How to Walk in High Heels

I’ve spent a large proportion of my adult life learning to walk in heels, and let me tell you, I’m still no expert! But I do have a few hints and tips that have helped my poor tootsies adjust to life in 4 inch Louboutins, that I hope will help you out too.

-Start with a 2 inch heel or wedge to get used to the feeling. You can always work your way up and you’re much less likely to cause yourself an injury.

-Walk heel to toe, not toe to heel. While it might be tempting to put your whole foot down at once, don’t do it – it makes your walk look strange when you’re wearing high shoes.

-Take small steps. Wearing heels naturally makes your stride shorter, so you’ll need to take more steps than usual. Don’t expect to be able to walk as fast as you normally do in high heels.

-Practice walking on carpet, slippery floors, up stairs, and outside. No amount of reading how to do it will make a difference if you don’t work at it. Walking in high heels is like any other skill – you need to do it a lot to get good at it.

-If you’re really struggling, wedges feel like flats, but look like heels because of the extra arch support, and the fact that the sole of the shoe is completely flat, they’ll give you height without forcing you to do much in the way of balancing. They’re the most comfortable type of high heels to walk in, and also probably the easiest.

-Lean back slightly, you may find you want to walk faster than your heels will allow, and end up craning your neck to compensate. So allow yourself to lean just the slightest bit back when walking in heels, as this will counteract your inclination to push your torso forward.

-Rough up the soles One of the biggest issues people have when learning how to walk in high heels is slippage, If you don’t want to wear your new heels outdoors quite yet, you can do it yourself by gently rubbing the soles with sandpaper, if you’re still worried, you can also buy stick-on soles which will give your shoes more grip.

-Good posture really helps too, Make sure your body is relaxed and your arms are loose and at your sides since they will help you balance as you walk.You should be standing up straight, your head high and your feet facing forward.

Good luck!

Welcome to Vivre Le Rêve, an online lifestyle magazine for all those who are or who want to be living the dream! I’m Rose, the lifestyle editor here at Vivre Le Rêve.