Denver Post Fashion Editor
Sept. 19 – This season brings no shortage of shoe styles, but one stands out. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the unwalkable heel is back. At least on the runways, and to a certain extent, in local stores. Make way for the four-inch, needle-narrow heel.As anyone who sacrifices her tootsies at the altar of fashion will tell you, the shoe of the moment is an architectural monument to spindly heels and pointy toes. Like, for instance, a chocolate brown stiletto heel with ankle strap, by Gucci at Neiman Marcus. They may run $425, but followers of fashion say they’re the favored footwear. So is anything from Manolo Blahnik.
For those who prefer their walking without hobbling, there are other choices. Square-toes and chunky block heels are still around, thanks to nostalgic notions of the funky ’60s and disco ’70s. That’s also why platforms continue to count.
Shoes with a more sensible mid-heel remain ever-popular. Naturalizers, for instance, aren’t going away any time soon. Their loafer, with a 1.5-inch heel, cushions the foot with a toe box with square construction. The line ranges from $50 to $65.
Flats also pose an option, such as loafers and lace-up oxfords, because designers know they go so well with menswear-inspired pantsuits. Touchable textures, most notably velvet, lend newness to shoes. So do animal prints, which continue as a style statement in the urban jungle.
Footwear has never been a neutral subject – and I don’t intend to contribute to the battle of the sexes – but it was actually men who got the whole high heel thing started. The same gender that brought us wars was the first to wear high heels.
Linda O’Keeffe, author of “Shoes” (Workman, $11.95) tells us that heels date back to the pre-Christian era. Egyptian butchers wore them to elevate their feet above the carnage, while Mongolian horsemen had their boots heeled to better grip their stirrups.
But it was petite Catherine de Medici in Paris who brought heels into the fashion forefront, when she had a pair made for her wedding.
This season once again, women who want to keep in stride with style are slipping into killer stilettos.
They’re called killer for a reason. Ouch. Which is why a recent New York Times story heralded the trend by noting, “Farewell to comfort.”
If you’re sold on high heels, padded insoles make them more user-friendly. So does wearing them in moderation. Some women will opt for lower heels for everyday use, saving stilettos for special occasions.
If you’re looking to go the fashion distance but are afraid of stiletto heights, try a mid-heel, like, say, 1 1/2 inches. Designers call it a happy medium between skyscraper heels and sensible flats.
Just ask LaVelle Olexa. She’s fashion director for Lord & Taylor.
“There is still a comfort factor that prevails for most women in their busy lives,” she says. “This season the high heel is important, yet women want to be able to walk in comfort and go through their day.”
Here’s another compromise. At Dillard’s, “What’s really selling well is the modified platform shoe,” says Bev Carpenter, fashion director. “Platforms are strong this fall, but they’re minimal with a half-inch platform. Not too trendy, a nice balance,” she says.
If comfort is really a priority, slip into a pair of Hush Puppies, the onetime totally dweeby crepe-soled loafer of the ’60s. They’re still riding the wave of their comeback and are certifiably cool, besides. They’re sold at local Hush Puppies shops and selected department stores.
Sears has a knock-off of the traditional $70 Hush Puppies pigskin suede slip-on, in black, brown, burgundy or sand with mid-heel and crepe sole. It runs about $28 at local Sears stores.
But if only the most extravagant shoe will do, prepare to pay a whopping $2,240 to $6,000. Custom-made in Paris, they’re John Lobb loafers, riding boots and golf and walking shoes. W magazine reports that customers include Elle Macpherson and Katharine Hepburn.
If only the sexiest shoe will do, a lot of people will steer you back to those towering heels.
Vogue reports that even in the trenches, a female soldier in Sarajevo applied lipstick and accessorized her fatigues with high-heeled boots “because you never know when you might get lucky.”
“No shoe has more erotic impact than those with high heels,” says Toby Fischer-Mirkin, author of “Dress Code: Understanding the Hidden Meaning of Women’s Clothes” (Clarkson Potter, $23).
There’s historical precedent that bears this out. According to Fischer-Mirkin, Americans were introduced to high heels in the 1880s when one of the female employees of Madame Kathy brought home a pair from Paris. Madame Kathy plied her trade as owner of a famous new Orleans brothel.
That simple act of transporting the shoes stateside became a career decision. According to Fischer-Mirkin, Madame Kathy realized that by having her girls wear high heels, she could double her fees. So she commissioned a Parisian artist to design high heels that she sold in her house. Soon thereafter American factories began manufacturing the now-classic high heel.
From Chinese foot-binding to today’s stilettos, exaggerated styles have been a part of shoe design throughout time. For example, in the 14th and 15th centuries many European men wore shoes called crackowes, extremely long and pointed. The toe was so long that it had to be attached to the knee with a chain to allow the wearer to walk. In the 16th century men’s shoes became so broad in the toe that they looked like a duck’s bill.
Women’s shoes were less conspicuous because they were covered by long gowns. But from the 1300s to the 1700s some European women wore shoes with soles so thick that they could not walk without assistance to keep from toppling over.