I've been watching this trend from the sidelines for a while now - haute couture stripper heels that are a danger to the wearer.
I'm 5'10" so when I get a craving to get in on the style, I'm met mostly with either snickers or looks of amazement as I try to navigate a room teetering about 6 inches above everyone else's head like a jolly green giant. But I do admire cover-girls like Debra Messing, Eva Mendes, and Jennifer Lopez who are able to make the look work for them.
Now the trend has grabbed the attention of the mass media. Stories in People Magazine, OK, Life & Style, and the Today Show have been appearing showing celebrities rising and falling in their footwear. The Wall Street Journal recently did a story detailing the perils of ultra high heels. Fashion reporter Teri Agins wrote yesterday:
"Not so long ago, high heels were defined as 3 or 4 inches -- a footnote to give a little height and a more appealing silhouette to the wearer. But this fall, shoes have been super-sized with the proliferation of 5-, 6- and even 7-inch heels and platforms. The über-heels range from $100 versions sold by Steve Madden to deluxe pairs costing between $600 and $1,500 from designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Marni, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin. They come in an array of shapes, including spiky stilettos, tapered cones, sloping wedges and thick wooden posts. Exaggerated platforms have thick, elevated soles, as well as high heels, making for a superhero, rather than a Barbie-doll, look."
Agins further reports that:"Women's shoes with heels 3 inches or higher represented 25% of all women's fashion footwear sold at shoe retail chains for the 12 months ended August 2008 compared with 21% in 2006, according to NPD Group Inc. At the same time, moderate heels, between 1½ inches and 27/8 inches, saw their market share fall to 26% from 34% in 2006."
The dramatic styles remind me in part of the pre-Revolution era in France when women wore the most extreme creations on their heads that they could balance there.
The trend is still remembered as a social commentary of excess and fueled proletariat resentment that led to the ousting of the aristocracy.
If making headlines and raising eyebrows is "branding job number one" for couture houses I think they've hit their mark this season.
Now if they could just come out with a lipstick shaped like a ship or a gun, we'll be all set for next year.
Below, is a report on the trend from the Today Show.
