Happiness Wears Heels
I admit it. This might be the most frivolous post I've written to date. But who cares, I’m putting it out there. This week brought a sense of happiness, confidence and satisfaction I haven't quite felt all year. Why? Because I finally wore high heels again. Last August I broke my foot in three places on a vacation. I literally fell off a cliff. Almost a year later, I still could not wear heels. Each week I would try but the pain would be unbearable and my rational side told me to lay off.
So, I packed up the pumps, kept to my flats, put my long-legged pant suits away and embraced my true height. But this week when I tried, no pain. First I tried the kitten heels, then graduated to a low wedge. Then, this week, I reached way back into the depths of my closet and pulled out the high-heeled sandals that hadn't seen the light of day for almost a year. And they worked. And I felt good. Damn good.
Why do heels make you feel so much more confident - or dare I say, more attractive? Well, it turns out, it’s scientific. In a study published in the Daily Mail in the UK in 2012, scientists found that people rated women as being more confident and attractive when they were wearing heels. The researchers, whose study appears in the scientific journal Evolution and Human Behavior, suggest that "evolution may partly explain the continuing popularity of high heels as an article of the female wardrobe. If wearing high heels emphasizes some specifc aspects of the female form they may make women more attractive."
Outside of the pure Darwinian aspects of these studies, there are plenty of other stats and experts pointing to the fact that women feel more confident in heels. I know I do at work. So with all the talk of "Leaning In," I know I will lean a bit further and longer thanks to my beloved high heels. 