Q. Hi Jordan,
As of late, I am at war with my Louboutins. Literally, within 10 minutes of wearing them, my ankles feel as if they will give out at any second.
Help! Have you had this issue? Is it the end of heels? Any tips?
Love your blog!
A. Hmm…weakness not so much, but heel trouble generally, yes, and it makes me feel old. I’m not sure what happened: it used to be that I was all, “Oh, an entire day of shopping downtown? Heels! Out all night dancing and taking subways to far-flung parts of the city? Heels, obviously!” etc. It wouldn’t have even occurred to me that there might be an issue of…you know, pain. Sure, my feet hurt a little towards the end of the festivities, but I just kinda dealt with it. Now? No. No more dealing with it.
Those shoes I’m wearing in the above photo? I sort of side-eye them every time I’m getting ready to go out (by which I mean out-out, not out-to-the-grocery-store), think how cute they’d look (because nude pumps tend to generally look cute with pretty much every outfit)…and then think: “Ehhhhhhggg. Can’t.”
And then I think to myself my, how responsible I’ve grown. But the truth is just that they hurt, and I’m grumpy about pain. And once I was walking down the street wearing those heels and a very short miniskirt, and feeling all fabulous and flouncy, and then took such a ridiculously dramatic fall thanks to the cobblestone street that I ended up showing horrifying things to various passers-by while sprawled out on the sidewalk, and that was not an experience I’m looking to repeat anytime soon.
Anyway, I hear you. And while I think the answer that I’m supposed to give is to choose lower heels…nah. I don’t really like them, either. I do, however, gravitate towards stacked heels (like these) lately; I feel like they’re less likely to result in ankle-twisting than stilettos, and besides, they’re very chic. I’ve also been opening my mind to the adorableness of great flats (right now, I love pointy-toed patent styles (like these), as well as big, rugged lace-up boots (like the Clarks pair pictured above).
When I see a pair of sky-highs that I absolutely must own, I usually purchase cozy inserts for them (Aldo sells good ones; you may need to go up a half-size, so try on the shoes with the inserts in the store). And finally…yes…I wear flats to and from places where I want to wear heels if a taxi isn’t on the menu. But there is no need to do the ugly-white-sneakers thing: just keep a pair of foldable black flats handy, and you can do a (very inelegant, but whatever) switcheroo on the street before heading up to wherever it is that you’re going. (Keep a plastic bag in your purse to put the flats in so the interior doesn’t get dirty, or stash them in a cute cloth tote.) That’s actually what I did on Sunday: snowboots to and from my aunt’s place; wedges once inside. And as a bonus, this practice keeps the soles of your fancy shoes from getting too much wear and tear, so there’s that.
