This might be literal if you get your stiletto heel stuck in the escalator, or in the grass as was so delicately demonstrated recently by our Prime Minister. She was wearing stockings with a narrow heeled court shoe without a strap. Had she been wearing a shoe with a wider heel that strapped on to her foot, that footwear malfunction might easily have been avoided. Wider heels are more stable on soft or uneven surfaces and ensure the shoe is secure on your foot.

For those of us with forefoot problems standing in any high heel for a long time becomes excruciating due to the increased loading of this area of the foot and the extended position of the toes. I see many women with big toe joints that are painful due to arthritis or injury or from surgery that has left them with stiffness. The return of the low platform wedge has been a perfect solution and offers height, a bit of glam and does not have the high gradient or require any toe movement as the shoe rolls. The addition of a padded insole is ideal and the wedge sole is more stable and allows better distribution of your weight through the foot.

Having the shoe too tight across the forefoot is often a problem and can cause compression of the nerves between the bones of the forefoot. The wedge shown has an adjustable width strap which helps which can help avoid this problem.

If this is you I would recommend buy a few pairs in different colours this season as they may not be around again for a while.