Last week, I received this email from a wonderful reader:
Hi Kyla,
I've been a daily reader of your blog since Spring '09 and I'm so glad I found it! I love your style and I feel like it's very similar to mine- comfortable and simple, but stylish :)
I love the fact that you wear flats daily. Although I love to wear heels, I feel silly going to the mall or grocery store in them, but sometimes I still want to be dressed up a little for a regular outing. I have trouble finding flats that look good with tights though and I thought maybe you could help- either suggest some styles of flats for me or do a blog post to help others who might have the same problem. Usually when I wear my black flats with tights, it looks like I'm barefoot haha
-Jennifer
Jennifer's email got me thinking ... a lot. And I think it's a great topic to address and one that is near and dear to me each and every day when I get dressed. I'm going to break this into two posts. This post will explain my "no heels" lifestyle a little better. Then, this weekend, I will do a sure-to-be-monstrous post highlighting my best tips and tricks to styling flats, even with tights. I realize this is a text-heavy post, but there just may be something in it for you.
For those of you who have been following my blog over the last year or so, you probably know that I wear heels maybe once every other month. Well, that's something fairly new to me. If you go back to last winter's posts, you will see a lot more heels. Unfortunately, around that time, I started having a lot of issues with my hip and back. Strangely, when I had a much more sedentary lifestyle, heels rarely bothered me, but the more stock I took in my health, and the more I started working out and running, the more I hurt.
I really tried to listen to my body, but it was hard. I dearly love Sex and the City, and we all know the role beautiful heels play in the show. I loved the idea of pairing fancy, sexy heels with the most casual outfits. I always felt more confident in a great stiletto, and I loved the shape of my legs with a couple extra inches. I loved my heels. I loved the way I felt in my heels. But my heels did not love me.
For a long time, I tried to ignore it. Then, I started physical therapy. I told my physical therapist that I was trying to cut back on heels. He whole-heartedly agreed with my efforts and expressed his general loathing for the footwear when it came to physical well-being. But, he'd met so many women who refuse to give them up, that he pretty much gave up trying to convince them.
This really stuck with me. I was bound and determined to get better, so that I could return to my regular exercise routine. I tried wearing what I thought were "flat" boots with their 1" sliver heel, but my PT just laughed, saying it's still a heel. He was especially amused when I tried wearing insoles in them. I did this for a while until I finally came to the conclusion that wearing insoles in heels is very much like smoking while on oxygen. Sounds ridiculous, right?
It was a really, really hard pill for me to swallow, but once I did, I started feeling so much better. Granted, it wasn't just the heels that were ailing me, but they played a large role in exacerbating the issue. Oddly enough, that exercise routine that I couldn't wait to get back to has the same benefits as my heels: I feel so much more confident and I love the shape of my legs when they're strong.
I'm not gonna lie. Getting into the groove of styling everything with flats was extremely difficult. I still look in my closet and think, "Wow, those red heels would look killer with this." But at the end of the day (literally), it's just not worth it. After all, flats come with a few benefits of their own. I can go anywhere and do anything. My heel will never get stuck in the sidewalk or carpet. My heel will never break off. I never have to take baby steps or otherwise alter my gait because of a pinched pinky toe or pain in the ball of my foot. And I don't care one bit how far away we park. It can be rather liberating, actually.
If you can wear heels with no pain, then rock on, sister. My inner Carrie Bradshaw is insanely jealous. And for you, I have this:
The more I thought about this post, the more and more empowered I felt. So, in my excited frenzy, I pulled out almost
every pair of heels in my closet (I'm keeping some for sentimental reasons) ... and am selling them on
Blue Collar Closet. I will admit, it's really difficult to part with something I've loved for so long - but it's also really cathartic. They're taking up a lot of precious closet realty, and I would like to store my flats with the same love and care as I once did my heels. Enjoy!
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