What happens when the trend is over?

[Laurieheels]

Okay, we do need some good discussion here, and I have a good topic. It has been mentioned that higher heels are a trend right now, and that many of the members of our community are seeing more and more women wearing heels. The speculative issue I would like to discuss is this: What happens when the current higher heel trend is over? What happens to those women who bought higher heels? Do they keep wearing them, now that they know they can, or do they feel happy that they can wear something lower if that is what the trend holds? Will high heels as a trend make women more used to wearing heels, and thus keep wearing them? Of course, it is not a majority group of women who will be following the current fashion trends of higher heels, but it is an influential and very visible group. What happens to them, and what happens to all of those who appreciate the trend and enjoy viewing the high level of high heeled activity? There are many angles to this issue, and this question. So let's discus! Speculate!

[Skirted-UK]

I can't ever see high heels going out of fashion for women. In the early sixties women revolted against the long tight skirts and high heels of the fifties. In came mini skirts, hot pants and flat shoes and boots. High heels were definitely out, they were regarded as being too tarty to wear with short skirts or tight jeans. To be honest after the elegance of the fifties I thought the sixties fashions were really naff. But high heels soon came back and they always will, they are just too powerful a weapon in a woman's armoury for her to ignore. Women will always wear them if nothing else but for the extra height that they give them. Don't worry Laurie, you will never be out of fashion. As long as high heel goddesses like you keep wearing them, other women will not want to be at a disadvantage and will have to keep wearing them.

[Firefox]

Good questions. For the women who bought higher heels I think many of them will go back to buying and wearing whatever happens to be in fashion for next year. Average quality shoes only last a year or so if you use them a lot. Many people will wear shoes out quickly by not replacing the heel top an damaging the heel through walking. Of course it's always possible to obtain nice heels through specialist suppliers. But that is not an option for most women. Not only do they not have the interest, but the prices are higher. Thus, the favoured course is to trot down to the local high street and see what is available. I don't think wearing heels is that difficult, and most women will have learned to do it at some stage in their youth. Hence the awareness factor doesn't seem to be important in influencing future wearing trends. It's interesting to note that, even in the current times, a viewing at Liverpool Street Station in London last Friday between 4.00 and 6.00 when all the office execs were going home showed that perhaps only 20% of women were wearing 3 inches or more. Of these women by far the most popular look was ankle boots with low boot cut trousers which hid most of the heel. Only a handful were wearing court shoes with skirts. They're always going to be popular for shorter women and for dressing up on the big occasion, because everyone likes to wear something different so they're always going to be around. But I can't see any increase or continuation of current trends. I don't think they are practical enough footwear especially in court or sandal varieties. Those women who do wear them regularly with some comfort have devoted some time to selection of the right pairs for their feet. Most can't be bothered amid a hectic modern life, and the change of any heeled fashion trend is enough catalyst for them to go with it.

[new_look]

its strange to imagine women worrying about heels going out, when theres lads around here who would do anything to wear them and feel normal, or have it as a fashion 'trend'. Im sure women would never give up heels even if 'fashion' stopped with them. As it was mentioned above, they give too many advantages for them to be ignored.

[Skirted-UK]

I agree with what Firefox is saying, but I think that shoe shops will always stock high heels because short women will always want them. Another point is that now women are competing with men in the work place they want to be the same height as them. If a woman is head of a department she would not want to be shorter than the men working under her. When Laurie is talking about high heels does she mean 4" to 6" heels or everything over 1". As long as I can remember it has always been possible to buy 2.5" / 3" stiletto heels in court or sandal styles, my sister in law has been wearing them continually for the last 30 years. There is a strong anti-high heel lobby in the fashion world who keep trying to get rid of them. The Sun newspaper tried to do a hatchet job on them a couple of years ago by sending out one of their female reporters in a pair of 5" heel courts and pictured her getting the heels stuck in drains and elevators and eventually twisting her ankle. In my lifetime, except for a short time in the early sixties, women have always worn high heels and I expect they always will.

[Lee]

Excellent subject. I think there will always be women who will wear high heels. The classic pump has been around for 80+ and is still one on the dominant shoes in the market today. I do think the ultra-feminist movement has had an effect, but I know many women who do not subscribe the movement at all. They still like to to have dress up, have doors opened for them, and still hold their own in the work place. Please don't get up wrong... it should be equal pay for equal work. But women have the opportunity to dress nicely, and high hells will still be a part of it. My wife wears many different types of high heels, and to her... they are just shoes. Now I think she looks good in them, but to her, they are just shoes (she is 5' 3" tall). Anyway, I think there will always be women (and men) who will want to wear high heels. Just my opinion.

