Walking effortlessly in heels

pauline

pauline

Registered Guest
Diverting slight off vintage fashions , I have observed that some lucky ladies seem to walk effortlessly in heels , as if heels are a natural extension to the leg,
TextRed**** Just another one of those feminine arts that I think they do not give a second thought about TextRed****

They may pay for that later on in life i do not know !

While other have to make a slightly more a effort to do the same and it shows sometimes. Just thinking some ladies might just have the right bone structure in the back ,leg and foot which makes heels so comfortable to wear.
Have you noticed that also?
 
I think it must be practise! I am always a bit wobbly for the first hour as i don't wear them that often, but get gradually better as the evening progresses (then occasionally worse, depending on level of alcohol imbibed...)
 
I am not sure if there is a correlation between bone structure, comfort and the ability to walk in heels or not. Some of the best donners of high heeled shoes are drag queens. They can run for a bus in 4 inch heels!

It probably has more to do with balance and how men and women generally carry their bodies. Women, I think, are generally more aware of their body and how to carry themselves. For instance, they take to dance more easily than men as they are more aware of how their body moves. Men aren't expected to know how to carry their bodies and tend to clomp through dance steps unless they have that awareness taught or inherent. Whether this is by nature or nuture its hard to tell. Although we don't have the same rigid expectations of male and female roles in society it takes generations to weed out what is learned through example from mothers and grandmothers.

The female foot is generally narrower than men's and their bones smaller and their heel is proportinally narrower to the ball then men's feet but historically the male physique is built for strength, speed, and stamina in fight or flee situations which translates better to sports than women's bodies. When is the last time you heard of a male tennis player turning his ankle on the court? The male body is also built with a higher centre of gravity than women's so perhaps that creates balance issues.

So, I don't know but I do know lots of women who are hopeless at walking in heels and many men who have no problem at all.
 
It's good Jonathan that you blown my anatomical theory out of the water I just did not know if shoe manufactures considered that at all.Greatfullness on your feet is more down to been "aware of how their body moves".
and interesting to think about and work on. Thank you.
 
"but historically the male physique is built for strength, speed, and stamina in fight or flee situations"
hence, the reason some of them "... can run for a bus in 4 inch heels!" :spin:

Perhaps, there's a drag queen hiding in all men!

Paul you bring such interesting ideas and food for thought.

My observation has been that shorter legged woman appear to be more wobbly in heels and they are the ones most likely to want to extend the line of their leg.
 
You would image the opposite should be true , if they are slightly shorter then they should be the one most like to wear heels the most, and get more practice by default.#
Most ladies switch these days between heels and flat shoes so maybe they are slowing loosing the practice time.

Perhaps, there's a drag queen hiding in all men!
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Well maybe but No way I could run for a bus in 4" heels!
 
Well here is a shorter legged women's opinion -
(not short in comparison to my body but shorter than most women's)

i think a lot of it has to do with the shoe itself. If you have a cheap or not so well balanced shoe, you wobble. If a shoe is well balanced, you don't tend to as much. I tend to prefer platforms, but there are even heels that are very square heeled and stable looking that i would probably break a limb in - but yet there are more spindly shoes that i am fine in.

There are a lot of cheaply made shoes out there - think "buy one get one free at Payless". They are fine when you are in a pinch and need a particular color of shoe at the last minute for an event, or want to buy flip flops, but they are not long term wear shoes.

WHen i was in sales and worked a large sales floor, i specifically invested in 2 pairs of the same $125.00-150.00 shoes. People scoffed because they were leather soles, they didn't have the cushioning. But i will tell you
one pair i still wear (and that was 4 years ago), and the pair that was the color i wore more finally got a hole inthe sole from walking around the floating pergo floor 7-11 hours a day, 5 days a week, and then whatever i did after work. Everyone else was always buying new shoes. I of course had other shoes - but that's what i wore to work and everyone else seemed to have to buy new shoes every few weeks.

When i used to take the subway to work, sometimes i changed into heels once i got to work and wore tennis shoes to run around between trains. But i will also say that it depends on the shoe, because there were some shoes that i would NOT need to do the shoe switch and could walk well in.

So anyways - in summary - not less skilled, less dainty women - just lots of disposable shoes
 
Before my back went (not due to wearing heels but weight gain which aggravated an inherited problem), I used to wear killer heels and platforms all the time. I'm 5'9" so I didn't need to wear heels but just like being taller than everyone and liked showing off my good legs!:D
I used to work long hours at the clothes stores in high platforms and heels and felt comfy in them. Used to run for buses in Montreal in platforms too and never had a problem.
I still wear high heels occasionally now for special occasions and never feel wobbily in them.

Lei
 
This is so true. The point to buying good shoes is fit fit fit. That is THE most important part of buying any type of shoe. If the shoe is working against you, regardless of whether they are high heeled or not, you will be in pain. A lot of women in the early 60s and 80s wore high heels ALL the time and that isn't good. There is nothing wrong with wearing high heels for limited periods of time but your foot naturally wants a heel of up to an inch but when you bend it further then you have to consider the heel height for limited occasions. It used to be, from the 1870s until the 1960s that women wore lower, sturdier heels for walking and working and high heels only for dressy occasions but gradually sexiness became more important than comfort and you got extremes of women wearing high heels all the time, or anti-high heel wearers donning Birkenstocks or Earth Shoes all the time, neither of which is a good choice, medically or aesthetically.

I have a ridiculous foot to fit with a narrow heel, wide ball, low arch, high instep and they are large, so technically I need an 11 1/2 EEEE/B which usually ends up being a 13D in order to accomodate the width I have to go longer. Theoretically, I should have my shoes made for me by a shoemaker but I don't, so I have had foot pain all my life because I NEVER have had a pair of shoes that fit correctly.
 
I ruined my feet in the late 60s, early 70s by wearing high heels that were too small for me. Everyone had to be a 6 1/2, you know.

Thus, my feet have always hurt, too. I can remember working in high heels all day at at my office job and my feet would be hurting so bad at the end of the day. I kept a pair of flats in the car, so if I had to go grocery shopping after work, I could slip them on.

If your feet hurt, you hurt all over!
 
I got pregnant, left the heels and platforms behind and put on chinese slippers (not advisable to anyone!) for the duration. My foot went from 7.5 to 8 B to and 8.5 B in about a year; so heels or no heels, good shoes that fit and offer support is key.

I'm very surprised that you wear ill-fitting shoes, Jonathan.
 
Originally posted by crinolinegirl
I used to wear killer heels and platforms all the time. I'm 5'9" so I didn't need to wear heels but just like being taller than everyone and liked showing off my good legs!:D

Lei
Click to expand...

No better reason to wear killer heels Lei
I little while ago I noticed a youngish lady towering over me in height ( I'm 6-0 ) and she was wearing high heels say 3" good for her I say height should not restrict what you wear at all.
So it it the toes which suffer the most from heels by putting to much weight on them as you walk and stand!
 
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