Mark as in Mark wrote:...She commented...that I can walk better than her in heels and she only wears 7cm heels (3")...
I get that too, and when it happens, I mark it as acceptance. Often, it's from overweight and out-of-shape women, whose extra weight complicates the stress distribution, and who can't maintain the required ankle stiffness.
But sometimes I get it from thin and fit women as well, often wearing heels themselves, and I take that as acceptance as well. It's like we're in the same heel-wearing fraternity, uh, sorority, uh, club (yeah, that's it).
Another common conversation is, "Don't those heels hurt?" to which I reply, "No, not at all." Then they ask, "How can that be?" and I'll explain that clunky heels (if that's what I'm wearing) are more stable than stilettos, and that slant heels (again, if that's what I'm wearing) distribute the weight better than block, and that oxfords (again...) help because the shoe top absorbs some of the weight. To which they're usually dumbfounded for not thinking of those things themselves. Then I hit them with the real kicker (sorry), "Try a pair on and if they hurt, don't buy them, try on another pair." Which usually produces a blank stare one step removed from a head slap,
Now obviously, lots of women have figured these things out and wear heels comfortably whenever the occasion calls for them. But I think others have simply been told, "Heels always hurt, you just have to put up with it," and so they do.
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.
caultron