Find Your High Heel Style

No matter how fierce your walk may be, no woman looks good wobbling in a pair of flimsy heels. Your fierce walk looks even worse if you fall over. In other words, never wear a pair of high heels unless you can actually function in them.

The thinner and higher a heel is, the more unstable and awkward your posture will be. By tipping your toes down and your heel up, you change the pressure points and weight distribution in your body. This can affect posture, movement and balance. The flatter and thicker the heel, the better it is for your body and your balance.

The more standing activities you do, the more you need a stable and comfortable high heel style. The more walking you do, the more you need a functional shoe. Therefore, the biggest step in finding heels you can walk in is to buy high heels made for more than just sitting pretty.

Soles
Walking heels should have some tread and sole on the bottom of the shoe, not just a slick and flat surface. This applies to both the toe and heel area. Make sure that the heel of the shoe is big enough to havea tread and that some tread is actually located there.

The sole should also provide some cushioning to prevent bruising your feet. Heels, arches, balls of feet and toes can all become easily bruised, swollen or blistered from enduring the extra pressure against such a rock-hard surface.

Most heel manufacturers never bother with cushioned insoles, but you can easily repair the problem. If you have a pair of dynamite-looking, comfortable high heels and the only problem is that there’s no insole, just buy some. Many assorted fabric, air and gel-cushioned insoles are available, even ones made specifically for high heels. If you know a pair of heels will need extra insoles, try to buy a shoe that’s a little bit loose, so the extra room taken up by the insole doesn’t make the fit too tight.

Comfort
Take overall comfort into consideration. As much as we all love to tell ourselves that our new shoes need to be “broken in,” the truth is rather bleak. Usually, if the shoe doesn’t fit at the store, it cannot stretch enough to fit magically when you get home.

You will soon notice discomforts such as toe binding, heel pinching or seam lumps. Nothing will change the heels from being too high, low, thin, wide, small or big.

Basic comfort also means choosing an appropriate style of heel for each season. Open-toe mules tend to be a little chilly if you’re walking around in snow. Thigh-high, heeled, leather boots will probably be terribly stifling on a hot summer day.

Balance
You need to be able to stand and balance in a pair of women’s shoes before you start walking around in them. Thin heels can mess up your natural balance and can give you a twisted ankle. Check the wobble factor when shopping for heels, and see how stable you actually feel in them.

Style choices, such as straps, T-straps and side straps are helpful for the balance and fit of your shoes. If a heeled shoe is loose fitting, it’ll probably slip right off your foot with each step. Shoes that have additional methods of securing themselves to your foot help prevent this slippage problem.

If the balance is only slightly off, you could probably walk around in the heeled shoes with a little practice. If the balance is very off, consider trying to return the shoe or giving it away.

Walking Basics

Try to buy high heels that are at least 2/3 inch wide, if not wider. Any narrower and it's not only likely to break, but the shoes may be painful to wear. All that body weight coming down into a tiny little point is going to cause major bruising to an already sore foot.

Thin heels higher than 2 inches are considered the beginning of the stiletto high-heeled shoe category. Stiletto heels look fantastic at clubs, dances or award shows, but they are far from being comfortable walking shoes.

Wedge heels have a solid form from front to back, so there’s no separate heel to get caught on anything. They provide a sturdier base and better balance. If you have a problem balancing in heels, or are just learning how to walk in them, try some wedges. The only drawback is that these shoes tend to be a little heavy, and they can make your legs tired after a long walk.

Walking in some types of heels can just take a little getting used to. Practice walking in any new heels by wearing them around the house. Vacuum the carpet, do the dishes, make dinner or do a bunny-hop. Just do it all in your new heels.

When practicing or testing a new pair of high heels, always do it indoors on mostly carpeted areas. This way, if the heels truly don’t work, the store might be willing to take them back, since they were only owned for one or two days and never worn outside. The less you scuff the soles, the more likely you can return the shoes.