another high heeled article

[Meg-ann]

I try not to be swayed by peer pressure, but when I wore a pair of beat-up platform boots to a trendy tapas dinner with a bunch of stiletto-wearing girlfriends, I had to wonder: Was I really that out of fashion?One downward and disapproving glance from the restaurant host answered my question: Yes. Suddenly I was feeling so ... last century. It was time, I decided, to investigate whether I should step out of my Herman Munster-style monster shoes and enter the wildly popular and precarious world of needle heels.I know I'm not the only one cursing Sarah Jessica Parker for this unfortunate trend. I'm sure there are plenty of other women who are having a hard time pushing their platforms to the back of the closet. Women who enjoy the height, the intimidation factor, the rock 'n' roll essence of a sole that appears to have been cut from the tire of a Mack truck. Women who would sooner saw their wrists with a butter knife than put on a pair of I'm-so-dainty-I-could-die spike heels. It is for them that I confronted my own stiletto aversion, traipsing around town and trying on shoes that could double as weapons. To set things straight, a stiletto is not any old high heel but one with a specific, sculptured shape--a dangerously tall heel that tapers down to an almost immeasurable point. That's what makes them such a frightening shoe, one that becomes even scarier when coupled with a toe so pointy it could pry off bottle caps. So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I stepped into the Charles David boutique in Santa Monica, responding to the cluster of spiked boots and sandals that beckoned from the window. In a best-case scenario, I'd pinch a toe or twist an ankle. In the worst case, I'd succumb to the whims of style, forfeiting my pride and maybe even a chunk of my 401(k) to buy something I'd previously scorned.Confirming my fears, I noticed, upon walking in, that whatever platforms were there had long ago been relegated to the sale rack. These days, at least at Charles David, it's all about "the mod" (a plain-jane, calf-height 3-inch stiletto boot) and "the maze" (a strappy stiletto sandal with a 2-inch heel). They're the best-selling items in the store, according to manager Michelle Parker. I asked to try on both, but there was one problem: How was I supposed to walk in them? "The best thing to do is to wear them around the house when you're ... cooking and cleaning," Parker said. "That's the best way to get used to the feel of them and how high they are."I slipped on the boot and was surprised by how easy it was to get around. Then again, it was only 3 inches high. After years of clomping here and there on a 4 1/2-inch wedge, under which the earth practically trembled, I felt lighter. More feminine. Less Gene Simmons, more Mariah Carey. I felt downright weird. Even worse, I felt short.I wanted something taller, something dramatic, something that would help me retain the skyscraper, six-foot status I'd achieved with my platforms. Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo? Too predictable. I headed to Frederick's of Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard. There, at the back of the boutique, past the red lace teddies, purple boas and flossy thong underwear, was a virtual stiletto emporium with more than 50 styles.There was an entire wall of spike-heeled maribou mules, Lucite sandals and shiny vinyl pumps, but my eye was immediately drawn to something called the Ultimate 2000--a black patent leather stiletto with a 6-inch heel, the shoe equivalent of a cliff.I asked to try one on in my usual size 9. Maria Negrete, the shop manager, brought me a 10. Still, it didn't fit. "Most of the time, with this type of heel, you go up two sizes," she told me. I tried an 11. (They carry them to a size 14.) Even then, my feet hurt, and I hadn't even attempted to stand. Negrete extended a hand to help me up. Like a newborn calf, I stood, I hobbled, I lurched. Then I caught myself in the mirror. I looked ridiculous."Do you think these are sexy?" I asked."Not the way you're walking," Negrete answered.Some women try on the Ultimate 2000 and "it's like they're walking in tennis shoes," Negrete said. They're the ones who know the secret: Walk on your toes. But most women take two weeks to get it down. Negrete recommends that newcomers practice while vacuuming, presumably so they have something to lean on other than their boyfriends.The math with stilettos goes something like this: Their sexiness is in direct proportion to their height. Of course that ratio implodes if you trip. So even though I got the height I wanted--hey, I even gained a couple of inches--I walked out of Frederick's empty-handed. Besides, patent leather and Lucite really aren't my style.Next stop: Diavolina, a stiletto specialty shop on La Brea Avenue that carries grape-colored ankle boots, Hubba-Bubba-pink slingbacks and gold lame knee-high numbers with wings on the ankle, among other things. On my way in, I almost fell over a pair of matching leopard-pattern chairs in the shape of--you guessed it--stilettos. Perhaps I'd found the right place.The trio of salespeople that day was wearing the latest look--plumber-butt bluejeans and spiked heels. The mood music: vintage '80s, a perfect soundtrack since the last time stilettos were truly hot stuff was two decades ago.The stiletto first arrived on the scene in 1952, when Jayne Mansfield and other sexpot Hollywood starlets adopted them and forged the shoes' bad-girl rep. Falling out of favor in the '60s, they re-emerged on the dance floor in the late '70s and early '80s. While some would argue that stilettos have never gone out of style as a dress shoe, over the last few years they have become increasingly popular for casual daytime wear, especially in L.A.That's precisely why Evelyn Unguari opened Diavolina four years ago. "I wanted shoes!" she said. Specifically, she wanted more feminine, sexy shoes. In a word: stilettos.There's no denying spike heels are sexy. They create an instant hourglass figure by arching the back, forcing the breasts and the buttocks to protrude. They also elongate the body, making the waist appear slimmer and the legs longer. That's to say nothing of the calf, which also gets a shapely boost.No wonder they're so popular. Women can get a complete physical overhaul for a fistful of twenties. Not a bad deal, unless you factor in the doctor bills. Stilettos have been blamed for everything from blisters and corns to stress fractures and swayback.But never mind that. Stiletto-wearing women are too busy reveling in the attitude adjustment that is an instantaneous byproduct of increased altitude. In spike heels, a woman doesn't just look sexier, she feels sexier--and more confident."Some people say that high heels feed a woman's alter persona," said Linda O'Keeffe, author of "Shoes" (Workman Publishing, 1996). "Once she puts on a pair of high heels, she becomes the woman she believes she really is."Which is precisely why I've resisted stilettos. To my mind, they have a damsel-in-distress quality that makes me want to heave. Stilettos are anti-feminist. Anything that hinders a woman's ability to walk is disempowering. And anything that hinders my ability to kick-start a motorcycle? Well, that's just unacceptable.I asked Unguari, "I can't ride my bike in these, can I?" She insisted that I could, that girls all over Europe had no problem reconciling their desire to ride bikes with their fetish for spike heels. She saw it each time she crossed the Atlantic. That said, she disappeared into the stockroom to bring me a pair of black boots with a zipper that spiraled around the calf.They were so Marianne Faithfull with a millennial twist. I slipped one on. These boots rocked. And they were comfortable. Should I? Could I?At $348, I couldn't quite open my wallet, but my mind had been opened to the possibility.

[Laurieheels]

Hope for the world yet, I would think. Someone willing to admit that an attitude might change. BVut one has to question the integrity of a retro 70s rock and roll platform wearer type. Everyone who thinks 'maybe' is another chance to let the world let us do our thing without looking down on us.