accountable
to an old notion that doesn’t really factor in with our everyday lives — let
alone look remotely interesting, sexy or new. It’s easy for a male designer to
dismiss a woman’s complaints about a shoe when he doesn’t have to wear it.
Culled: modmods.com
HIGH HEEL; A PLEASURE WITH PAIN
Reviewed by Bash
on
09:54:00
Rating:
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