May, Week 1: One Heel of An Addiction
(Christian Louboutin, YSL, Balenciaga, Louboutin for Rodarte)
Everyone has one vice that is not good for their body. For some it’s smoking, others chocolate, but for me, it’s insanely high heels. My obsession is not necessarily in the shoe, but in the heel itself: the higher the better. To me, a female could be wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, but as soon as she throws on a pair of stilettos, the outfit transforms into something glamorous. The year of the shoe couldn’t have come at a better time (or at a worse time for my credit card.)
Victoria Beckham recently admitted the reason why she doesn’t go work out is because she can’t bring herself to wear sneakers to the gym. Amateur... Mariah Carey claims she hits the treadmill in heels! Okay my obsession is that not ridicules, but who knows how far it’ll get.
(YSL, Nicolas Kirkwood, Giambattista Valli, Dior Couture)
My obsession started the way most fashionista stories begin: playing dress up. My grandmother, straight from the East End of London, has always had a “whatever you can do, I can do better in heels” attitude. While beautiful at heart, she’s very outspoken in her words and style. Growing up in the 40’s, she was one of those teenagers who penciled on her eyebrows in a thin line, and during the war, when nylon was scarce, she and her friends would draw a line down the backs of their legs to indicate a stocking. At 14, she didn’t let a dress or a pair of heels stop her from chasing a group of school boys 3 blocks through the bustling streets of London after seeing them corner a helpless kitten, poking it with sticks. Throughout her older years she’s never worn less than 3-inches. Even after she was mowed down by a forklift at 70, her first thought wasn’t about the hip surgery that she faced, it was wondering if she’d still be able to walk in heels.
(Barbara Bui, Bruno Frisoni, Alexander McQueen, Louboutin)
When I was visiting her recently, she grabbed one of my tabloids and dubbed Paris Hilton a “phony” when a candid photo showed her stepping out of her car with a stiletto on her left foot and a flip flop on her right driving foot. “If you’re going to wear a nice pair of shoes, wear them!” She exclaimed. “Don’t act like you can walk in them for a photo, then switch to flip flops.” After all, why sacrifice glamour for road safety?
Not everyone agrees with the “shoes are just an extension of my leg” attitude, but of course, since she never had a daughter, I filled her shoes, literally. Stiletto mules, bright pumps, lace-up boots… she had them all. Fortunately she had a small foot, so her size 6 Givenchy’s fit perfectly when I was 12. Teetering around school, my friends would laugh and ask why I shake my butt so much when I walk. I tried to explain that heels make you do that. The macho, manly jocks, football players and wrestlers would always come up to me asking questions about my shoes; boys seemed mesmerized by them, not knowing if they were odd or sexy, in a time when the ruling shoe of females were Vans, Converse or chunky platforms. I even played childhood games like tag, kickball and manhunt in heels. When I was the only girl left on the baseball team and they wanted to kick me off because having a girl on their team made them look weak, I protested by playing in a pair of high heeled sneakers.
(Burberry, TopShop, DSquared, Givenchy)
I love the unconventional heel, one that would make non-fashionistas question and perhaps laugh, but would make the fashion lover ooo and ahh. Case in point: when I wore my 5-inch Balenciaga ankle boots around Phoenix for pre-Superbowl events recently, very few people understood them, and if they did they were from LA or New York. I found myself quickly becoming friends with a girl who was sporting DSquared’s ankle boots where the heel is an actual knuckle cuff, as seen on Beyonce and Rihanna.
(Balenciaga, Barbara Bui, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen)
One important note: high heels don’t necessarily equal instant fabulousness, as certain heels are fit only for a Las Vegas hooker. Or Shauna Sand.
There is an un-sexy flipside: Victoria Beckham had bunion surgery and now swears by Dr Scholl’s inserts. I’m sure by the time I’m 70 I’ll be facing hip replacements, knee problems, and shin issues, but I’ll stay blissfully ignorant in thinking that by that time the medical community will have advanced so much it won’t be a big deal.
xo,
E