Yahoo Sports Why every woman needs a pair of stealth stilettos
We can’t all be Carrie Bradshaw. I suspect that neither you nor I have a walk-in shoe closet, nor the ability to spend £600 on Manolo Blahniks every time we’re invited to a party.
What we do all need (but often can’t find) is a pair of stealth stilettos. You know the look: flattering and comfortable but not head-turning, they are the shoes that give you some height and have an uncanny ability to go with almost every outfit in your wardrobe.
A decade ago, the only stealth stiletto in town was the nude patent court. Popularised by the now Princess of Wales and her LK Bennett “Sledge pumps”, versions were soon found in collections by Prada and Yves Saint Laurent.
So persuasive was the Kate/nude shoes effect that in 2012 Marks & Spencer sold a pair of its £19.50 beige heels every two minutes.
Fast-forward 11 years and the nude court – for all its leg-lengthening, go-with-anything properties – feels a little dated.
What one shoe, then, should we buy that will work for a summer full of weddings, christenings, garden parties and work dos?
Firstly, reconsider the white heel. For so long white shoes were synonymous with crassness, brashness and flashness – the tackiest of tacky footwear.
But they have been rehabilitated by the fashion industry – and this summer, they are finally starting to cross over into the mainstream.
There are a lot of reasons to love them. In the 1960s, white Mary-Janes and ankle boots were all the rage, and even today white heels have a retro playfulness to them that beige courts could only dream of. You notice them, but they’re never the focal point of the outfit, which lets a great dress do the talking.
And best of all, they make even the palest of legs look ever-so-slightly bronzed. “When a nude shoe can be too safe, a black or navy too harsh or unimaginative, the white shoe just adds a pop of freshness in a quietly confident way,” says stylist and writer Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey.
“They are great with jeans and a blazer, or elegant in the way Queen Rania or the Princess of Wales wear them.” A stealth stiletto, however, is not just about colour.
Comfort is also a priority. Which is why so many royals turn to Emmy London for days when they know they will be on their feet a lot.
Zara Tindall and the Duchess of Edinburgh both wore the brand to the Coronation and Kate has been spotted in their shoes numerous times.
Launched by Emmy Scaterfield with her husband Dickie over a decade ago, the now 48-year-old shoe designer wanted her brand to be the solution to her endlessly aching feet. “I was so fed up with wearing heels and having a rotten miserable time,” she says.
“Surely, I thought, there is a way to wear shoes that look good but feel great and let you enjoy yourself.” Two factors explain why her shoes are so comfortable.
Clockwise from top left: Cracked leather, £445, Emmy London; Leather toe cap, £119, Mint Velvet; Leather, £169, Alohas; Suede, £249, LK Bennett; Slingbacks, £59, Charles & Keith
The first is heel height. Scaterfield recommends not going above 8cm. The second concerns the “last” - the wooden block a shoe is moulded on. Each time a brand designs a new shoe shape, they need to build a new last - and they aren’t cheap.
Designer brands (and Emmy London) tend to make new lasts for every shoe size and each new style, but more affordable labels will often make three different sizes on the same last to save money – meaning the shoes never fit quite as well.
Identifying a brand that prioritises fit quality takes a little research – in general, though, you can assume that a cheap shoe will probably hurt accordingly.
Happily, a stealth stiletto is designed to stay in your wardrobe for years. This is not a shoe that everyone will exclaim over one season but which will need to be replaced the next – it’s an investment, and that means sometimes they’re worth splashing out a bit more on.
