Miss J. Alexander’s Expert Guide To Walking In Heels

There’s nothing worse than seeing some chick werk-ing her March Hair Challenge ’do and bandeau top, but ruining all of that sass with a pitiful high heels walk. It’s tragic. It’s a crime! It’s a crime against her babeness and a crime against her fabulous, fabulous shoes.

Don’t be that girl.

Be the girl who, instead, stomps the runwa-, er, sidewalk with confidence and a signature walk; the girl who is her own Naomi or Karlie. She’s not letting her first date nerves or pre-important business meeting jitters affect her stride.

Need a little help in the walking-in-heels department? We refer you to runway diva extraordinaire (thanks, Tyra), Miss J. Alexander. Miss J has been in the biz for yeaaaaaaarrrsss, honey, and has taught the best of the best how to achieve a killer strut.

Over her time she’s dished out brilliant advice, and we’ve collected it all, distilled it, flipped it and reversed it to give you the core tips for mastering the high heels walk. Knock-kneed Bambis and fladunkasauruses welcome.

Sounds obvious, but Miss J warns that this is the most imperative part of a successful strut. You’re setting yourself up for failure if they’re too tight, too big, pinch in certain spots, etc. If you’re wearing a new pair of heels for a special occasion, give them a test run to see if you need to add any insoles or foot pads. The last thing you want to be is the basic girl taking off her shoes and going barefoot half-way through an event.

Start strong, stay strong. Ya feel?

The runway expert says that we’ve a tendency to hunch or look at the ground whenever we feel off-balanced, but this only tempts gravity. Emulate the graceful, proud swan that you know you can be.

Think about it: You’re already elevating the heel of your foot, why would you elevate it further by walking on the balls of your feet? Just, no. Doesn’t make sense. Also, depending on your proficiency, be mindful of heel thickness. Obviously the thinner the heel, the greater the level of difficulty. So if you’re fairly foreign to heels wearing, perhaps opt for a chunky platform or block heel while you’re getting your sea legs.

It’s simple physics: Heels push you onto the balls of your feet, thus to maintain a strong centre of gravity, you lean back to counteract the natural forward motion your beloved angled shoe encourages.

It’s called ‘baby steps’ for a reason. Wider strides are for the pros. Or if you’re running really F’ing late.

Confidence is key. Even if you’re not initially super-comfortable in your new strut, the more you’re in your heels with a smoulder on your face, the more you’ll truly begin to feel like those stilettos are nuttin’.

And for the love of all that is Manolo, keep your pins crossed! Miss J is adamant about resting as frequently as possible, saying an added bonus to this is you give people more opportunity to ogle your incredible heels.