Kitten Heels? Meow!

When I saw that the September issue of Harper's Bazaar contains an article on "The Return to Kitten Heels," I was ready to purr. I routinely recommend kitten heels as the perfect compromise for women who want to look elegant and sexy without the pain of four-inch dominatrix stilettos. Traditionally, a "kitten heel" refers to a shoe with a 1.5-2-inch slender heel with a slight curve, somewhat resembling a comma. The heel is set in from the edge of the shoe.

But inexplicably, fashion writer Anamaria Wilson wrinkles her nose at kitten heels, lamenting that "the primly proportioned number is everywhere for fall." Wilson proudly tells us that she exclusively wears "towering platform heels" and that kittens make her look "like a banker or a hostess or a secretary. In other words: boring. And sad." When test-driving a pair of 2.3-inch slingbacks, she felt "dowdy, like a '50s frump." Switching to a 2.7-inch pair of pointy-toe slingbacks didn't help because they made Wilson feel "twee and bored." She "craved the zing of a shoe that makes people use the word sick in the most positive of connotations."

Reader, shoes with 2.7-inch heels are not kitten heels. They are not even mid-height. Repeat after me: They are high heels. Wilson is right to use the word "sick." High heels, worn on a regular basis over a number of years, cause foot deformities that not only hurt but also are hideous. Bunions and hammertoes are most definitely "sick"... and not in a good way.

In fact, in a photograph accompanying her article, Wilson is wearing red Stella McCartney stilettos with such a minimal toe box that the joints of her big toes are literally spilling out of the shoes and resting on the ground. That has got to hurt, and these are shoes that Wilson rejects for being boring. How badly does a shoe have to fit to be pronounced edgy?

Wilson is not even discussing kitten heels in the traditional sense. Rather, her complaint is against classic stiletto slingbacks and pumps. Her article is a perfect case study of how people working in fashion have lost all perspective about heel heights. How else can one explain the fall trend of work boots with 4-inch stiletto heels?

As a corrective, allow me to offer the low-down on high heels:

• A heel that is 1-inch or lower is low heeled. A heel that between 1-2 inches is mid-height. A heel that is 2 inches and higher classifies as high. A heel that is 4 inches or higher is demented.
• But sometimes demented is the look you're going for. If you must wear 4-inch heels, save them for special occasions, and even then you should wear them for only several hours. Stratospherically high heels are not for everyday wear.
• You don't need to go higher than 2 inches to achieve a flattering, leggy look.
• The higher the heel, the more pressure is placed on the forefoot, the higher the likelihood of developing a bunion, hammertoe, neuroma, corn, or callus.
• If you must wear heels during the day, bring a backup pair in a lower height and alternate your shoes whenever possible. If you wear heels every day without a break, you run the risk of shortening your Achilles tendons.

Wilson complains that slingbacks with a 2.3-inch heel "added 10 years to my life." On this point, she is absolutely correct. If she wears these shoes every day, all day, her feet will become so deformed she will have no choice but to wear supportive shoes with no zing at all.

Ladies, do not trust fashionistas when it comes to footwear. Clearly, they do not have their feet on the ground.

For more shoe-sense, pick up Tanenbaum's Bad Shoes & The Women Who Love Them.

 

Comments

[nisey1201]

08:34 AM on 09/10/2010

I love kitten heels and think that summer slides/mules are particularly flattering. Kitten heels allow me to wear fashionable shoes at a comfortable, sexy height.

[copelli21]

05:10 PM on 09/07/2010

Great article.

The height of these heels nowadays is absolutely absurd. Personally, I want to be able to walk on my own 2 god-given feet without a back brace when I am 60. Those high heels will wreak havoc on the spine.

I have to say though, I don't like kitten heels either. I don't think they are flattering at all. Michelle Obama wears them alot and they do nothing for her legs. They do look dowdy. So I cannot co-sign on the kittens either.

There are plenty of fashionable mid-heeled shoes that can fit the bill. Don't follow the trend....set one.

[elsie900]

03:10 PM on 09/07/2010

The main damage high heels do to the body isn't in the feet. It's to the spine, and the pelvic carriage. Wear "sick" heels in your teens and twenties and you WILL be paying through the nose for pain relief and medical care in your forties or fifties. It's longterm damage, it's significant, and it's entirely preventable.

