A Few Extra Inches Isn't Worth It If It Hurts

Thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow's world city tour which would appear to be promoting tiny skirts and six inch heels rather than her film Iron Man, vertiginous footwear is all the rage.

The Mirror reports that Paltrow arrived to her London premiere decked out in a pair of seven inch Giuseppe Zanotti heels, surpassing her previous record of six inches in Rome and Berlin. Apparently she needed some assistance with her walk, which must have resembled trying to do the robot with concrete legs.

The skyscraper heel, while not a new invention, is provocatively pushing the boundaries of how high women will go. Once reserved as uniform for those employed in certain kinds of industry, these not-for-the-timid shoes are now being embraced by those of us who dare to choose high fashion over comfort. Or have the luxury of a chauffeur to drop us at the door so only a few steps in the spine killers are necessary (which is equivalent to length of time one can reasonably hold back the extremely grimaced expression of devastating constipation cramps).

Myself, I just can't do it. I have three pairs of fabulous 4+ inchers and I can't walk in any of them. There are the hot pink patent Sergio Rossi's (their perfect black patent heel got stuck between the slats of a backyard deck the first time I wore them); duck egg blue and chocolate leather BCBG Max Azria T-bars which left me limping at my grandfather's funeral; and my last, heart-wrenchingly useless purchase, Beatrix Ong's amazing reinterpretation of the T-bar sandal with long leather cord ties. The first and only time I wore them I couldn't even walk from the car to the front door of the restaurant. I caught my reflection in the mirror of the lobby, I looked like I was dealing with having had a cactus rammed up my butt and twisted. True glamour.

But who says we can't still admire them? Here are some painfully pretty options from Alexander McQueen:

 
And if after all of that you're still curious, here are some tips on how to buy skyscrapers from The Telegraph's Lesley Thomas, who tries to walk in the truly insane double-heeled model from Alexander McQueen: