HAPPY JULY! Following a tradition I began several years ago, I’m once again encouraging women to declare their independence this July 4th and abandon wearing high-heeled shoes. I’ve revised this post for 2025. My newly revised post follows:
I’ve long maintained that high heels are killers. I never used that term literally, of course. I merely viewed high-heeled shoes as distinctly uncomfortable and an outrageous concession to the dictates of fashion that can lead to both pain and permanent damage to a woman’s body.
Several years ago, however, high heels proved to be actual killers. The Associated Press reported that two women, ages 18 and 23, were killed in Riverside, California, as they struggled in high heels to get away from a train. With their car stuck on the tracks, the women attempted to flee as the train approached. A police spokesman later said, “It appears they were in high heels and [had] a hard time getting away quickly.”
During the past few years, largely dominated by the global pandemic, many people adopted different ways to clothe themselves. Comfortable clothing became popular, and many women abandoned wearing high heels. Staying close to home, they saw no need to push their feet into high heels. Venues requiring professional clothes or footwear almost disappeared, and few women sought out venues requiring any sort of fancy clothes or footwear.
But when the pandemic began to loosen its grip, some women were tempted to return to their previous choice of footwear. The prospect of a renaissance in high-heeled shoe-wearing was noted in publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. According to the Times, some were seeking “the joy of dressing up…itching…to step up their style game in towering heels.”
Okay. I get it. “Dressing up” may be your thing. But “towering heels”? They may look beautiful…BUT don’t do it! Please take my advice and don’t return to wearing the kind of shoes that will hobble you once again.
Like the unfortunate young women in Riverside, I was sucked into wearing high heels when I was a teenager. It was de rigueur for girls at my high school to seek out the trendy shoe stores on State Street in downtown Chicago and purchase whichever high-heeled offerings our wallets could afford. On my first visit, I was entranced by the three-inch-heeled numbers that pushed my toes into a too-narrow space and revealed them in what I thought was a highly provocative position. Never mind that my feet were encased in a vise-like grip. Never mind that I walked unsteadily on the stilts beneath my soles. And never mind that my whole body was pitched forward in an ungainly manner as I propelled myself around the store.
But during one wearing of those heels, the pain became so great that I removed them and walked in stocking feet the rest of my way home. After that painful lesson, I abandoned three-inch heels and began wearing lower ones. Sure, I couldn’t flaunt my shapely legs quite as effectively, but I nevertheless managed to secure ample male attention. Instead of conforming to the modern-day equivalent of Chinese foot-binding, I successfully and happily fended off the back pain, foot pain, bunions, and corns that my fashion-victim sisters often suffer in spades.
I’ve been joined in my rejection of high heels by a prominent journalist, Sally Quinn. In an opinion piece in The Washington Post on July 5, 2024, she wrote, “I never thought I’d abandon high heels. But I did. It wasn’t the pandemic. It was the pain.” I wonder whether Quinn has taken notice of my opinion-writing on this topic because she echoes my thinking. She admits that she liked the way her legs looked in high heels, but the pain she endured during a lifetime of wearing them finally pushed her over the edge. I recommend reading her piece in the Post as another thoughtful rejection of high heels.
Until the pandemic changed our lives, I observed a troubling trend toward higher and higher heels. I was baffled by women who bought into following the dictates of fashion and the desire to look “sexy” by wearing extremely high heels. Watching TV, I’d see too many women wearing stilettos that forced them into the ungainly walk I briefly sported so long ago. Women on late-night TV shows who were otherwise smartly attired and often very smart (in the other sense of the word) wore ridiculously high heels that forced them to greet their hosts with that same awkward walk. Some appeared to be almost on the verge of toppling over.
The pandemic no longer dominates our lives, but this phenomenon has sadly reappeared. Otherwise enlightened women are once again wearing absurdly high heels. Even one of my favorite TV journalists, Stephanie Ruhle, has appeared on her “11th Hour” program on MSNBC in stilettos. C’mon, Steph! Dump those stilettos!
