Heels make you look taller, slimmer and feel more confident. But walking in high heels is not an easy task! If you are not used to wearing heels or wear them only occasionally, it is possible that you face the problem of walking comfortably in your heels. The discomfort is also accompanied with pain and swelling in your feet.
You can deal with these problems with these simple tips. Read them and you won’t ever walk wobblingly in heels!
1. Take smaller steps.
Take small, slow steps, making sure not to bend your knees any more than you normally would. High heels tend to shorten your stride a bit. The taller the heel, the shorter the stride ends up being. Don’t try to fight this by taking bigger steps—stick with small steps which will make your walk look more natural and help you to feel more comfortable.
2. Walk from heel to toe.
Put your heel to the ground first, followed smoothly by your toes. Then, once your weight is on the balls of your feet, shift your weight forward as if you’re walking on your tip toes, and push forward for the next step.
3. Improve your posture.
Walking well in heels is very dependent on maintaining good posture. To get the perfect posture— Keep your head in line with your spine and your chin parallel with the floor. Put your shoulders back and down and keep your arms relaxed at your sides. Bend your knees slightly, they should never be locked when walking in heels. Keep your legs close together as you walk and point your toes directly ahead.
4. Imagine walking along an invisible line.
Catwalk models cross one foot slightly in front of the other to give their hips more sway. The best way to achieve a sway while walking in high heels is to pretend that you’re walking down an imaginary straight line, or tight rope. One foot should come down directly in front of the other, with your toes pointing straight ahead. Be aware that catwalk models tend to over-exaggerate their walk, so you may want to tone it down a little for real life!
5. Practice wearing your heels around the house.
Wear your heels for a day around the house before you wear them out. This will not only allow you to get used to wearing them, but it will also create scuffs on the bottom so that they’re less slippery.
6. Break in your heels.
If you fail to break in your heels before your first time wearing them, you’ll be destined for blisters. Breaking in your heels is important as it removes stiffness from the shoes and helps mold them to the shape of your feet. Just wearing your shoes around at home should be enough to break them in, but you can also try dancing or walking down the stairs.
7. Practice standing in heels.
It may sound simple, but many women just don’t know what to do with their feet when posing for pictures or standing around chatting at an event. To stand correctly in heels, stand with with the heel of one foot touching the middle of the other foot, while cocked at an angle from it.Put your weight on the toe of the foot in back, and as soon as that foot gets tired, switch feet so that your weight is on the other foot.
8. Shop wisely.
Always go shoe shopping at the end of the day, when your feet are slightly swollen from walking and at their biggest. Pick shoes that are suited to the shape of your foot— making sure the shoe is wider than your bare foot. Always try shoes on in the store and take a walk around— if you don’t find them comfortable immediately, then you probably never will.
Girl in a shoe shop
9. Get the right size.
Be aware that different brands of shoes may be sized quite differently, so you might be a 7 in one brand, but an 8 in another. As a result, you should alway try your shoes on before buying. When in doubt, always go for shoes that are slightly too big rather than slightly too small. You can always make big shoes smaller by adding insoles and cushions, but your can’t make small shoes bigger.
Woman in a shoe shop
10. Give your feet a break.
When wearing high heels, the best advice you can take to prevent pain is just to sit down whenever possible! This will give your feet a break and will stop any pain or discomfort from building, keeping your feet fresh.
11. Wear strappy, platformed shoes.
Shoes with straps that fasten securely around your foot and ankle are more comfortable to wear as they prevent your foot from slipping around too much inside the shoe, reducing friction and pain. Platform shoes give you all the benefits of extra height, without the discomfort of feeling like you’re standing on your tip toes.