Flats vs heels: the age old battle of the shoes!

I am a perennial flat shoe wearer. I should make that clear from the start.


But I adore high heels. They always look so beautiful and glamorous and sexy. I just can't walk in heels. No matter how hard I try.


In the following series of posts I will tell you the "10 things I like about flats" and Hannah - who I styled back in November - will tell us the "10 things she likes about heels".


Here, I will give a brief history of the heel. That beautiful - yet frightening - creation!


The battle of heel heights is one that goes back many decades. It came to a head last summer when a British firm banned women from wearing high heels at work and was quickly vindicated in their decision by a quote from Trade Union bosses saying, "High-heeled shoes should be banned from the workplace because they are sexist and pose a health and safety hazard". In spite of the seemingly patronising comments, just days later Selfridges announced that sales of flat shoes were up by 20%. Not only that, designers - such as Christopher Kane - were seen using flatties in the catwalks.


Flats are back in vogue ladies!


Despite their longevity, flats are not alone in having been around for many centuries. I decided to have a read and find out when the high heel was "invented". Well, I have discovered that it was as early as 1533, when the diminutive Italian wife of Henry II, King of France, Queen Catherine de' Medici, commissioned a cobbler to fashion her a pair of heels, both for fashion, and to suggest greater height for her wedding.


It is a subject which has divided - and continues to divide - women around the world. I won't give too much of the arguments in favour of either as that would be spoiling the later posts. But, tell me, which do you prefer?


Flats or heels?