I have made the point before that women in the northern part of England and in Scotland are often rather shorter than their southern sisters and heels help to add the extra height they seem to desire. Moreover, there seems to be a different attitude to the desirable 'look' in the north, whereby women make much more of an effort to 'dress up', almost regardless of the occasion. There is a 'bravery' element too - typically seen in Newcastle etc - where bare feet in high-heeled sandals, skimpy dresses and no coat is considered the way to dress for an evening out, even in bitterly cold or snowy weather.
What is worn by either sex in a given situation has long been inluenced by dress codes, explicit or otherwise. But, as the world moves to a more casual way of doing things, at work and at play, dress codes have been eroded if not entirely dismantled. Although, in the UK, the suit and tie is still 'expected' of men in most white-collar environments, it is increasingly the case that women are no longer obliged to wear the skirt-suit and heels that would have been regarded as obligatory in many occupations, particularly those considered 'professional'. The result is a plethora of increasingly-casual 'middle of the road' dressing - but people forget that those staying in the middle of the road tend to get run over.
From observation, the position in the US appears to be more polarised - either fairly strict formality in dress codes in many situations or 'anything goes' - but correct me if I'm wrong. I can't but help referring to the shocking Trump/Zelensky meeting last week, when Mr Z was roundly criticised for daring to enter the White House in other than a suit (for reasons well-known whilst his country is at war) - his primed journalist attacker being apparently attired in a bright blue blazer! A cheap shot from cheap people. Would they have dared to challenge an Arabian or African leader wearing tradional robes - or a Scotsman in a kilt for that matter?