I've never been a 'heels' person- mostly because I don't go places that would warrant me wearing them. But I have a pair of seriously gorgeous stiletto heels that I LOVE the look of. I had to buy them because they are so lovely! And they make my legs look amazing. However I have 2 problems. 1) I find them so odd to walk in- it's like I am tip-toeing around the place. Which leads to problem 2) the weight baring is obviously very different and after wearing them for 5 hours last night my feet were sooooo sore I could barely walk. No blisters, no rubbing, just really achey feet. So my question for the heel gurus- is achey feet normal and does it get better? I love these heels and would like to try again someday once my feet have recovered!

It's like anything.....a good quality, good fitting pair of heels are great!
Obviously if the higher they are, or the thinner the heel, and the shape can all make things more difficult regardless.

Start lowish, with a good fit, avoid other problems like really pointy toes and go from there!

High heels (I'm talking high like more than 3cms) hurt many people's feet as the whole weight of the person gets pitched onto the front of the foot so they are practically walking on tip-toes. There are women who wear heels on a regular basis for years or decades (eg my mum and sisters) so the shape of their muscles and ligaments change so it doesn't hurt as much and their feet get used to the shoes.
But for many others (like me) who only wear them at parties, it hurts if I walk around alot in them esp thinish heels. I find wedges or thicker (stacked?) heels more comfy and not too high but I don't walk around for more than 10mins at a time in my heels. In wedges, I can walk around almost all day.

I recommend getting those shoe-pads which are available at many shoe and accessory stores and the super-market or some chemists. Makes shoes a bit more comfy.
There are those lucky few who seem to wear them rarely and not hurt even when walking around but I've not met them .

From experience and talking to other women, almost all get achy feet so that's normal. Things some women do for fashion .

I often wear 10cm stilettoes/heels. The trick is to put "gel feet"/ "party feet" inserts in them. THese are little cushions that sit under the ball of the foot. Very comfortable.

Normal. I love my towering heels and can only just barely get through an hour or so of walking around in them, but they are over 10cm high so bordering on ridiculous. I wear them maybe once a month, although my balance is off at the moment so won't be wearing them for a looong time.

Chances are though, if you feel like you're walking funny, you probably look hilarious to anyone watching There's a fine line between looking hot and looking like a five year old who has raided her mum's wardrobe

I second the gel inserts suggestion. Those things are awesome.

Oh, and of course you feel like you're walking on your toes - you are!

I'm totally in love with a pair of Diana Ferrari shoes ATM. They're gorgeous, but oh so comfortable. I can wear them all day. They're not my highest heel (they're just on 6cm) but the pretty factor and comfort factor are great.

I do however love SJ's recent purchase, & am ever so jealous

Edited to answer properly lol: You have to find a shoe that fits your foot well. My foot is slightly wider than average, which makes it a bit tricky. Gel inserts are great too, but I also find if I have a pedicure (or give myself one) my feet hurt less (even in runners).

If you have trouble in heels, go for RMK's. I have and have had these several times and they are always comfortable. They must factor it into the design. I stick to wedges for very high heels.

HAHA!! I wore them the other night, they're really comfy. Wanna see them again?? LOL

Not really! By the end of the night they hurt.... but I can usually deal with them well for most of the time.

I wear them as a "theatre" or "going out" shoe, where I know I'll be doing a fair amount of sitting I certainly don't wear them every day - music teaching in heels? *boggle* AS a result, I find my feet AND my thighs hurt.

I do prefer wedges, but they're still in the same category. Kittens or flats for me!

I used to wear heels all the time but in that last 3 years i havent been able to wear them at all. I have a pair of boots with a 7cm heel and my back is aching by the time i get home and take them off. They're the only pair of heels i wear often and i hate them. Maybe im just getting old

I cannot wear heels. I haven't in years. I found them uncomfortable anyway, but over the years I have managed to break bones in both my feet and various toes, which has made heel-wearing unbearable now.

Except for these - I bought them from Descentia and love love LOVE them. And they do not hurt or make my feet ache at all.

today, after an 11 hour day ending with a networking function - YES!!!

I have my pairs which look fantastic but hurt, and my faithfuls. Just make sure they are a decent brand and fit, and nice and solid, and you quickly shouldn't feel the need to tippy toe, which (disclaimer: I am no physio / orthothingy person) I imagine is like compensation for feeling unstable.

It depends on the shoes...

I have 2 inch heels that are agony after barely an hour, and yet I own towering sky-scraper strappy stilletto's that feel completely natural.

Yes, they hurt, but as someone once told me 'it hurts to be beautiful'

My feet don't tolerate heels very well. Probably due to almost breaking both ankles at once a few years ago. My ankles get sore, the balls of my feet burn after very little time at all. I really need to retrain my feet as I'm so short (5 foot). I love heels, they're so pretty. It also doesn't help that my feet are only a size 5 so trying to find them in my size is difficult. I love wedges.
The balls of my feet also hurt after a while in ballet flats too. Party feet (gel pads) don't seem to help much

Where did you get them?? They are gorgeous!!

I never used to wear heels, but I love them now and wear them as often as I can. My feet always hurt after an hour or so of wearing them but I don't care lol. Most of mine are pretty modest heels, around 5-6cms. I use party feet and try to sit down a lot lol. My feet usually stop hurting around half way through the next day

Love them. They are very cute.

I love high heels but they nearly kill me after 2 or 3 hours so I always have a backup pair of flats in the car or handbag. I do find wedges easier to wear.

And I love gel inserts they do help.

I dread wearing heels, my feet are killing in no time.

