FASHION - Society expects women to wear makeup on a date. We men don't notice but women do it anyway.
But what about high heels? Do men want women to wear high heels? It is really an expectation on our part? Or do women wear high heels in an effort to look professional and get respect?
Does Hillary Clinton have to wear high heels all the time? I've never seen her feet without her ever-present-high-heels. So evidently she wants to make herself look taller and professional. The same can be said for men wearing ties. There's no rule saying businessmen have to wear ties, but many do in an effort to look professional. Its a societal expectation that politicians and business people try to look professional.
You will notice guys aren't hopping up and down to go shoe shopping. Very boring to us. We're not going out and buying high heels for women as gifts. Possibly because we have an inkling of how painful they must be to walk in, but also because we admittedly know crap-all about women's shoes, foot sizes and what will feel comfortable.
The price of high heels is also a deterrent. Men aren't about to spend $599 on a pair of high heels in an effort to get in bed with you. For that kind of money we could pay for an expensive hotel or even a short plane ride to Mexico with you.
For women high heels opens up some interesting feminist questions, like "Are High Heels a Detriment or a Benefit?"
But do men really notice if you're wearing high heels? I think it depends more on the dress. If you're showing a lot of leg, the high heels will help accentuate the leg and make it look longer. If you're wearing Levis we probably won't notice your feet because we will be checking out your ass instead.
To me wearing high heels is a choice. A choice women make in an effort to look taller, more professional... the same way men make a choice to wear a tie when they go to a job interview.
The tie isn't a necessity and neither is the high heels. Its a societal expectation.
A high expectation.
For myself, I could care less if women ever wore high heels again. They could all suddenly stop wearing them and I wouldn't care at all. Men are much more interested in lingerie, bras, corsets, etc. anyway.
For many men high heels are a bit of a joke. We don't understand how women even manage to walk in those things.
Good article. I think there's another aspect to wearing heels that goes beyond professionalism. They are also a "sexy" accessory. Think stiletto. Not exactly a smart move in the professional business world, unless you're trying to use seduction as a tool.
ReplyDelete"If you're wearing Levis we probably won't notice your feet."
Too true, too true. Personally, though, I do notice a woman's feet when she's wearing jeans AND high heels. You've seen that style before, I'm sure. Gadzooks does that fashion bother me, and it makes their feet the focal point of the whole outfit, for me anyway. It's the awkward marriage of casual and formal.
"The same can be said for men wearing ties. There's no rule saying businessmen have to wear ties, but many do in an effort to look professional."
Hear, hear! But I would say that it actually is a rule, especially in most "professional" organizations. I personally don't trust most people who put on a suit and tie, and shave their face and cut their hair in the same exact "professional" manner as everyone else.
When I see men from the suit and tie sect, I usually think "What are they hiding?" or "What are they trying to sell?"
Within the next 40 years, I think you can expect to see the suit and tie paradigm slip into near extinction, much as top hats and petticoats went away. Just look at how US presidential candidates have shunned the tie more and more as they hit towns when on the campaign trail.
Once again, great post.
Most of the men that I have met including myself really love for women to wear high heels. Whether with a skirt or pants, it just makes them sexier. It's also true for men wearing ties. I don't wear it to be professional, I wear it because most women like the way it looks, especially my wife.
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