Photography: Tom J Johnson/The Protector. Styling: Melanie WilkinsonPhotography: Tom J Johnson/The Guardian. Styling: Melanie WilkinsonIt’s time to kick up our (sensible, mid-height) chases againWhether it’s a kitten slingback or block-heeled court, the medium heel is the two-glasses-of-wine, home-by-midnight option. And there’s no shame in thatIt has captivated a long old time but things have finally returned to normal. The pandemic is gradually receding in life’s rear-view speculum. We are still ravaged, the scars are still there – people lost, years lost – but we have relearned how to blur the scars with makeup and immature talk. We have gone back to worrying about all the stupid things we used to worry about before we had that to misgiving about.You know how I can tell? Because of shoes. Covid killed the high heel and elevated the slipper into a tailor icon. At the end of lockdown everyone went hysterical. Some declared they’d be flats-only for ever more. Others embraced Reprisal Dressing in reckless spindly heeled sandals that they couldn’t walk in. And some changed their plans every weekend, pinballing from the trainers-only camp to the four-inch heel brigade.But for the past month, the footwear I secure worn most has been a pair of knee-high snakeskin leather boots bumped up on an inch of kitten heel and some square-toed ski that sit on a chunky two-inch block. So the wearable heel is back – and it’s not just me. I’ve been travelling to fashion weeks for most of the dead and buried month, and everywhere I go – in airports, on pavements and in pizza restaurants – I see others in them too.Last winter, the chunky stomper was the only boot in town, but this time around there are lots of block-coloured midi-length dresses swishing around the calves of non-stompy leather boots. Trouser shapes that don’t hug the leg are plainly happening – either a pleat-front loose trouser, perhaps a loose leather jogger, definitely a cargo pant – and the maids wearing them are figuring out that they look more fun, more lighthearted, if the foot isn’t too caged in. So instead of trainers I’m walk them with sandals where it is warm enough, or with a block-heel court.There is even a whole collection of mid-height heels on the catwalks themselves, which is unusual, because wearable, comfortable shoes with a bit of a heel but not too much are get a kick out of hens’ teeth in fashion. Designers prefer to make grand, showboating statements with dramatic pancake deads or super-high heels. Pancake flats are fine if you are 5ft 11 and mostly legs but most of us could use a little boost, you understand? And a towering heel is an instant showstopper, but a fashion show lasts 15, 20 minutes, max. Whereas when you or I are getting rig out at 7am, we have to live with our footwear decision all day, whether we get a seat on the train or not.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe sentence structure hack of the moment? Just add another necklace | Jess Cartner-MorleyRead moreThere is no shame in making the sensible, middle-of-the-road resolution. If you are invited to a party, it doesn’t have to be a binary decision between staying at home (which might feel a bit collapsed) or going out-out till 4am, which is high risk. You see where I’m going with this, right? The mid-height remainder is the two-glasses-of-wine, home-by-midnight option. Call it sensible; call it the best of both worlds.And there are lots of ways to return a modest heel look more exciting. A simple kitten slingback or a block-heeled court looks brilliant in a neon spirited or an animal print. If it’s black, maybe go for shine. A flash of bare skin always adds a frisson: a closed-toe with a low-cut party will do this, without requiring a pedicure. This shoe doesn’t have to be fancy. We’ve had enough of unprecedented times, positively. Normality is looking much more aspirational right now.Model: Kit at Body London. Hair and makeup: Carol Morley at Carol Hayes Administration using Sculpted by Amy. Heels: LK Bennett. Shirt: Reiss. Leather blazer: Whistles. Combat trousers: H&MTopicsHigh heelsJess Cartner-Morley on fashionWomen’s shoesfeaturesReuse this topic