Its a very unnatural way for your feet to be. We aren't meant to walk on the ball of our foot. Hence I avoid it where possible.

Honestly, yes, they hurt. They have always hurt. I can say that as a rock climber, you can tell women who habitually wear high heels as they're unable to drop into the correct rest position as easily - the tendons shorten over time, or possibly lose flexibility. I imagine once that happens, high heels wouldn't hurt so badly.

I had a physio/masseuse tell me a year or so ago while giving me a foot rub (mmm): "I can tell you don't wear high heels."

I asked why. He said: "The toes are in beautiful condition."

I do like the idea of wearing them every so often, but with short, wide feet that have spent most of their life outside shoes aside from work...I'll never find anything that fits.

Omg sarah_jane where did you get those awesome shoes?

I've never worn heels. They look scary and my feet are huge.

Yep, there is a price to beauty - foot pain!

I have a lot of heels, most of them are "restaurant shoes" ie: wear them into the restaurant for wow factor, sit for 3 hours, walk out looking fab. Taxi home. But seriously, I can do about 3 hours in the high high ones, and the exquisite pain/relief of taking them off is gorgeous!

The thing with heels is they throw your whole body off, that's why initially you teeter, like a baby giraffe learning to walk, then your body kind of moves or contorts to give the most comfort. I tend to walk on my tip toes when I'm barefoot anyway (what the- I don't know why either), so the height factor isn't so bad really .

Practise in your beloved shoes. Wear them around the house for an hour or so, vacuum in them, get used to them. The gel things are a real comfort, but I find they then make the shoes tighter (bit of a wide foot, me) and there's another level of discomfort, one I cannot bear.

Sarah-jane - they are super cute shoes there!

Heels make we feel like I have concrete strapped to my feet. I hate them.

Yes, they do.

But I am fat. I figure I'm putting all my weight not on my flat foot but on the balls of my feet - so no wonder it bloody hurts! lol.

My 55kg mother teeters around on them on a regular basis... all day.

In a way, I am thankful, as I can do less damage to my feet by avoiding them. In another way, I am jealous of the women who wear them all day long, looking smoking hot.

Not when I am only wearing them while laying down!

I live in a combination of heels or bare feet, sometimes my beloved converse. They hurt from time to time, but never anything unbearable

Yes they hurt, but so worth it. Beauty is a curse

I have really high arches so heels are quite painful for me as all my weight is carried on the ball of my foot and I end up getting corns. I put those little gel pad party feet things in which amazingly helps a lot but I couldn never walk all day in them, even a night out is a struggle!

I have a couple that really hurt after wearing them for a while, so I only wear them out when I am going to be sitting mostly.

If you get a platform under the ball of you foot it is comfy and the thicker the heel the easier it is to walk - thicker heels are on their way back in style.

I hate heels, but they look awesome so for weddings etc I drag them out and yes they can hurt... ("can" - hysterical laughter, I think heels alway hurt people who wear them rarely because we buy pretty but not very practical ones and our feet/muscles are still normally shaped...)

I find party feet, stockings and dancing helps.

Otherwise - swing your hips. It seems to help with the balance/weight shifting issue that makes your feet burn.

But burning is sometimes worth the calves and perties.

The only way I've found to dull the pain is to get really drunk. Not so drunk I'm wobbling, but ALMOST there. lol.

This is me I think. I am dying for proper wedges to come back in, ie, the ones that are all the same height, not higher at the heel. My other problem is that I wear orthotics so very limited in what shoes I can get. My only 'heels' at the moment are these Ziera bobcats.

http://www.angelsshoes.com.au/?/m/ziera-fo...s/page/4/id/565

While very comfortable as far as heels go, I still can't wear them for too long because of the pressure on the balls of my feet.

I would love Ziera to come out with some true wedge sandals that can accommodate orthotics. Probably dreaming though. Sigh ...

I cant wear heels for very long.

They look fab but kill my feet.

Plus because Im so tall I tower over everyone and feel a bit silly when the person I am talking to a short person and they only come up to my boobs, sort of awkward - especially in photo's!

Sachi makes very nice flats or I just get shoes with a tiny heel or wedge.

Yes/No. Depends on the heel. I adore my heels. Heels with a platform like this one are really comfy and look lovely on.




(I know my feet sit odd)

I am five foot nothing, I need/love heels.

They don't love my brittle, easily twisted ankles or my stress fractured, arthritic feet, though.

What they do feeel good on is on my calves. I looove the feel of tiptoes, takes so much pain off my calves. But I have tendon issues in play. I don't know that the heels are actually good for it, either.

I hate wearing heels.... I have some for an up coming wedding in Bali... I know they are going to kill but i just have to get through the ceremony and photos and then I am swapping to some ballet flats...

Wow, chickenortheegg they are awesome! Love them.

Heels kill me too so I don't wear them very often for a number of reasons. One being that I have mild cerebral palsy so that can sometimes make walking difficult anyway and my muscles seize up really quickly and two, because I've overweight, they kill my feet to have so much pressure on one point.

However, I have recently purchased a pair from TS14+ which are ever so comfy and seem to be ok in short doses (ie. a few hours at a time, but not always standing or walking). This is them (the heel is 7cm):

Heels are so pretty but so bad for my back. Yes, my feet kill too..but the lower back pain is really awful.

Like a few PP's for me heels are for restaurant dinners only - walk in and sit down asap!

Can't believe I used to manage to dance the night away in heels when I was younger!

I have not worn high heels for many years that was until a few weeks ago when I had to wear them as I was a bridesmaid.
They were torture I will never wear them again .
I prefer nice comfy flats.