[Lucyfur88]

09:59 PM on 09/06/2010

Repeat after me high heels do not cause bunions..People can develop them when they walk bakefoot their entire life. I never wore high heels, always sensible shoes and now I have a bunion and cannot wear anything pretty anyway. I do like the looke of kitten heels worn with a nice tight cashmere sweater and pencil skirt..looks like 1960 all over again..very mad mannish.. A wider toe box is my main problem Shoes are too narrow in the front. I have a grand total of 2 shoe brands to choose from and if they dont make kitten heels than that is that.

[85Percent]

06:02 PM on 09/07/2010

Bunions must be hereditary. I know of none in my family, but my mother-in-law had them, and my daughter has them. I have heard that girls get a lot of their traits from their paternal grandmothers, and in the case of my daughter, the feet and the torso are very much alike. And they were very close, as well. Kitten heels were what we wore when we were just starting to wear heels, back in the sixties. There are no heel heights that look good with a cane, I find.

[Willow-the-Witch]

09:01 PM on 09/06/2010

I absolutely cannot wear kitten heels! I bought a pair for my sister's wedding. I wore a pair for a special dinner that I attended. Both times I spent the entire time trying not to fall over. There just isn't enough heel to make it feel like a high heel & get my balance to kick in. But then there's also not enough width to give it some stability side-to-side like I'd have with a wedge. As cute as I think they are, they just aren't the "Goldilocks" shoe I was hoping for.

[longtalldrink]

08:03 PM on 09/06/2010

"If she wears these shoes every day, all day, her feet will become so deformed she will have no choice but to wear supportive shoes with no zing at all."

Too true...too true...take it from someone who found out the hard way. Can only wear flats now ladies...with a mid-heel for special occasions. But truthfully...my back has never felt better...and my feet either.

[Egalitare]

02:27 AM on 09/03/2010

Re: Wilson "Cruel Shoes" comes to mind....

[MKWewer]

10:50 AM on 09/02/2010

Love me some kitten heels. It's a great compromise when you work in an office and want to look feminine but not "unstable..."

[Mihal Freinquel]

10:30 AM on 09/02/2010

no, sorry. REAL heels or flats. kitten heels are the asparagus/avocado roll of sushi. if you're not going to go all the way, don't bother - it's a waste of money and it makes you look like you don't know what you're doing.

[Leora Tanenbaum]

03:02 PM on 09/02/2010

Hi Mihal - Thanks for posting your comment! Although I happen to like kitten heels, I know that some women agree with you. I want to point out that pancake-flat shoes can be just as damaging to feet as high heels are (because when wearing flats the feet tend to roll around too much when walking). If you are able to wear flats and you have no discomfort, you are lucky. Most of us need to wear shoes with a heel that is between a half-inch to an inch in height and with some arch support built into the shoe. Otherwise, not only are we uncomfortable but also we are at risk to develop damaging foot conditions. So please don't judge women who wear "asparagus/avocado sushi roll" shoes!

[Mihal Freinquel]

04:51 PM on 09/02/2010

indeed, but the distinction must be made that a low heel does not equal a kitten heel. a nice loafer, for instance, has a very small chunky heel. kitten heels are skinny and pointy like this: http://www.zappos.com/kensie-girl-cassie-black...oy vey.

haha i will definitely continue to judge because that's what i do best, but to each her own :)

[Halsey]

03:04 PM on 09/01/2010

I have a couple pair of "high-heels" which to me is about 2 inches. I kid you not. On the rare occasion when I have the opportunity to need my strappy red (F. Me ) Vera Wangs (bought at a designer resale shop in Palm Desert!) I know I MUST have valet parking, etc. Nothing except a horrid toothache affects the entire body spectrum like shoes that hurt. I like to look pretty, but grimacing at every step, not so pretty. I am disappointed in female designers who create shoes that hurt their sisters! Ahh...I love a 1- 1.5 inch heel...period, end of story.

[maattwo]

01:59 PM on 09/01/2010

Stiletto heels are the contemporary version of the old Chinese practice of foot binding. They make your feet look small, and force you to walk like a baby balancing on her toes. I can understand the urge to wear sexy clothing--skimpy and tight can be comfortable. I have much less sympathy for spending outrageous amounts of money for shoes that impose pain and risk of injury. Designers who promote these things should be unmasked as sadists, and columnists who preach their beauties should be required to undergo therapy for masochism.

[Aitch5]

01:06 PM on 09/01/2010

I haven't worn heels since I was 30. I can't balance in them and had too many slips, stumbles and falls splat on my ass wearing heels when I was in my 20s.----and that was not even in stilettos! I can't walk more than a few steps in the sky high heels so fashionable today.
I wear platforms or a low chunky heel when I dress up. If it is not sexy enough or if it is very frumpy--too bad.