What is the significance of the different heights of heels?

I never wear heels over 3 inches. I have a bad back and it isn’t an option for me.
As for the really, really high heels, we always called them “FM” shoes.
I think you gave the reason why, “It always increases their sexual appeal”

I think a 3 inch heel or less is appropriate for work. At a party, it really can be anything, although if it’s higher (5+), I think the girl is at risk of being considered skanky. It also very much depends on how well you can walk in any heel height…yes, 6 inch heels may look sexy, but if you can’t walk in them, it is not sexy. Case in point, this past weekend I happened to see a young woman wearing heels that probably were about 6 inches high. She looked like a hot mess when she walked, as though she were walking on stilts (which, essentially, she was): leaning forward way too far, her legs completely straight and unbending…my policy is, if you can’t walk in them, don’t wear them. Walking like you have a pole up your bum is not sexy, no matter how sexy the heels themselves are.

As for me, I very rarely wear heels. When I do, they’re between 3 and 5 inches. Above 5 inches and I can’t walk well, but I don’t like how kitten heels look on me. Since I do a lot of walking on campus and at work, I mainly wear ballet flats, flat boots, or Converses. When I go out I usually wear flats. I really only wear heels for fancy events.

My highest heels are 4” Italian leather boots I was able to get for a song at a thrift shop, and I wasn’t about to pass them up. I have worn them 5x to parties I threw at my own place. They were hard to walk in after an hour, but I got to see what it was like to be 5’5” for a while! I can wear up to 3½” all day with no problem.

In my experience for business, if you’re younger than late middle age, higher than 3” is seen as risqué, and lower than 2” is sort of dowdy, unless your flats are by some awesome designer. And still, one of my former office managers was a 73-year old woman who wore sleek 3” stiletto heels every day for work. She was a fashion plate, for sure.

I love this song, BTW, about the type of chicks who wear “those kind” of heels, ironically by a woman many consider a slattern!

Six inch heels = stripper.

I love the way really high heels look, and I witness my students wearing them (4” or above) to school. It seems like a dangerous plan to me, with tile and wood floors and high school students’ propensity for spilling things. However, they like them. The highest heels I’ve worn were 4” stilettos that I bought because a dress was too long and I didn’t have time to get it hemmed. No one actually saw them.

I think 2” to 3” is appropriate for most situations. I wear flats most often (I’m 5’9”) but when I do wear heels, I shoot for that mark. I’m not allowed to wear higher than 3” due to my complete lack of coordination (sigh).

The height of the heel is directly proportional to the agony of wearing them.

i used to love wearing high heels! i’m 5’1” so it was a treat to be taller. but age a arthritis has curbed that. i think i would have worn 6“ers to a fancy party. no hooker here tho

Six inch heels can certainly be classified as CFM’s. That is probably the look your latte gal was going for.

For work I wouldn’t go higher than two inches, for a party I’ll go three. When I am seducing my man – the higher the better. ...and they stay on when everything else is strewn across the floor. Might that be TMI?

I tend toward lower heels, I think they (for the most part) look more professional and classy. Once you get over 3”, they get to being a sexual thing. Though you can’t beat a classic stiletto, even if it is higher… Then it goes to color/pattern/material to assess the classiness. 4” lime green snake skin is probably not so classy. I have varying heights, but only wear the higher ones once in a while due to my inherent clumsiness and foot/ankle problems. The highest ones only make it out at night.

This girl was wearing FM heels. That’s all there is to it, wearing heels that high during daylight hours.

Disco Stu says… No height is too high.

Sometimes they show off style, and sometimes they increase sexual allure (oh who am I kidding? It always increases their sexual appeal)
I disagree.
ESPECIALLY if they’re witch-toed heels.

@Sarcasm LOL! I think those shoes are an insult to witches everywhere! : )

@Sarcasm Witch heels

Cool heels

“Being a man, I think higher heels are showing off. Sometimes they show off style, and sometimes they increase sexual allure (oh who am I kidding? It always increases their sexual appeal). Knowing this, hookers often wear higher heels.”

You got it in one.

6-inch heels = stripper shoes

4-inch heels = high school prom or college girls

3-inch heels = job in a fashionable office

2-inch heels = professional look

1-inch heels = comfort before sex appeal

No heels – bad feet

@Darwin Perfect explanation!

