While there are some fashion trends or silhouettes, I can almost guarantee I’ll never wear (looking at you, Maison Margiela Tabis), when it comes to fashion, I mostly operate in the grey area. I’ve often found myself saying, ‘Never say never’ because I can be convinced to make most things work for my style and aesthetic.
Not to mention, there have been plenty of times in the past when I swore off a fashion item, only to realize how much I actually loved said item. Case in point: the kitten heel, an enemy of my youth and the bain of my existence as a tall adolescent who felt too tall for the cool high heels other girls wore.
Back then, the kitten heel felt like a consolation prize, a less stylish version of the shoes I actually wanted to wear but thought I couldn’t as I was already towering over the boys at the school dance. I’ve since embraced my height and, ironically, the kitten heel.
Little in Height, Big in History
Standing around 1.5-2″ high, the kitten heel dates back to Louis XIV of France, who wished to stand a little taller, adding a couple of inches with his signature red heels. The trend eventually spread to other royals, and since the 17th century, kitten heels have rotated in and out of fashion.
In modern fashion history, the kitten heel was once considered reserved for adolescent girls. Training wheels or sorts before the real thing. Then, in the 1960s, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars adapted to the trend, like Audrey Hepburn, and from then on, the kitten heel became an emblem of chicness.
An Ode to an Icon
Kitten heels have had their moments—from the quintessential almond toes of the ’80s and the kitten-heeled mules of the ’90s to the pointy-toes and skinny heels of the early 2000s—the height once deemed childish is now a closet staple, and rightfully so.
An undeniably feminine silhouette, the shoe I once discounted has now become a quintessential wardrobe staple. From knee-high boots in the fall to open-toed mules and kitten-heel sandals during the warmer months, the kitten heel is truly tiny but mighty.
It’s effortlessly chic and can (literally) take you far, saving your feet the pain of sky-high feels without sacrificing that dressed-up appeal.
As fashion’s obsession with 90s nostalgia continues, the kitten heel remains a cornerstone piece, holding a place in everyone’s capsule wardrobe. For Spring and Summer, it continues to thrive; spotted on the runways and on the streets alike, the kitten heel is here to stay.
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