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I have been freelancing now for over 25 years - working from home when not on the road on assignments - and one of the things I’ve done to separate work from home life is to dress for work, not lounge around in pyjamas, even though I could if I wanted to. Making a point of changing into office attire - whatever that might be - helps to define the workday. Heels have become a part of that, my office dress code if you will.

There is no question that Work From Home is here to stay, because of the many benefits to all as mentioned in depth above. However, it doesn't work for everyone (no pun intended). WFH is not an option for me, both because of the nature of my work and my personality. First, it's awfully tough to build any physical structure from home, and second, I'd be fired within months if I worked from home. I'd never get anything done. I'm finally old enough and mature enough to admit that shortcoming. Luckily, I've got a place to go every day, where I'm not allowed to get distracted, but when I leave in the afternoon, I don't think about the job (much) until the next day. There are definite advantages to having work and home completely segregated. My only regret is having a profession where I can't ever wear heels to work.

I disagree. I doubt WFH will be going anywhere anytime soon. There is no putting the toothpaste back in the tube. There are too many obvious benefits - both personally for workers and for employers who will save on exhorbitant rental costs for downtown office space. And there's simply too much demand for it for things to return to the status quo of 2019. Technology allows for so many jobs to be done from home these days. More progressive employers were already recognising this and acting on it long before the pandemic. Thirty years ago I had a great work-from-home deal when I was on the staff of a big international magazine. I was by no means the excepton there either. Everyone knew it was a good deal all around. And so it was. And this was using early 90s technology. Emlployers who are demanding that employees return to their cubicles, to be monitored and treated like battery hens, are looking increasingly Dickensian. The world has changed.

I think folk here in the UK are getting the idea that WFH is damaging the economy. There is a third of companies that are going to come back full time to the office this year. It is also being shown that the lack of office work is also hurting the “high streets” with shop occupancy being at a third to two fifths down on pre pandemic 2019 levels. It has been suggested that getting folk back to the office will increase shop occupancy and bring employment to those shops, increasing the tax base as well. This could reduce inflation in the economy as well. I know of many folk who are going back to the office this year. Some of the women are also panicking as they will be expected to wear heels again. One has started wearing heels in her everyday wear right now as to get used to them and get some new ones worn in. She had reduced the amount she had to about 5 pairs during lockdown, now she is buying about 20 new pairs so to have variety in what she will wear. She is also getting a new wardrobe as well, more smart casual wears and less sportswear. Im predicting that WFH will be gone by the end of 2024 in the majority of cases.

Fabulous boots Mike.

Well, nothing here I would ever wear, but that's OK, at least they are trying to market heels for men

I don’t think it is anything like a turnaround, just a gentle nudge in a different direction. And the Louboutin name will certainly mean more than just generic cowboy boots.

Heelers : Here I go. I do not believe anyone is going to agree with this. I would never wear the shoes shown in this ad. What kind of a turnaround do you guys think will be achieved here? The men in western movies wear cowboy boots with higher heels than this crap. Do any of you think John Wayne would prance around in these shoes. Cowboy boots haven't encouraged people to wear higher heeled shoes over the last/past one hundred (100) years. Just wear what you like and move on. Mike

Honestly I do like the 3 inch Cuban heel ankle boots even if they are on the low height side for me. Agreed with Melrose, good overall sign. Mainstream does follow his lead.

I would agree - there’s nothing that rings my bell there, but it is nice to see some motion in the right direction. And yes, I’d agree that it’s all predicated on profit and box-ticking rather than a sea change in philosophy, but there again one takes what one finds.

I guess it is encouraging to see shoes as well as boots in this ad campaign. I'm not going to give CL himself any crap about doing what is apparently a 180 on his former men in heels statements. Even if you can ignore money/profit motives, you have to give people room to change as the world changes. Having said all of that, there are no shoes or boots featured in this set that I would actually wear.