What about the women, like me, who adopted lower-heeled shoes instead of following fashion? I think we’re much smarter and much less likely to fall on our faces. One very smart woman who’s still a fashion icon agreed with us long ago: the late Hollywood film star Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey dressed smartly, in both senses of the word. I recently watched her 1963 film Charade for the tenth or twelfth time. I once again noted how elegant she appeared in her Givenchy wardrobe and her–yes–low heels. Audrey was well known for wearing comfortable low heels in her private life as well as in her films. In Charade, she’s seen running up and down countless stairs in Paris Metro stations, chased by Cary Grant, not only on those stairs but also through the streets of Paris. She couldn’t have possibly done all that frantic running in high heels!
More recently, the Cannes Film Festival has highlighted a few Hollywood stars who’ve rejected stilettos. Julia Roberts walked barefoot in 2016 rather than wear them, and Kristen Stewart notably changed from heels to sneakers in 2018. Stewart also appeared in sneakers on a late-night TV show in March 2024.
Foot-care professionals have soundly supported my thinking. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, a heel that’s more than 2 or 3 inches makes comfort just about impossible. Why? Because a 3-inch heel creates seven times more stress than a 1-inch heel. A noted foot and ankle surgeon has explained that after 1.5 inches, the pressure increases on the ball of the foot and can lead to “ball-of-the-foot numbness.” (Yikes!) He advised against wearing 3-inch heels and pointed out that celebrities wear them for only a short time, not all day. To ensure a truly comfortable shoe, he added, no one should go above a 1.5-inch heel.
Before the pandemic, some encouraging changes were afoot. Nordstrom, one of America’s major shoe-sellers, began to promote lower-heeled styles. Although stilettos hadn’t disappeared from the scene, they weren’t the only choices. I was encouraged because Nordstrom is a bellwether in the fashion world, and its choices can influence shoe-seekers. Then the pandemic arrived and changed shoe-purchasing. During the first year, sales of high heels languished, “teetering on the edge of extinction,” according to the Times.
But because the pandemic has now dissipated to a large extent, some women may have resurrected the high heels already in their closets. They may even be inspired to buy new ones. I hope they don’t.
There is heartening news from bellwether Nordstrom. In its brand-new catalog for summer 2025, it features pages of stylish sneakers and other flat-heeled shoes. A couple of low-heeled shoes appear, but stilettos are nowhere to be found.
Let’s not forget the Gen Z generation. Most Gen Z shoppers don’t follow the dictates of fashion. They largely eschew high heels, choosing pricey and often glamorous sneakers instead–even with dressy prom dresses.
My own current faves: I wear black Skechers almost everywhere (I own more than one pair). Sketchers “step-ins” are a welcome new addition. I occasionally choose my old standby, Reeboks, for serious walking. (In my novel Red Diana, the protagonist laces on her Reeboks for a lengthy jaunt, just as I do.) I’ve added a pair of Ryka sneakers–so far so good. And in warm weather, I wear walking sandals, like those sold by Clarks, Teva, and Ecco.
Any women who are pondering buying high-heeled shoes should hesitate. Beyond the issue of comfort and damage to your feet, please remember that high heels present a far more serious problem. As the deaths in Riverside demonstrate, women who wear high heels may be putting their lives at risk. When they need to flee a dangerous situation, high heels can handicap their ability to escape. How many needless deaths have resulted from hobbled feet?
The Fourth of July is almost here. As we celebrate the holiday this year, I once again urge the women of America to declare their independence from high-heeled shoes.
If you’re thinking about returning to painful footwear, think again. You’d be wise to reconsider. I urge you to bravely gather any high heels you’ve been clinging to and throw those shoes away. At the very least, keep them out of sight in the back of your closet.
And don’t even think about buying new ones. Shod yourself instead in shoes that allow you to walk in comfort—and if need be, to run.
Your wretched appendages, yearning to be free, will be forever grateful.
susanjustwrites
Susan Just Writes 