HEELS ONE-O-ONE (Part-2)

HOW TO WALK IN HEELS

Take smaller steps. Walking in the highest heels isn't like the walking in any other shoes, so you have to do a few things that might feel counterintuitive: Take small, slow steps, making sure not to bend your knees any more than you normally would. You'll notice that high heels tend to shorten your stride a bit. The taller the heel, the shorter the stride ends up being. Don't try to fight this by taking bigger steps-stick with small, dainty steps which will make your walk look more natural and help you to feel more comfortable.

Walk from heel to toe. The aim is to walk as normally as possible in your high heels. When walking in flats, you don't walk on the balls of your feet or put your whole foot down at once, do you? So don't do either of these things in heels. Put your heel to the ground first, followed smoothly by your toes. Then, once your weight is on the balls of your feet, shift your weight forward as if you're walking on your tip toes, and push forward for the next step.

Improve your posture. Walking well in heels is very dependent on maintaining good posture. If you're slouching and shuffling as you walk, it kind of defeats the purpose of wearing high heels in the first place-the aim is to look comfortable and confident! To get the perfect posture:

Imagine there is a piece of invisible string holding your head upright-your head should be in line with your spine and your chin should be parallel with the floor. Avoid looking down when walking in high heels!

Put your shoulders back and down and keep your arms relaxed at your sides. Swing your arms slightly as you walk for balance.

Keep your abdominal muscles engaged, sucking your belly button towards your spine. This will help your stand up straighter while also making your look thinner.

Bend your knees slightly; they should never be locked when walking in heels. Keep your legs close together as you walk and point your toes directly ahead.
Imagine walking along an invisible line. Catwalk models will often cross one foot slightly in front of the other to give their hips more sway.

A lot of women wear high heels to look sexy, so adding a little shimmy to your walk is a good thing. The best way to achieve a sway while walking in high heels is to pretend that you're walking down an imaginary straight line, or tight rope. One foot should come down directly in front of the other, with your toes pointing straight ahead. This walk will take a little extra practice to master, but the results will be worth it.

Have a look at some videos of catwalk models to see how the professionals do it, and then try to emulate what you see. Be aware that catwalk models tend to over-exaggerate their walk, so you may want to tone it down a little for real life!
Practice wearing your heels around the house. Wear your heels for a day around the house before you wear them out. This will not only allow you to get used to wearing them, but it will also create scuffs on the bottom so that they're less slippery. Make sure you practice doing all the things you would normally do while walking, such as: walking, stopping, pivoting, and turning around.

Break in your heels. If you fail to break in your heels before your first time wearing them, you'll be destined for blisters. Breaking in your heels is important as it removes stiffness from the shoes and helps mold them to the shape of your feet. Just wearing your shoes around at home should be enough to break them in, but you can also try:
Exposing your heels to different surfaces: You will likely need to walk on tiled floors, carpets and slippery, wooden floors at some point in your high heel wearing, so try to master them all.
Dancing: If you're planning on wearing your heels to a nightclub or a party where you know you're going to want to boogie down, then dance to the beat of your own drummer in the privacy of your home until you're comfortable shaking things up in your heels.
Walking down the stairs. This is one skill you'll definitely want to master, as stairs are the site of most high-heeled mishaps. Place your entire foot on each step as you come down the steps, but only place the ball of your foot on each step as you go up. Hold onto that railing gracefully, just in case.

Wear your heels outdoors. Walking in heels indoors is very different to walking in them outdoors. Without the soft cushioning of carpet, or the flat, even indoor surface of linoleum or wood, walking in heels can be ten times more difficult.
Even minor surface flaws in tarmac or cracks in the pavement will present difficulties, so try walking up and down outside your house a few times, taking great care to avoid uneven surfaces.
A good place to practice after you've gotten the hang of it in your house is to wear your heels to the supermarket. Use your cart for balance!
Practice standing in heels. Not only do you need to learn how to walk in heels, but you should also be aware of how to stand in heels. It may sound simple, but many women just don't know what to do with their feet when posing for pictures or standing around chatting at an event. This is where having comfortable shoes becomes very important, as you don't want to spend your evening shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

To stand correctly in heels, stand with the heel of one foot touching the middle of the other foot, while cocked at an angle from it.

Put your weight on the toe of the foot in back, and as soon as that foot gets tired, switch feet so that your weight is on the other foot.

TIP: The bigger your feet, the higher a heel you'll be able to wear comfortably. So don't assume you need to wear the same heels that models do; many of them have large feet to match their tall stature!

If you have open toe shoes try to put cushions around the area where your toe meets your foot. This will keep them from sliding out the open toe and your feet will not slide out. This helps if you have small or thin feet/toes.

Warnings
Driving in high heels is generally not a good idea, especially with a standard transmission. Wear flats or tennis shoes for driving. Avoid flip-flops, as these shoes can get caught in the pedals.

Walk carefully. Grass, cobblestones, and grates or drains are your enemy. Even a crack on the sidewalk can bring you down if it swallows the tip of your heel. Watch your step and don't even think about power walking or jogging with those heels on.

No matter how nice your heels are, don't wear them all the time. Wearing heels too often can lead to chronic foot and back pain.