Killer Heels

In my book, The Petite Handbook, I warn petite women that teetering on stilettos throws petite proportion off balance and could also lead to serious injury.  Recently, I decided to ignore my own fashion advice and paid the price.

Many petite women will argue that the best way to look taller is to wear really high heels.  I urge you to proceed with caution.  This comes from personal experience.  The one and only time that I wore my new black patent 4-inch pumps, I fell down – not once, but twice on the same day – and really hurt myself.  My knee doctor will be more than happy to confirm this.  Yet my 4′11″ stepdaughter Jill still swears that high heels are her petite fashion secret.  The difference is that she can walk in them because that is all she wears.  Practice makes perfect.  So unless you are a “heel pro” like Jill, wear high heels are your own risk.  For petite women, I recommend heels no higher than 4 inches.

It is true that towering 6-inch and 7-inch heels have become the rage for Hollywood stars strolling the red carpet.  Reality is that they probably only walk in the shoes the short distance from the limo door to the theater door.  At last season’s runway shows in Paris, several models stumbled and fell off their Amazonian 7-inch heels.  I thank them for helping me prove my original point.  Whether you are 5′2″ or 5′11″, ridiculously high heels throw your balance off  and can be very dangerous.