Comfortable high heels in six easy steps

1. Whoever said you had to suffer to be beautiful had not discovered Sargossa. We put this label in the Measure back in July, when we discovered it; I wore my Momentum sandals all summer. The Sargossa label is based on a patent-pending, super-comfortable sole with medical-grade padding. It works. They are not cheap (about £160-£200) but they are worth it.

2. On the subject of money: cheap high heels rarely work. High-street labels that are aimed at 17-year-olds have very pretty shoes, yes. But don’t come crying to me when your feet are in shreds. I suspect 17-year-olds have higher pain thresholds, possibly connected to their higher tolerance for alcohol. Marks & Spencer’s shoe department, on the other hand, can be an unexpected treasure trove: I love this suede boot.

3. Which brings us to boots and ankle support. The traditional, open-front court shoe is the least comfortable kind of shoe you can wear, as your foot has to grip on to the sole. Anything that holds your foot across the front will be more comfortable (see my picks in points one and two). A shoe such as this Carvela cage-front sandal will be much more comfortable than a more bare shoe. The lace-up-front high heel is much-worn by high-heel pros (see: super-stylist and front row star Sophia Neophitou), as it looks fancy and hot but is surprisingly comfortable.

4. The cobbler is your friend. Get your heel tips replaced frequently and your shoes resoled when they wear out. Buy leather insoles for added comfort. Shoe comfort depends on engineering, and engineering requires maintenance.

5. Be ruthless about editing your choice, and only consider heel heights you can actually manage. 100mm is a standard height for many labels – but most women can only actually manage 70mm. If you have two pairs of 100mm heels and you seldom wear them, do NOT buy any more: look for 50-70mm. They are surprisingly hard to find, but worth seeking out.

6. Last resort: when I go out to a fancy fashion party, I wear high heels and carry a tiny clutch bag but I bend one Cocorose foldable ballet slipper in each of my coat pockets.

Fitness: Get Ready for the Sky High Heel

Six exercises to help keep your legs, back, and core in optimal shape for wearing fall’s mile-high heels. In a fashion season that’s both redefining extremes—Derek Lam and Alexander Wang’s bathing-suit-inspired bottoms have shown us that the line between shorts and underwear is a thin one––and celebrating endless legs, it’s not altogether surprising that high heels have reached previously unimagined, skyscraping heights. So while stepping into a pair of vertigo-inducing heels might seem unavoidable this fall, you can at least minimize the damage those Balenciaga fur boots inflict on your body, particularly the lower half, by being physically prepared. We checked in with trainer Melissa DeLancey of CLAY Gym & Spa in Greenwich Village to find out what can be done to prep those all-important hamstrings, glutes, and core muscles. As for keeping your balance, you’re on your own.

1. Jump Rope With a rope (or faking it with your hands), do jump rope intervals. Try for 50 jumps in a row (or until you trip) and then take a 30 second break; repeat until you’ve completed 500 jumps. This is great for your calves, and it’s also a cardiovascular and plyometric workout, which means that it burns a ton of calories and is good for your bones.

2. Reverse Lunge to Balance Standing on your right leg, step backward into a lunge, flexing your back foot and bending both knees deeply. Push off your back toes, propelling yourself forward,  and return to your standing balance. Do fifteen lunges, and then switch legs. This works all the major muscles of your legs, especially your glutes.

3. Single-Leg Bridge Lie on your back. Hug one leg into your chest while the opposite leg is bent with your heel on the floor, both feet flexed. Push your hips as high off the floor as possible then lower them down till you are just above the floor. Push up again. Repeat fifteen times and then switch legs. In addition to strengthening your butt, hamstrings, and lower-back muscles, this will also provide an active stretch in your ankle and hip flexor. 

4. Barefoot Sideways Step Up to Balance Take your shoes off and find a stair step or a block that is slightly below the height of your knee. Stand beside it and take a lateral step up to balance on one leg. With control, lower yourself back down to the floor. Repeat fifteen times and then switch legs. This exercise helps develop stabilization in the knees, hips, and ankles, while also working the large muscles of the legs.

