'Using heels as power': Why stilettos are still in fashion among women

Stilettos put an awful lot of stress on the ball of the foot and the back, but they also elongate the legs and add height, bestowing on the wearer a sense of oomph. Photo: The New York Times

It is true, the death knell of the stiletto – that high heel invented in the 1950s that is balanced on a knife point and raises the back of the foot, thus transforming the female silhouette in ways that seem tailored to the pleasures of the male gaze – turned out to have been highly exaggerated.

Sounded during the work-from-home days of social isolation during the coronavirus pandemic, it has receded into the cacophony of history as the return to office has heralded a return of somewhat more formal footwear.