Garam Samosa

With the Winter blues finishing up and Summer starting, it is time to bring out those heels at the back of the cupboard and put the boots away, heeled or not. Here is a quick how-to for heels.

Walking

Walking in heels is a lot harder than walking in flats or casual runners. The surface area that hits the group is a lot less. Therefore it is a lot harder to walk in heels. Here are a few things that I find important to remember when walking in heels:

• Find a pair of heels that actually fit

If you have a pair of heels that are too big or loose then they will just slip off, making it millions of times harder to walk in. However, if you have a pair of heels that are too small or tight they will just cause blisters and maybe bruises. This will cause pain in your feet. Trust me on this one, too small or tight heels are so painful.

• Posture is key.

While walking there are a few things to keep in mind: Keep your shoulders back, head up and heel-toe-heel-toe. Let me explain. Keeping your shoulders back and head up will boost your confidence and help with your balance. On the other hand, if you walk heel-toe-heel-toe like when wearing those flats or casual runners, then you won’t walk like an emu; speaking from experience. Oh and another thing is DO NOT repeat DO NOT lock your knees. Locking your knees will just cause you to walk like a penguin. Again, sadly speaking from experience.

• Take smaller/shorter steps than you usually would

Taking smaller or shorter steps will help reduce the ’emu’ and ‘penguin’ walk. You may need to talk more steps but more steps are better than the ’emu’ and ‘penguin’ walk. You may have heard of the say, ‘baby steps.’ In the case of heels, you literally need to take baby steps to walk comfortably.

• Walking on the stairs:

While walking on the stairs there are 2 ways to do this: heel and toe on the same step or just toe. I personally just do toe even wearing flats or casual runners. Having heel and toe on the same step ensures more stability than just toe. Just toe is basically walking up the stairs on tippy toes. This is one of those things that you have to try and figure out what is for you. There is no right or wrong.

• Walking on grass:

Walking on grass is such a pain. I personally wear wedges or block heels on grass so I don’t sink into the grass and ruin my heels (because of the stains that the grass and mud can give my shoes). However, a general rule to follow if wedges and/or block heels aren’t your thing is to put more weight on your toe than on the heel. I personally can’t put the most weight on my toes for long so I opt for wedges or block heels. There is another option and it is called Heel Stopper or Silletto Stopper. You just place this plastic magic at the bottom of the heel and it stopped the heel to sick into the grass.

Generally when walking in heels is to walk in them the way you walk in flats or casual runners. That is basically what I do, and I haven’t fallen down yet 🙂 .

Choosing a Pair of Heels: 1-2-3

Before I start with this section of the post, this is all my opinion on choosing the right pair, what I have figured out with trying billions of heels in stores and what I do. By no mean do you need to do this nor am I tell you this is the only way to choose a pair of heels. It is just that choosing a pair of heels is harder then it seems. Heels come in all sizes, shapes, styles, and colours. I always pick a few staples that can go with any outfit. So here is what I do when I have to buy heels:

1 – Think, Plan, and Think.

I know, I know I said think twice but I literally think twice before I buy heels and a bunch of other things. I think about so many little factors before I even leave the house to go physically try on the pair of heels. For instance, I always go through Pinterest and look at heels, and pick an ideal style. This starts the process of elimination. Eliminating as much as possible before you hit the shops is ideal so you don’t get overwhelmed with the endless possibilities. Now this, can either be for the outfit or for comfort or both. I go for both as no matter what I find being comfortable the most important thing. To be honest, with shoes, I just make sure they are comfortable and either a stable or a low key pattern piece and make my outfits work to them. But that is just me. From there I think about 4 main colours: black, brown, nude or cream. These 4 colours easily cooperate with both my Indian and Western outfits. After thinking about all of that, it is time to go to stores and try to find the desired heel.

2 – Shopping

While shopping I think about the stores that fit my price range and most importantly my feet. As we all know, feet come in all sizes. So don’t be dishearted if you have to try a lot of shoes before you get that one pair of heels that you can’t live without. Try on your ideal heel: try on a few sizes, walk around (fast-ish, normal speed and slow), walk on your toes for a bit. While testing it out, have a look at the heels: if they move a little and they feel kinda unstable then it is a big no no.

Now you should be happy with the pair of heels that you have chosen. If the pair of heels passes all those little tests, then there is a high chance that they will be comfortable. Since technically you are happy with your pair of heels wear them and look into the mirror. I do this see how they look from the front, sides and back. This, for me, is the deal breaker. The view that people of my feet are different to my view: I see from the top, others see from the side, front or back.

3 – Home Cat Walk

After paying for the pair of heels, I always just walk around the house in them. But carefully so I don’t damage them. I always feel guilty for buying new shoes so I walk around the house. Depending on how my feet feel and how guilty I feel, I either keep the pair of heels or return it. If I keep them, then I wear them out and love them, even more, every day.

It is ‘simple’ as that, 1-2-3. At the end of the day, just make sure you are happy with your purchase. I rather return something then wish I bought something. Hence my “catwalk” around the house for a few hours. A may be in the shop could be turned into a yes or no at home. Another tip is to bring someone who you trust, another fashionista and get them to help you out. Sometimes a second opinion is actually quite useful. The keyword = ‘sometimes’. Keep that in mind. Also just remember that heels that have a heel too high, fit too tight or loose or are unstable while walking or standing might do more harm to your outfit then good.

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As always, thank you for being the Samosauce to my Garam Samosa!!!

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