Why French women no longer wear high heels
A footwear revolution in the world’s fashion capital
The high-heeled shoe, popular among men in pre-revolutionary France, is losing favour among women on the streets of Paris. The once familiar click of stiletto on cobble is giving way to the silence of rubber soles. Today fashion writers offer French women advice on “les chunky boots”: heavy, black, grooved-sole footwear. Trainers, once derided in the beaux quartiers as an American abomination, are now a daily feature in Parisian cafés and offices. Nearly half of French women, according to a poll, do not know how to walk in high heels. What is going on?
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Heeling power”
From the December 23rd 2023 edition
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