Yes, but as someone who manages buildings you, and your company, obviously have a vested intrerest in seeing those buildings used and occupied as much as possible. To someone with a commercial interest in office blocks it really becomes irrelevant how productive a worker might be at home - they could be toiling like a galley slave at maximum effort - but if they are not doing it in the office, boosting occupancy rates, it is a loss. Sure some people might take it easy working at home - just as some workers manage to slide by at the office. It's probably those very same workers. There will always be slackers in any collective environment, just as there will be people who are driven to do their best. THey will be just as driven at home - possibly more so, as it is that bit harder to switch off. All the studies I've read about suggest no loss of prduuctivity at all from home working. The people who are losing out are those who own and mamage office buildings, and while I can understand their frstration and sense of loss, the world is moving in a different direction. To be sure, some can - and are - using their clout to force workers back to their offices, but that will not be a long term solution. The demand is out there - other companies will offer the desired flexibility and ultimately changes will have to be accepted.

Exactly right. This is not an easy change of direction, and doing it in small ncremental steps is the only way this is ever going to work. Patience is required. This is a good and useful start

The way I view it is that these pro-brand endorsements of men in heels creates a cumulative effect of change. When viewed in isolation, they may fall short of our dreams and wishes. But when viewed in combination with the broader celebrity (Harry Styles), social media (Insta + Tik Tok), and high street (ASOS) endorsements of heels for men, they prime the broader culture to more readily accept the style we wish to wear for ourselves (pant suits with pumps). It shifts the needle in the right direction.

not sure if this is a step in the right direction or not. i still don't see much in the way of heels in those ads. i'd like to see a man in a business suit, or some form of normal dress, but wearing a pair of "so kates".

I handle 30 buildings in 5 states, new construction, remodeling, maintenance, inspections for a technology company that does marketing, managed IT, cyber security, cloud storage, business automation, etc. 900 plus employees and not 1 is allowed to work from home. We have found that not everyone will give you 8 hours of work for 8 hours of pay. Productivity is higher when people collaborate together, work together, party together. Some of the bigger companies have realized that it does not always work out with people working from home and are slowly bringing people back to the offices. Baxter had required 2 days in the office last year, this year it is 3. I will say that Allstate insurance sold off there headquarters in suburban Chicago as they found they don't need the offices. who knows where we will be in a year or two,,,,, The Doomsday clock just got moved closer to 12 midnight so at that point it won't matter :-o

Yup! IMHO, the styling of the outfits was good too. The campaign was deliberately designed to challenge the gender binary too.

That would me a marked departure from his previous comments on men in heels!

Christian Louboutin openly promoting heels for men. It's part of new Advertising campaign done in collab with ID magazine https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn4qa4dvK8j/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CnzxFA0NqzW/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CnzjosSrmPm/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn2J4YJr0ZE/

I don’t think anyone’s thinking about more lockdowns, but working from home is something that has evolved out of that and has become something separate now , no longer connected to Covid. People have discovered that working from home has many benefits, productivity is at least as good if not better, and technology can support it. Companies that are insisting that things return to how they were in 2019 are just not in tune with how the world has evolved. The workplace is never going to be the same. At the very least there will be a new demand for flexibility. The clock won’t go back to 2019

Wasn't my point. My point is, since it is a corona virus it's highly susceptible to mutations and as such we'll just have to learn how to live with it. We can't crawl into a hole every time it peaks. There likely not be a cure in our life times. The reality is, the fatality rates are way down from 2020 and not likely to return to those levels even though infection rates will continue.

People can and do find alternative ways to connect with others. Over here at least all the polls and studies are showing that with rare exceptions, the overwhelming number of people would prefer to work from home. Most companies - the enlightened ones at any rate - are taking this into consideration and working with this new way of looking at things rather than against it. Covid is a Corona virus - as is the common cold - but they are not the same thing. It’s like saying a garden snake is a reptile and a crocodile is a reptile - very different even if they are both reptiles. Covid has a markedly higher mortality rate than influenza - another coronavirus - and has known after effects that are unique to it. Long Covid is no joke and not something you’ll find with the common cold.

Tech: What is the story? Just found out that PMs sent to me were blocked. One each JKrenzer and pebblesf. Do you not love me anymore? I haven't sent you nasty grams for years now. Motto: Keep your Heels and standerds high. Mike

Always like Jessica Simpson boots, you look great in this outfit.