As a short gal who was raised by generations of under-5’2” women, the concept of wearing shoes without even the slightest bit of lift has long seemed like a foreign concept to me. My mother, a disco queen, regaled me with tales of dancing in platforms through the ‘70s and ‘80s. My grandmother, who took the subway to work well after retirement age, always had lifts on her orthopedics. Me personally? I wore no less than 4-inch heels nearly every day of high school. (It was the 2000s, OK?)
Now, wouldn’t you know it, I also come from a long line of women with foot problems. Hoping to save myself from the same fate of podiatrist appointments and surgeries, I have, over the past few years, chilled out on the high-heel front. I wear stilettos more sparingly, stick to lower kitten heels and have—gasp—even started incorporating some comfy flats into my rotation.
While I’m a lot less self-conscious about my height as I was when I was younger, I still take it into consideration when planning my outfits to achieve the best and most flattering look for my figure (see: my tips on donning everything from maxi dresses to oversized blazers as a shortie). So when it comes to wearing flats, there are some rules of thumb—or should I say, foot—that I typically stick to, especially when it can mean the difference between looking extra-shrunken or extra-sleek. See my tips in action ahead (complete with original photos).