For work I wear heels no higher than 4” and try to keep the heel shape on the conservative end of things, not chunky, not pointy, nothing that says “party” shoe. Outside of work, most of my heels are 4” or just a bit higher with as natural a heel as possible meaning no platforms or frankenstein lifts. To me, each leg shape has heel shape, height and shoe shape that is most flattering, I try to rock what works best for me.

They say that that woman has incredible balance.

I wear 3–4 inch heels every day for my job; it’s in a very “swanky” upscale office and I’m the Receptionist :D Good times!

There is an inverse correlation between heel height and the ability to fart and chew gum at the same time.

Well I don’t know why 6’ heels mean skankiness or stripper like qualities – for some 6’ is to add height…I think heels were invented to keep a woman unable to stand properly on her own two feet, to slow ‘em up, to make ‘em look fragile and appealing to men…stilettos are the worst…I like to avoid heels at all costs because I move fast, I move aggressively, I have loads to do and there is no reason why I have to be slowed down by shoes. The only time I wear heels is to dance tango in and then I wear 4’ heels. After I broke my leg, that became a problem so now my heels are 3’ and they hurt my foot. Sometimes I dance in flats and it’s not a problem

To me, 6’ inch heels on anyone but a stripper/hooker or other such profession, just looks like you are trying way too hard.

@wilma so does that mean that other people who wear 4 or 5 ’ heels are just trying hard enough to impress others?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir , maybe not. They might like how their own legs or dress or whatever look when they are wearing them.
Or that might be just the right shoe for a perfect Tango! ;)

What does it say about a woman that never wears heels? I can’t stand the things and can’t remember the last time I wore them.

edit- my winter boots have a short heel, but that’s it for the heel wearing for me

@Simone_De_Beauvoir 6 inch heels don’t necessarily equal skankiness, but that is usually how they are viewed for many reasons, including (as someone else mentioned) the fact that prostitutes and strippers often wear ridiculously high heels, and when you see a woman wearing heels that high they are more often than not paired with an extremely short dress/skirt or otherwise skimpy outfit. The clothes don’t mean that the girl is actually skanky, but that’s the impression it gives…kind of in the same way that a guy wearing Ed Hardy gives the impression of being a huge douche.

@jonsblond it means you’re (even more) awesome.

I like wearing very high heels because I have slender legs that I think look attractive in them and I’m one of the few people I’ve seen who can actually walk well and gracefully in heels. In fact, I can walk quickly, dance, climb and just about anything in heels. My shoes are rarely anything out of the ordinary but I get more compliments on them than anything else I wear and I’m pretty sure it’s because of how I carry them of more than anything else. For my job I dress pretty conservatively.

@pdworkin I always knew there was a reason I wear flat shoes!

The higher the heel, the sexier the leg. I can’t stand a heel below four inches. It seems like such a waste of time. Plus, they make my feet look weird er
I don’t think heel hight corresponds with promiscuity at all. Although a cheap 6” or 4 or 5 heel is a dead giveaway.

Why do women feel this need to look sexy? Why must you be uncomfortable to be considered sexy? It is like the lacy underwear and thongs, all the torturous devices women subject themselves to, all in the pursuit of sexiness. Meanwhile the men are (usually) wearing comfy slacks or jeans, low shoes or sneakers. Why is this? I have always found that men need women a lot more than vice versa so why do women feel the need to entice?

Beats me, but that is a benefit of getting old, I just don’t give a damn anymore. Also living in the tropics helps, I have been here 5 years and in that time have worn nothing but sneakers or sandals and shorts, oh wait, I think I did wear a skirt once, hehehe.
There are women here who dress in heels so I figure if my husband likes that look he will have to admire it on them.

The only time I wore heels, a large muscle on my backside hurt for about 3 days after. :P

Wedges are somewhat more comfortable, but honestly, I wear running shoes about 90% of the time. I walk everywhere, and if I have a class on the other side of campus in 10 minutes, I don’t want to have to muck about with heels, sandals, or something else uncomfortable.

I feel that if a guy wants me to wear heels, he needs to wear heels, just to see how fucking uncomfortable they are. Don’t ask someone to do something you won’t do yourself.

