Well-heeled: Australian women and the heels we wear

“What’s in a shoe?” I hear you ask. Is the height of the heel in direct correlation to the extent of a person’s ambition? What about a flatter heel? Does footwear comfort equal comfort in addressing senior management, new clients or team members?

Clothes maketh the man, so what do shoes say about women?

Jodie Fox, co-founder of Shoes of Prey, and her team gathered data nationwide to find out the shoe habits of women in each state.

“It’s interesting that despite a relatively homogenous fashion offering around Australia in high street stores, there are clear distinctions in preferences for different heel heights and shoes between the Australian states. Each state definitely has its own shoe identity”, she says. “The average preferred heel height is declining around the world – down to 8.1cm from 8.9cm in the last two years”.

“The global decline in average heel height can, in part, be attributed to the fact women can now choose a heel height that suits them”.

Jodie is quick to point out that, due to the rise in popularity of customisable fashion, women are now choosing heel sizes that suit them, rather than relying what’s available in stores. “But certainly a much wider range of heel heights are now considered just as fashionable — shoe-lovers who still want high-end fashion, with a few customised tweaks to a traditional high heel, can get the perfect solution,” she said.

So, on this, our Red Heel Day, let’s take a look at how we stack up nationwide: