Heels’ Rule Book: Can You Walk in Heels? –Episode 2-

So, now that you already know what it takes to relieve your poor feet in heels from Episode -1-! It’s time to put these killers on!! But ummm … Can you walk in heels?

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There is nothing more embarrassing than stumbling across the room, as you’re wearing killer heels! But no worries, walking in heels is not a natural, but rather an acquired skill that you can learn through some practice. Trust me on this one, before I learned walking graciously in heels, I had some these not-so-funny moments too!

Cutting the introductions short, here are some useful tips to keep in the back of your mind while you’re standing on potential deathtraps!

• Mind your posture: Heels will push your body weight forward, so for balance, keep your head straight up and shoulders pushed back. Tightening your core will relieve some of the pressure on your feet.

• Take smaller steps: Walking in a normal heel-to-toe motion can break your stiletto or twist your ankle, now we don’t want that do we? So, instead make short steps, going down simultaneously on the ball of the foot and the heel to spread the pressure. Wearing heels causes you to stride shorter, so you’ll need to take more steps than usual. Don’t expect to be able to walk as fast as you normally do in killer heels.

• Draw a straight line in your head: (1million dollar tip) Walk putting one foot in front of the other, just like models do, it will give your hips a sexy sway. Pretend you’re walking on a line drawn on the ground, or practice on an actual straight line.

• Let models guide you: Follow on fashion shows and watch the professionals strut in their high heels. While models walk the runway in a way that’s exaggerated from real life, you can learn from their walks and tone it down a little to get the perfect normal-person strut. Practice in front of a mirror until you get it down.

• Balance in between strides: As your weight shifts fully on one foot, spread your toes in the shoe slightly (powder insole as mentioned in episode 1) ; this will help to distribute the weight onto the ball of the foot.

• Standing posture: When you’re still, position your feet such as the heel of one foot touches the middle of the other foot, while cocked at an angle from it. Let gravity work on the toe of the foot in back and when it gets tired, switch.

• Practice different scenarios: So all the moves you would normally do while walking, such as: changing direction, walking backwards, stopping, pivoting or turning around. Besides that, expose your heels to different surfaces. You will need to walk on both floors and carpets, and you may one day be expected to walk on a slippery, wooden floor! We don’t want to slip and fall!

• Practice the stairs: Place your entire foot on each step of the stairs as you come down, but only the ball of your foot as you go up. Hold onto that railing gracefully, just in case, like … You never know, stairs are tricky!

• Take your heels outdoors: Walking in heels indoors is very different to walking in them outdoors. It is ten times as difficult. Even minor surface flaws in tarmac will present difficulties, so try walking up and down outside your house a few times.
Now ladies, practice these tips often, and you’ll find yourselves ready to strut graciously in these killers sooner than you expect; just like the celebrities in those dashing designer shoes in the above picture gallery!

And since it’s all “heels” if you have any questions, do not hesitate asking it on twitter and mentioning me @PatriciaIssa961 or @BelleBeirut!

Glamorously yours,
Patricia Issa