Who cares what I’m wearing?

Ruth Wilson - 1 Feb 17

High heels have been on my mind a lot over the last few days. They’re very rarely on my feet, since becoming a mum to two boys, but I have been pondering the point of them this week.

This is all due to a very vocal (male) TV presenter, who recently insisted that ladies should wear high heels for work. It’s the same as wearing a tie, apparently. Cue huge outrage and said TV presenter spotting yet another opportunity to self publicise, by wearing a pair of heels. At which point he admitted that yes, they are really uncomfortable.

For once the man said something sensible. And it made me think – who invented high heels? What’s the point of them? Why do we wear them?

A quick search on Wikipedia tells me that the heel was worn by both men and women of money, back in the day (hence the term ‘well-heeled’). Before that, they were apparently introduced by prostitutes in Venice, so they could be taller and more eye-catching for their clients. And height was the key for a petite lady called Catherine De Mici, who married into European Royalty and has been credited with making the high heel popular for all women, not just the aristocracy.  So far, so interesting.

Then we have the stiletto. I can never understand how women manage to wear these shoes for a whole day at work.  They are uncomfortable, can rarely be worn with socks and get stuck in things all the time. They pinch our toes, they make us do a weird short-step-waddle-walk and you certainly cannot run after children in them. A survey conducted by the U.K.’s College of Podiatry found that, when in stilettos, most women’s feet tend to start hurting after just one hour and six minutes, which says it all. They’re also bound up in sexual objectification in a way the tie never will be.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m partial to a pair on a good night out. And if another woman wants to wear them for work all day then hey, that’s her call (and corns, in a few year’s time). But the debate on whether they should be worn for work infuriates me. In fact, the debate on ANY OF OUR CLOTHES AT ANY TIME infuriates me. Who cares what we wear, as long as we are smart and wearing suitable clothes for the task in hand? I rarely wear high heels for work, and why should I? As I run my business from home, my work wardrobe is pretty much my school-run wardrobe. Jeans, top, shoes, with a jacket ready for client meetings.  It has no impact whatsoever on my ability to manage either task.

We never comment on what men wear for work.  Or the school run. You rarely see “10 Types of Dad on the School Run” articles, with images comparing Jude Law and Ben Affleck as they drop their kids off for a day’s learning with a cheery wave. We would never insist that men wear something sexy but impractical as part of their work wardrobe.

The assessment of what women wear has become a bit daft. I know more about our PM’s penchant for a kitten heel than I do about her plans for Brexit.  So let’s just STOP comparing what women wear for work, or the school run, or the shopping or the pub. Unless you’re a model or at an awards ceremony, it’s not really relevant. Let’s just get on with the multitude of tasks at hand – and be glad for our trainers, ladies!

Ruth Wilson

I'm a mum of two boys and a freelance PR consultant based in Manchester.

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