[BobHH]

At least part of the reason for changing styles is to stimulate sales of new styles to replace the old ones. I think much of the "slavish" following of style dictates disappeared a few years ago, and was replaced by wear whatever you want. Earlier this year, the style press was full of statements that "stilettos are dead, flat comfort is in!" So what happened? The press is now full of articles about Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos and how women love them. And they aren't flat! Hopefully, the fetish styles will be around for a while, too. It has been quite a few years (7+) since the tall platform stilettos came in, made respectable by Else Anita. They were widely featured in the press, but they did result in some objections from women that they were depicting women as sluts, etc. The previous wave of platforms was introduced by Yves SanLaurent (sp?) over 20 years ago, and featured by all stores including the large chains. Then, Cherokee and Candie's kept them popular for a while. Even Kmart had them. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a big wave of popularity for sexy heel styles for quite a while. I think high, thin heels will be around for a while. It's up to us to provide some market for them!

[Laurieheels]

I am not worrying about being out of fashion. I'll never be able to afford to be in fashion. What I mean by the current rend is this. Thin heels, from thin posts to tapering stilettos, around four inches, and higher. I see them on television shows, in magazines, right now they are trendy. They're everywhere, and even have Kelly Rippa hugging Elizabeth Hurley's foot. There's still the hip hop vibe, promoting sneakers and baggy jeans. Even though the female stars may be glaming it up, will the teens follow? From what I see of them, the trend towards high heels is not so prominent where I am. This is a fun discussion, please, let's keep talking about it!

[BobHH]

I thought the baggy pants and sneakers were a male thing. Can't recall what the girls are wearing. Remember some of that style is intended to offend adults. What's happening in Calgary? Despite being home of the Stampede, it seemed growing and cosmopolitan the last time I was there, about the time you were born! No heels in those days, as that was a disapproving wife, unlike the young, pretty BW, my second wife. There aren't a huge number of heels around here (Orange County), but every once in a while I see some really spectacular ones on young girls, so there is hope. I haven't been shopping myself for 2 years, since losing the BW. I need to go renew acquaintances with Maya, who we used to see fairly often, as she is still concerned.

[Heelfan]

Hello All! I'll try to give a proper long-term perspective, devoid of wishful thinking: All fashion runs in a 20-year cycle. This applies to all fashion items, but if we concentrate on shoes, the high-heel booms peaked around 1920, 1940, 1960 (first stiletto boom), 1980 and 2000 (now), with the next one to be 2020. In the middle of the intervening 10-year periods (around 1930s, 1950, 1970 and 1990) shoe fashions became what we forum members would call DREADFUL! If you think your 'Comfy Loafer' was bad, just think back to those periods. Around 1970 one constantly groaned upon seeing nothing but crumpled, totally flat granny boots etc. Around 1990 it was just as bad with all teenage girls wearing what a friend of mine described as "Road mender's shoes" - great clod-hopping flat leather boots with thick toe-caps. This 20-year cycle suits fashion suppliers down to the ground because they can then continuously persuade the gullible public to buy the "latest" thing, and it is only after 20 years that they can again pass-off the same thing as being "Latest" again. So ladies and gentlemen, whether we like it or not, we are stuck on this interminable, unstoppable merry-go-round of the fashion cycle, and this is what it will happen: Our present high-heel boom began with block heels (as the last one did) in the late 1990s, the heel-heights predicatably peaking at around the year 2000. The second half of the current high-heel boom now concentrates on stilettos (again, like the last boom did). The highest of these on current general sale are around 4 1/2", but more and more shoe catalogues and magazines are now starting to push kitten heels of 1" to 2". This is because sadly folks, the 2000-centred boom is nearing it's end and kitten heels are always the dying gasp. After 2005 fewer and fewer heels will be seen on our streets until by 2010 we will be again apalled by the DREADFUL frumpy, flat horrors which will be surrounding us all. Despite the more rose-tinted predictions that some of you have made above, I can assure you all that, whether you like it or not, this WILL HAPPEN! I've seen it before, every time! So ladies and gentlemen: 1. Enjoy what is now on our streets whilst it lasts. 2. Stock up on your street-heel photographs and collections. 3. Stock up on your sexy shoes whilst still in the shops. 4. If a wearer, try to uphold the cause throughout the bad years ahead. 5. If an admirer, store your nuts and hibernate under a tree from about 2005 to 2015. It's all sad but has to be faced. Only the fetish suppliers and closet-wearers will continue throughout the intervening bad years, plus the very occasional, very precious street-sighting. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

