An old fashion article I had

[Meg-ann]

See me, heel me 18/11/97 The shoe of the season is inspired by a classic male fantasy. AVRIL GROOM explains why women are falling for the stiletto all over again THERE is one fashion item that defines the season's look. If you want your style to yell autumn '97, you don't need to buy any clothes. Just invest in a pair of stonking stilettos so high they make you look as if teetering on the edge of an abyss, and preferably with heels sheathed in shining steel for an extra aggressive impact. To buy the shoes that are getting all the attention from Gucci to Russell & Bromley women are joining waiting lists, despite a rash of killjoy articles by medical experts outlining the dire consequences for the feet and posture of tottering around in the things for any length of time. Depending on your point of view, the new stiletto is either the sexiest thing since Marilyn Monroe (and look where high heels got her) or the result of a conspiracy by misogynist designers to make women look ridiculous. Women seem to be voting with their feet for the former and discovering that, once you remodel your walk no flat footed striding but a voluptuous roll from the hips high heels and a tight skirt do make you feel sexy. The question is, why would women want to get back into stilettos after so years of freedom and comfort in sensible shoes? Some still say they would never forgo the liberation pumps, loafers and trousers have brought to fashion. Yet many suddenly seem happy to torture their toes in shoe shapes that until this autumn were only available, usually in sizes nine to 11, in Soho backstreets. Here the conspiracy theorists have a point. The stiletto forms part of every female sexual stereotype from vamp to drag queen, and male designers, notorious for playing more to the image than the comfort of women, make full use of it to literally heighten the drama of a catwalk show. There is also timing the buzzword for this autumn's fashion is the Eighties, the last time stilettos were in vogue. Of course, fashion is never regurgitated exactly the second time around and designers have conveniently forgotten that the Eighties heel, as worn by newly liberated female executives knocking on the glass ceiling in their power suits and pussy bow blouses, was actually an innocuous wee cone shaped thing no more than two inches high. On to that reality Nineties designers have grafted a classic male sexual fantasy. It is no accident that the two autumn collections which have most forged the new stiletto in the public consciousness Gucci and Givenchy were both designed by men and Eighties inspired. When Tom Ford's first shoes appeared on the runway at Gucci's Milan show, steel needle heels and silver pointed toes glinting like a set of knives, 300 fashion editors instantly recognised the shoe of the season. That view was confirmed in Paris when Alexander McQueen's smart streetwalker, in leather, leopardskin and black patent stiletto kneeboots, took to the catwalk at Givenchy oozing hauteur. But why are ordinary women embracing the stiletto? Vivienne Westwood has always designed high heels remember Naomi Campbell's fall from grace off Vivienne's eight inch platforms? She wears them herself, sees them as an indispensable aspect of her femininity and has an unshakeable belief that women not only want to look pretty and feminine but powerful as well something she believes stilettos can help achieve. Tamara Yeardye, business partner of Jimmy Choo, a leading designer of dainty, sculptural shoes who has always sold satin evening stilettos in brilliant colours, says: "Jimmy was already adding more stilettos to the range a year ago because economically the moment seemed right it's well known that skirts and heels go up in good times. But all the woman who buy them say they love the feeling of power high heels give them." "Empowering" is the word, surprisingly, that women are using to describe their reaction to the new stiletto. Far from seeing it as an awkward encumbrance foisted upon them by male fantasy, they are looking on it as a weapon in a newly liberated sexual armoury. Boosted by favourable judgments in sexual harassment cases and with more confidence in their own careers, women no longer feel they need to tone down their dress to appease men. Rather, as a way of flaunting their new power, they dress as they please and woe betide the man who suggests this might be provocative. The extreme version of this attitude is Givenchy's high class Eighties catwalk tart; in real life it means the softer and more overtly feminine style that women now feel able to adopt in the workplace. Even the two nicknames given by the media to the new stiletto betray this mood. The term "killer heels", may have aggressive connotations but is about the attitude as much as the shape of the shoes, some of which are extreme. Designer Manolo Blahnik, recognised as the king of sexy shoes, has had featherlight strappy stilettos in his repertoire for years. "I did a steel needle heel for John Galliano two years ago and thought it would be nice to refine it this season," he says. "But the results were so sharp they would qualify as an offensive weapon. It wasn't practical for production. As it is, my styles mostly in shiny black with either a pointed toe or a more classic almond toe which I think will be longer lasting are quite aggressive, very ultra vixen." The other nickname, "chauffeur shoes", points to an even deeper reason why women are clamouring in droves for the impossible stiletto it has become an ironic status symbol of power and independence. The implication is that, if you are wearing these heels to work then you must have a limousine at your disposal as no one could possibly walk in them. The rehabilitated stiletto is even more attractive to women who can only aspire to a limo, as was glaringly apparent at the recent international collections. For every top flight editor or buyer gliding into the shows from her chauffeur driven motor, there was a horde of lesser souls complaining about the trials of Milanese pavement gratings, Parisian cobbles and metro subways everywhere, and muttering that the real meaning of killer heels is the way they mash your feet. The truth is that really high heels become uncomfortable because they throw your posture out of kilter, unless exceedingly well crafted and balanced for which read expensive. Blahnik says he is always striving for "the lightest, most delicate and yet strongest shoes possible, which means using the best materials and researching each shape so it is perfectly balanced. Even within one style the heel height varies larger sizes need a higher heel for balance." Old stiletto hands insist that Blahnik, Choo and Prada high heels are all day friendly but they are expensive. If you don't want to pay so much, there are three good compromises. One is to stick to the low and sensible by day and turn vamp by night from lady to vamp in one easy stage. The second is to choose a heel that, while high, is not quite so vertiginous, like Patrick Cox's slightly waisted heel with three quarter inch base which makes for firmer standing. The third is to go for optical illusion the heel that because of its skinniness looks higher than it is. Oasis, always quick off the draw with a new look, has an elegant satin slingback at ú39.99 with a very thin but not cripplingly high heel. And Faith has had a three inch stiletto in its collection for at least 15 years, sales of which have shot skywards this autumn. At ú35 it's not the best made but it's not the highest either and for some women it is the standard working shoe. But the chainstores will catch up by spring and there is no sign that this trend is a one season wonder. From the recent spring collections, it is apparent that a more gently nostalgic, romantic look based on decorative, sheer fabrics is firing enthusiasm for the stiletto. But such is its lure that we can already look ahead to summer. The good news or bad, depending on your viewpoint is that flatties are out and the ethereal look is in; delicate sandals are the hot footwear tip, trimmed with feathers (Choo) or beads (Blahnik) and very, very high.

[Sarah G]

Meg-ann Interesting. I am still in love with the very high Stiletto and will always wear them, even though they some times hurt. Makes me feel very sexy and female. Love Sarah G