Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Men Are Wearing Stilettos—If They Can Find Their Size
BY: Alaina Demopoulos
Style Write
Shaobo Han put on his first pair of heels at age 11. The pair wasn’t Han’s, exactly—he’d stolen them from his mother, to practice “prancing around the house when no one was around.” Han thought that boys weren’t supposed to wear heels, so he made sure to play with them in private.
“I have other male-presenting friends who have the same memory of trying on their mother’s clothes,” Han told The Daily Beast. “It’s fascinating that a collective memory exists. Even though nobody taught us how to wear heels, we all tried on our own.”
Years later, Han went to Forever21 to buy his first real pair of heels for $40. “I was lucky that my shoe size is a men’s eight, which is a women’s 10,” said Han. “Other people aren’t as fortunate. If they have larger feet than mine, it’s almost impossible to find something that fits.”
If a boy had larger feet, he could find stilettos at a drag store, but that resource would drastically limit any say he’d have in his own style. “Those shops cater to performers, so the shoes are much more outrageous,” Han said. At drag outlets you can find studded stilettos, leopard print pumps—but no subdued, day-to-day heels.
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Women with larger feet have long been crafty when it comes to finding spike heels that fit. Regardless of their figure, they might shop a plus-size store such as Lane Bryant or Torrid, both of which carry up to a women’s size 13.
Last week, luxury Italian designer Francesco Russo launched a genderless line of stilettos available in Italian size 35 to 45. “It’s not a polemic, it’s not a political,” the designer told Vogue. “It’s simply how society is moving forward. I think it’s in our duty as people to produce product to respond to the world.”
Read the whole article at the Daily Beast
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If you build it...they will come.
ReplyDeleteThere is an untapped market and manufacturers seem to be gaining awareness of that market. I think part of it is men who want to buy heels but I also think that it is also a situation where tall women are no longer shying away from heels.
Pat that is a great point. I am an astute people watcher, I am noticing an increasing number of tall women with larger feet. Maybe this is the new normal and shoes (heels) need to be available. Good for them - good for us!
DeleteYeah, a LOT of US got our start with moms high heels--and then moved on...
ReplyDeleteVelma