5. Squat to Calf Raise Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and your arms at your sides. Keeping your weight centered in your butt and heels, slowly lower yourself backward as if you were going to hover over a chair. When your thighs are parallel to the ground, hold for a second and then push back up, passing through your standing stance to balance on your toes. Hold for just a moment and repeat for fifteen reps. This exercise works your whole lower body chain, including your core. 

6. Seated Single-Leg Calf-Hamstring Stretch Seated on the floor, place one leg straight out at a 90-degree angle and bend the opposite leg, placing the foot to the inside of the straight leg’s thigh. Turn your upper body to face the straight leg and exhale as you reach for your toes. If you can reach your foot, try to pull the top of your foot back so your heel is off the floor. Hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds on each leg.

Tip: To avoid major calf cramps at night, stay hydrated and get lots of potassium. Drink at least eight glasses of water per day plus coconut water or a banana.

Fashion The Secret to Pain-Free Party Heels (and 10 Pairs To Make It All Worth It)

The higher the heels, the closer to God, or so the saying goes, but for most of us, strapping on a pair of six-inch stilettos feels closest to Old Testament–style vengeance than anything. “Foot problems know no boundaries, age, gender, anything,” says Yamuna Zake, the soigné, silver-haired, and internationally famous healer best known for her body rolling techniques and foot yoga, “but high heels don’t help.” And during this, the most party-centric time of the year, avoiding your heels can feel like a punishment all its own. (God knows we love a flat, but sometimes a girl just needs a lift.)

Party Heels

And when it comes to making strides? According to Zake, American women are especially inept. “When I go to Moscow, the girls all wear insanely high heels, but you know what? They look great: no problems walking at all. American girls need help. I’ll sit at dinner and see these girls all hobbling by and all I can think is ‘Do you know how unsexy you look?” Thankfully, it all comes down to training. “Training your feet to have function!” Zake exclaims, as she cavorts on a pair of semi-circular contraptions covered with raised bumps called Foot Wakers in the uptown yoga studio where she teaches when in New York City. (This is not often: she hosts a trio of retreats in Tulum, India, and Tuscany as well as a bevy of residences in locales as varied as Ibiza, Moscow, and Tokyo.)

Happily, taking care of your feet does not mean resigning yourself to a life of chunky plastic and sensible molded footbeds. “The thing about feet is that unless you have a foot fetish, they’re not that sexy or interesting unless they’re in a really beautiful shoe. I wear whatever shoes I want to wear whenever I want to wear them,” says the newly 60-year-old Zake, all lean, taut figure and perfect posture. “It’s not the shoes that are bad for you—it’s how you’re walking in the shoes that is bad for you.” According to Zake, the more you build up the outer part of your foot, the more your arch will lift, the stronger your foot will be, and the longer you can stay out dancing. And after you’ve slipped out of your stilettos at the end of the night, a series of rolling exercises (with one of her products, available at both Pure Yoga East and West in New York City, as well as on her website, or a tennis ball) for five minutes before bed will cure what ails you. “It’s about creating balance with your foot and leg, so it doesn’t get stuck. Shoes cut off your circulation, your feet are locked up, the muscles never stretch, the bones start to calcify,” Zake says. “Don’t tie off your feet from the rest of your musculature: Work everything out together.”

Party Heels

Her signature workout relies on balancing your weight on different parts of the foot—the outside edge, the base of the toes, the heel and ball—and slowly shifting the pressure along the muscles and tendons while you balance. Add those Foot Wakers, and it feels like reflexology. Swollen ankles? Stretch your foot on a tennis ball and the circulation will ease all that pressure. (Reader: You can even do this at your desk.) Other pro tips? Always stand with your feet parallel and your weight equally distributed. If you have to stand for a long time, shift your weight to the outside edge of your feet. Ensure that your shoes have ample toe room. When wearing heels, shift your weight to the outside edge rather than your big toe. And your mother was right: Posture improves everything, Zake emphasizes, “it just starts to float the body up. And that’s the way that women should look: graceful and beautiful—up! Instead they’re down here, fumbling.”

You heard her: Fumble no more. Here, ten pairs to work out for—and up to!—this holiday party season.