Women: Buying a suit and dressing for your job....

[limegreen]

i am 5'8" too, and i love the way heels look but i, too, hate being so tall around others. plus my fiance is only a few inches taller than me to begin with, so adding heels makes us the same height!! i have found that kitten heels are a good happy medium, especially with pants because it's not so obvious that they aren't high heels. i've spent a lot of time shoe shopping for kitten heels that are still fashionable looking and in my price range, and i've had good luck with steve madden. they seem to consistently have some sort of kitten heel shoe available each season.

for example, here's a pair i own (although i noticed online the leather doesn't look as shiny and nice as it does in person...but you get the idea). http://www.stevemadden.com/item.aspx?id=40522

Those are cute.  I have a black pair that is similar for when I wear suits to school, but they are still not as comfy as flats.  Hopefully I'll be able to get away with just wearing flat shoes because heels are so not comfortable for me and I am not the most coordinated person.

[vjm]

I am 5'8" and I loooove heels. I actually really hate wearing flats. It makes me look stumpy. I will do it for flip flops, but little else. I also have a serious shoe problem. If I had all the money in the world I would have one of those crazy, Mariah Careyesque shoe closets.

Thankfully, The Boyfriend is 6'3" so the heels can be as high as I like.

Do you guys think there is a max heel height for work? Obviously, the ones that have a built up sole so your whole foot is elevated are little too "nightwear". 3"? Would 4" look freaky?

[meggo]

I love tall women who wear heels. It's so glamazon. I'm 5'2 or 5'3 so I will never get to experience this! I definately don't think 4" is too much. That's a fairly standard stilletto height. I know a lot of professional women who wear 4"+, since obviously it's a trend in footwear for the past season or two to have towering heels and big platforms. That said, for a conservative law firm, I probably wouldn't go over 4", but I think this is a perfectly appropriate height.

[vjm]

Platforms seem a little riskier to me. I have certainly seen a few I would wear to an office, but the style itself seems a little "hey, check me out".

[pikey]

I love tall women who wear heels. It's so glamazon. I'm 5'2 or 5'3 so I will never get to experience this! I definately don't think 4" is too much. That's a fairly standard stilletto height. I know a lot of professional women who wear 4"+, since obviously it's a trend in footwear for the past season or two to have towering heels and big platforms. That said, for a conservative law firm, I probably wouldn't go over 4", but I think this is a perfectly appropriate height.

I disagree.  I think 3", maybe 3.5" is as high as you should go for the office.  There's a point where shoes cross the line from fashionable/stylish to sexy.  Your professional attire should be focused more on looking professional.  You can definitely still by stylish in a 3" heel.  There's a little more flexibility if the rest of your outfit is fairly conservative, but I'd still err on the side of caution, especially when you're still being evaluated.

[meggo]

As with everything in this thread, it's going to depend on your office. I think 3.5 - 4" is the norm for a stiletto and really don't believe that it crosses over into being sexy. Or not any sexier than not having your shirt buttoned all the way up. Of course, if you're in a conservative law firm, you need to gauge these things, but I know many women who wear their manolo's and louboutin's to work and the norm heel height for those is 100 - 105 mm.

[Alecto]

I love tall women who wear heels. It's so glamazon. I'm 5'2 or 5'3 so I will never get to experience this! I definately don't think 4" is too much. That's a fairly standard stilletto height. I know a lot of professional women who wear 4"+, since obviously it's a trend in footwear for the past season or two to have towering heels and big platforms. That said, for a conservative law firm, I probably wouldn't go over 4", but I think this is a perfectly appropriate height.

My cousin is 6'3" and she wore 3" heels for my  wedding -- they were hot pink.  It was awesome.

[flyaway]

I think the appropriateness of a particular heel height depends on the size of the shoe.  Trust me... a 3 inch heel on a size 11 does not look the same as a 3 inch heel on a size 5.  The angle of "steepness" is completely different.

[pikey]

I think the appropriateness of a particular heel height depends on the size of the shoe.  Trust me... a 3 inch heel on a size 11 does not look the same as a 3 inch heel on a size 5.  The angle of "steepness" is completely different.

This is very true.  Imo, a really small foot (ie my mom and sister who are about 5'nothing and wear sizes 6-7) can get away with a lot more than a larger foot.  This is also true of women who are more petite.  When you're 5', even a 5" heel is barely noticeable.

[flyaway]

Well, I actually meant the opposite, if we're talking about the shoe itself, not the height of the woman.  A 5 inch heel on a tiny shoe is proportionally a lot higher than on a very large shoe.