Heels vs. Flats

• By The Vixen Bloggers
• August 26, 2014
• No Comments

For decades the shoe of choice was the high heel. Variations of high heels have included wedges, platforms and spiked heels. The high heel served the purpose of showing off the calf and giving you more height to your overall figure. In recent years you may have witnessed the dramatic shift away from heels to flat shoes such as ballet flats or a peep toe shoe. This change in fashion trend has come as result of the numerous styles and colours that flat shoes provide. Women are also seeking to incorporate comfort into their style and are no longer are willing to sacrifice comfort in the name of fashion at the workplace or in everyday life.

Variety of styles
Flats have been around for a long time. You can see in old episodes of I Love Lucy that often when Lucy was hanging around the house she was wearing black flat shoes. But in the 1950’s if you were going out, even just to shop, or you had an outside job such as a teacher, a high heel was considered a must. But as time progressed so came a variety of flat shoes that were both dressy and stylish; no longer are you confined to the black flat Lucy wore, the flat shoe became the shoe of choice to wear for everyday occasions and at work. The additions of bows, ties and a change of materials to include suede and different colours of leather made the flat shoe acceptable to wear about town.

Versatility
While heels still have a place in every woman’s closet, the versatility of the flat shoe is hard to beat. It is hard to imagine an outfit that won’t work with the right flat shoes; whether you’re wearing a dress, a skirt or slacks the right flat shoe will complement them all. And they’re great for comfort; being on your feet all day will lead to tired feet if you are in heels, but flats are way more comfortable.

How to wear flats
While flats are easy to wear there are still a few fashion rules to adhere to in order to wear them properly. First of all socks are a no no with flats; while it is acceptable to wear tights with ballet flats make sure the tights are not too thick that they bunch up at your ankles and have to be adjusted constantly. Flats are designed to be worn barefoot, especially for peep toe flats, so make sure the flats fit properly to your foot; there should be just enough “toe cleavage” so you can see just were the toes start to separate. Any more than this and you don’t look like you have a foot, any less and you see too much toe. If you wear peep toes make sure the toe peeping out is presentable, if you wouldn’t wear sandals you should not wear a peep toe.

Flats are well on the way to taking over heels as the woman’s shoe of choice. Just like a heel, all flat shoes are not created equal. If the outfit is dressy then the shoes must be just as dressy as the outfit. Working flats are different to evening flats. When you make sure the flat fits the occasion, wearing flats are a great option.