@rooeytoo The same reason people come their hair and shower more than once every three days, to feel good. Also, It’s fun to entice =)

@Facade – I comb my hair because it hurts when it gets tangled and I like to feel clean for me. I don’t do it to entice. I don’t think they are the same thing.

If you say it is fun to entice then that explains why you do it. But do you think that is why most women do? I personally don’t think it is fun to wear shoes that hurt or underwear that is itchy and uncomfortable. But men think it is sexy so women do it???

But like I said, it is one of the benefits of growing old, I just don’t care!

Heels are torture. They may make your legs look longer, but not if you have thick ankles to begin with, or heavy calves. Not everyone can walk in heels or wedges—sometimes it’s an awful wobble on the heels, or the Frankenstein Clomp in the wedge.

I personally think it’s a power thing between women. I’ve noticed that most men really don’t care what you have on as long as you look great in it, and aren’t a pain in the ass to be with because of what you’re wearing.

It’s rather odd what women think men find enticing. I think I’ll post a question about this.

@PandoraBoxx: I like this, “I’ve noticed that most men really don’t care what you have on as long as you look great in it, and aren’t a pain in the ass to be with because of what you’re wearing.”

I agree and will add for all the other jellies posting here:
If some of us women also enjoy how we look in heels or lingerie under our clothes than why not? I’m told I look great in lingerie, heels of a particular style and tailored clothing, I can make my preferred conservative clothes seem sexy so why not? I enjoy enticing particular men and the admiration of others, why not? My feet and body took more abuse from years of running than dancing in heels did or continuing to wear them now does.

The highest I wear is 4 inches, but most of my heels are around 2”-2½”. I only wear them at work. I work in a small law office and I am expected to look good. For some reason I think I look more professional in heels and my outfits just look cuter when I’m a bit taller. I spent a bit of $ to buy “orthopedic” heels. I have never had a problem with heels. I can run in them.

When I am not at work I never wear heels. I live in Converse and flip-flops.

@hungryhungryhortence – I think everyone should do what they want with no guff from anyone else.

But I also think this is not unlike the shaving business, it seems to be the standard that society expects females to conform to. You must be alluring and enticing to men. And that is an annoyance, if you don’t join the club so to speak, you are an outcast.

@pdworkin – as I read the responses from males, it seems a lot of them do find high heels, long legs, enticing. I would love to find out I am wrong.

I’m addicted to shoes and have them ranging in 6 in to 1 in. Some I actually call ‘my stripper shoes’ and some that look like a granny. I just love shoes. I’m an art collector and they’re my sculpture… That I can just so happen to wear!

@Clair I love good, fashionable women’s shoes too, and I love to go shoe shopping with women who have good taste and lots of $$$.

@pdworkin mmmm, now you’re talking my language.

Well, if the lady accidentally steps on your foot I’d say there’s a significant difference. Force per unit area. Ouch.

Sweet holy moly, I think the size of the heel is driven more by fashion the confidence and skill of the woman (or man) who is wearing them. I have seen women in business attire sporting 4 to 5 in heels, often times you would not know it because they are in a pantsuit. Your environment I think also plays a part, if you are in a wet and icy climate or one where there is gravel or similar substance that make heels dangerous to wear it is avoided. In many ways I see the height of the woman being a deciding factor. Around here I hardly see really tall women (5ft 10in +) wearing heels taller then 3.25in. Shorter women (5ft 6in -) more often wear heels 5ish in inches because they won’t be pushed over 6ft and looking like Amazon women. I think:

5+-inch heels = fashion conscious girls who an own it and be sexy
4-inch heels = Shorter girls with balance and confidence.
3-inch heels = Avg. height that adds style but not too much height
2-inch heels = granny heels
1-inch heels = obese which leads to bad feet and shorter distance to fall when the heel breaks
No heels = athletic shoe

They ought to make heel wearing a class requirement.

@Hypocrisy_Central – Do you mean a requirement for women or men?

@rooeytoo Women, any guy who would want to wear heels and is not a mega rock star with peculiar taste I can’t wrap my head around….....

Nope I won’t wear them unless men have to wear them too. I hate sore feet.

I’m glad this question came back up again. The REAL reason for the changing heel size can be found at thestoryofstuff.com.