Let Yourself Shine
Monday September 6, 2010

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“When I slip into high heels now,

I can feel the transformation. 

I see my outfit go from “blah” to “ ta-da!”

I sense my butt lifting and my hips

slimming.  I can feel the confidence in

my shoulders and the sway in my steps.

I notice the difference in how I’m

perceived . . . [s]he means business.

But in knowing what high heels can do

for me,

I also understand why they can’t.

And the moment I kick them off,

I still feel just as tall.”

-Rachel Rosenblit in Elle US magazine (September 2010)

While one of Disney’s most treasured films, Cinderella,  is indeed a fairy tale, it reveals a hidden secret about including heels in your wardrobe – wearing them really can change your life, if nothing else, the silhouette of a woman’s figure is slimmed in a very generous manner. While wearing them may not lead you to your prince, they do allow the strong confident woman that you are to be shared with the world without saying a word.

Rachel Rosenblit’s article “Short Story” shares some very valid points that I found myself being  in agreement with.  For many of you, her story of how she came to include wearing heels in her life will be a familiar one.

My story begins with a dress-up box full of  the silk and sequin gowns, strappy heels and pumps my mother had reserved for my playtime. Wearing them made me feel like what I thought a woman should feel (and still do) – glamorous, special, beautiful. Granted they didn’t fit me – I was swimming in them actually, but oh, how much fun I had. Then came high school and buying any shoe with a heel was special. Learning to walk in them was entertaining and even though it made me tower over most of the boys, I didn’t seem to mind. After all, I felt a bit more grown up.  Next was college. With what money I had, I was over the moon when I could afford a creative, fun strappy heel even if everyone else was wearing flats. A sense of added maturity was in each pair I wore, and I was all about being my own person, soon to have her first real job and an actual paycheck to live on.

A luxury in wearing heels is, for all practical purposes, that they truly add the extra pop that every outfit is looking for, your figure is elongated, your legs magically lengthen and your butt perks up, but the intrinsic value is that your confidence is allowed to shine even brighter. However, the simple wearing of heels can’t create something that isn’t already there, yet it can magnify the beauty that already exists.

Now, I accept that many woman are in jobs where wearing heels may not be plausible, but consider the option when going out on the town, enjoying a drink with a friend or attending your next social function. You might just be surprised at the attention and the breath-taking beauty that looks back at you in the mirror. Because you are beautiful, all woman are beautiful, we just need to remember to view ourselves that way and then others will believe it as well.

Now when I wear heels I wear them because I’m proud and thankful to be woman. A woman who is confident enough to know that I can afford my heels, but also a woman who knows she can wear her heels or her flats and still exude a quiet self-confidence that no one can take away.

Have a lovely and magically Monday whether you are still enjoying your weekend or beginning your work week. If you would like to share your story of how you came to include heels into your life, I would love to hear. Bonjour my friends.

 

10 thoughts on “Let Yourself Shine

  1. I used to wear heels all the time when I lived in London, as I drove to work. Now I live in Seville (Spain), a beautiful old city but…………with cobbled streets. It’s murder trying to walk on these streets with heels. I kept wondering when I first arrived why young women never seemed to wear heels here. Unless you are going by car directly to where you want to go, it’s impossible navigating the streets with heels.
    Great article and FAB photos!

  2. My favorite shoe memory involves a pair of my mom’s high heels (red!) and my five year old foot. The shoes didn’t fit back then but I thought they made me look just like a grown up. I think that’s what we still feel when we wear high heels… like grown ups!
    Oh, and I’ve now “borrowed” those same red shoes from my mom’s closet — and they now fit me perfectly! 😉

  3. I love this post. I am 5’8″ and while that’s not that tall it was when I was growing up. I wanted to be petite and short because being tall and skinny when I was growing up was just like being overweight. I went to college and I remember some guy that worked in the gym saying to me do you know how many women would love to be your height. Little by little I embraced my height (still wearing flats)…I started to wear heels for my coop jobs but still wore flats when I went out at night. When I moved to LA, I bought my first pair of strappy shoes and fell in love. Little by little I wore heels when I went out and started to embrace the way a pair of heels made me feel. The last picture with the three girls made me laugh. I had my ah hah moment when my two roomates from college were visiting and my friend from work all went out – we’re all 5’8″ and blond and we all wore heels. It was a wonderful moment walking in and we all giggled because we all felt great, powerful, sexy, and fabulous in our heels. I never wear flats anymore except for flip flops. I’m a heels girl all the way and I love the way they make you feel.

  4. I’ve recently started to wear more heels. I used to think that only a tiny petite woman could be beautiful. But, stretching out in yoga one time I thought, “this is how tall I am, and it is good”. From then one, I have been liberated to wear all the heels I want (I even bought my highest heels ever)
    Thanks for this.

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