[tuckedintoboots]

well, I for 1 do NOT think that the trend WILL end, @ least not any time soon! I think that the more men start to see this fashion as acceptable for themselves, then it can only grow that much more you see in the stores all it takes is for more men (like us for instance) to see this fashion for what it really is- just a different but still very nice (& sexy for that matter) concept for mens footware. Afterall, a human foot is still a human foot so it seems to me that footware is just that- FOOTWEAR!! this "for him-for her" stuff when it comes to footwear styles just plain STUPID (you can see I'm talking about here if you remember certain mens styles of some years ago) that are now "womens" style I could care less WHO sees my heels (mostly wedge platform, with one pair of nine west blade heel boots I got last year or what ever they may think about it, cause for me life it just way too short to even CARE about these people if they have no life to call there own that they have to care about what strangers are wearing (foot & all fashion) then I feel sorry for them!! yours, Brad (in black wedge platform boots)

[JCinHeels]

regardless of what fashion trends may dictate, im becoming increasinglt comfortable with wearing heels in public and my friends and family think they look good on me and on everyone else willing and able to wear them. Fashion trends aside, im sticking to my stiletto heels and stockings!

[JeffM]

One thing I haven’t seen or heard is the podiatrist’s point of view. Don’t they usually tell every one that they are ruining their feet by wearing high heels be it stilettos or chunky heeled platforms. If Heelfan is correct in his prediction then the pods are moving pretty slow, being 3 years into stiletto fashions. Jeff

[Ionic]

I just recall the 'pods' moaning in the mid 70s when platforms reached their highest phase. Heelfan should give me a few bonus points, my small collection includes some mid 80s stilettos with one or two (small sizes) still absolutely pristine in their boxes. However some older ones from the late 70s as the platform transmuted to slenderer heels and lower platforms are now a case for the museum conservation lab as the pvc breaks down and the glues give up their grip. Although the broad 20yr cycle may hold true, fashion is much more eclectic and individualistic now and several sub-styles/fashions can co-exist at once. Youth culture is likely to set its own separate identity in these matters too. [says one from the beards and sandals generation] /I

[Skirted-UK]

I agree with Heelfan about fashion going in 20 year cycles, but things are different now. When I was at school I can remember the older girls complaining about their long tight skirts and high heels, but they wore them because they were the fashion and they did not want to look out of place. Now days women are not quite so fashion conscious, they wear what they like and think suits them best. Any attractive woman is always going to own a pair black high heel court shoes, she would be mad not to. The shoe manufacturing base has now shifted to the far East were the labour costs are low. UK shoe companies like HayWay shoes have diverted into the fetish shoe market to stay in business. The classic black high heel court shoe is their most popular line. If high heels were to go out of main stream fashion, they will always be available from companies like HayWay who would see an up turn in their business. As I said earlier I can't ever see women abandoning the black high heel court shoe, it's now a classic and it's just too useful. A couple years ago I was in email contact with an American celebratory who shall remain nameless. At one point we were discussing shoes and she wanted to know what I meant by court shoes. I sent her a picture of a pair of 4" stiletto heel, black patent court shoes. She replied that they called them "F**k me pumps" in the States! I have not heard this description before or since, but I thought it was rather funny coming from a woman.

[Ionic]

I think there was a famous occasion, not many years ago, when prof. Germane Greer used the expression publicly in some passing reference to a [considerably younger] female journalist/arts critic. It might even have been live on the Late Show arts review programme. /I

[wheels]

It has been noticeable in the last year or so how much greater emphasis has been placed on the sexiness of high heels. There have been a good many articles in various newspapers and last week's Sunday Times Style supplement was a great example. There was further mention this week. The likes of lovely Liz Hurley and Victoria Beckham have also helped raise (sic) the profile of heels. Many things may have brought about this greater emphasis but I think that a major factor must be the web. The shoe fetish sites have escalated to a massive extent over the last three or four years. All sorts of people are starting to realise that they are not alone in their desires and that in fact their fetish is not unusual but extremely widespread and perfectly acceptable. This I believe has led to people having more confidence in expressing their views on the matter. This forum is a fine example of this. The shoe industry and media has taken note. High heels are big business and here to stay. I'll drink to that.

[dheel]

I didn't think anyone on this site cared about the trends. (lol) Aren't we all about fashion freedom? Who cares what anyone else does or says? Come on people, that's what I admire about you - that you're not afraid to go against the trends.

[Spikey Dan]

I live in a part of the U.S. where fashion trends are 2 to 4 years behind. So the best times for heels might be from this spring through next year, at least. As my memory serves, the heel trends in the 80's lasted until 1994, until the 'claude-hoppers' boots that Heelfan mentioned, the Doc Martin's boots, and the birkenstocks became mainstream. I'm seeing a bit more heels out there, but not on an everyday occurance like the 80's. But I will enjoy and savor everything I will see.

[Laurieheels]

Dheel, we're not following the trends, but this is a fun discussion about the majority of the world that does. Will they learn something from the high heeled fashions of the past few years, or will they forget and want something different? It just so happens that the trends are following us right now!

[TallSwede]

Dear all. I am tired (due to the currently rampaging viruses). so I'll be (refreshingly) brief, BUT a Swedish rag has during the last week put up an article where some (assumedly) reputable scientists have found a/the proof that high heels are NOT detrimental to your well being. If this sounds interesting for some of you I'll try to find the links for you. My best guess is "www.aftonbladet.se" or "www.expressen.se", assuming you can manage to wade around in a muck of Swedish... Regards to you all, TallSwede

[AZShoeNut]

I haven’t read all of the replies so I might be making points that have already been made. I agree with the high heel - low heel cycle mentioned elsewhere in the thread. During the eighties it was great. All the women wore pumps with the majority being high heel pumps. It was not considered slutty (I have never considered it slutty) to wear high heels. Then it happened. There were a number of "specials" on TV discussing the adverse health effects from heels. There were groups working to push manufacturers to produce lower heels as a standard. When this happened I thought, "Oh no, heels are on their way out." Sure enough low, ugly, blocky styles started to dominate the fashion seen. I am sooooo glad to see heels coming back. I hope that their stay is long but when fashion starts to dictate lower heels again I will just go back into hibernation and await the next return of heels. An interesting side issue has developed though. Now that all the sexy shoes are on the way back in I cannot seem to find them in my size. I have seen shoes from Guess, Donald J. Pliner (?sp), and many other brands that I would really like to buy but they all stop at size 10. Wearing a size 12 I find myself more and more distressed that the new sexy styles just cannot be found in larger sizes. I have considered trying to make shoes for myself and have even started laying them out in CAD. Perhaps there exists a business oppertunity in producing current styles in larger sizes. AZShoeNut

[Laurieheels]

Vague memories are floating through my mind, of being young, and seeing something about a movie. it starred Kirstie Alley as a reporter who went under cover as a Playboy Bunny at a club to expose the downside of the skipy comstumes and high heels. She was wearing fuzzy slippers at one point, because the heels hurt her feet and she couldn't wear any shoes at that moment. Funny how now, in her Pier 1 commercials here in North America, she wears heels, and is running all over the screen. Maybe heels were also connected with other things, such as music. Hair bands and heavy metal meant girls in heels and stockings. Grunge came along, and the image was not flashy and prissy, it was, well, slovenly. Thus, another source of high heels as fashuonable, on both males and females, was gone. There are so many factors out there... maybe we need to create our own factors, so we can, in a slow way, manipulate things towards something better. I can see it now, gathered in a darkened room, plotting in much the way the republicans might in America. Insert evil cackle here!

[badger]

Bite your tongue. This is not a trend. High heels are forever.

[Laurieheels]

Now, now, we must accept the reality of the situation, for if we do not, we end up left behind, instead of influencing the world to contain diversity. Let us be like shepherds amongst the sheep, and not goats left in the pen.

[Ionic]

- - bleat ~ small protest from a Capricorn ~ bleat - -

[JCinHeels]

fashions may change, but, they will return.

[genebujold]

The trend I'm seeing is a trend away from trends. It's a trend towards non-trendiness, towards, more variation, more individuality. Thus, while some microcosms of the societal whole might be conglomerating in a trend, the macrocosm is fracturing into an ever larger number of smaller microcosms. The limit of this trend is one where every individual is a microcosm. I don't think we'll ever reach this, as we humans are simply not that individualistic - consider the conglomeration of this board! Ok - enough with the micro/macro stuff.... I like seeing higher heels on women - to a point. I think a 3-1/2 heel can be elegant, whereas a 5-inch heel is on a vector away from elegance. As for when the trend will end... People band together in times of trouble. In times of ease they tend to individualize. Provided our world becomes ever more bountiful in quality of life, you will always find microcosms where higher heels are "the in thing." Sadly, our world's resources are not limitless, so I think in perhaps ten years we'll see sharp departure from individualism towards collectivism. That may increase the trend towards higher heels, or the trend may heads towards more conservatism. Who knows?

[Laurieheels]

Collectivism makes me afraid. I think it is time to spend more money on low cost and very efficient space vehicles, so we can start offloading willing people to the moon, mars, moons around Jupiter, and so forth. I mean, what happens when you need something at home and cannot find it? You leave your home and go looking for it. In space, heels are easy to wear, when there's no gravity. Although the effect of low or zero G on bones is not always good, from what I see on the news, and those little clips they show just before Stargate on the space channel here. (Darn reruns, why can't they shell out for the current seasons!)

[allheel]

Reminds me as a watchers, something I forgot to mention At parts of the cycle when elegant heels are rare, anything a little bit out of the ordinary dull gets us excited. But as higher heels become more common, what once turned heads no longer does. I guess its how we cope with cycles.