From The New York Daily News today:

Fashion-victim alert

as women fall for 6-inch heels

BY MEGHAN CLEARY

Thursday, April 24th 2008, 4:00 AM

Like Icarus flying against his father’s wishes, is the modern woman trying to soar too high in today’s towering platform stilettos?

This is the question that went round the world Monday as Gwyneth Paltrow teetered out of a movie junket in a pair of 6-inch platform stilettos. Deploying a bodyguard to ensure her safe delivery down a set of stairs, Paltrow showed that even superstars need a hand to walk the fashion landscape.

And they look damn good doing it.

The average heel height for a woman’s shoe has escalated exponentially in the last five years. Back then, the average stiletto pump heel height never exceeded 3 inches. And although the ’70s brought wild disco platforms, and in the early 1990s Vivienne Westwood’s 9-inch heels (with 5-inch platforms) toppled even Naomi Campbell on the runway, for some time, the reach of the average everyday pump had remained the same.

Christian Louboutin changed the face of the fashion shoe landscape when, four years ago, he introduced a stiletto with a small hidden platform at the toe – and increased the height of the heel to match – up to 5 inches. Embraced by celebs like Eva Longoria Parker and Gwen Stefani, this subtle but powerful silhouette swept the shoe landscape, and 4- and 5-inch stiletto pumps became the norm, even without the help of a hidden platform.

Mass marketing soon followed suit, and now it can be difficult to find the perfectly proportioned 2- or 3-inch all-day heel of yore.

Paltrow almost fell victim to the hype, literally: She has a new look, a new toned body and a new movie to promote.

All women want to tower, to embrace our feminine divinity and be adored in our stilettos. We want to keep going higher and higher, where, close to the sun, we can look down and see the Earth below us.

But as Paltrow made her ascent this week, clinging tenaciously to a strong arm, she was subject to more ridicule from the Earth below.

The truth: 6-inch heels are just about the sexiest thing you can put on your feet.

Don’t we all secretly want to push the boundaries a little bit every once in a while – even if we have to ask for a little help along the way?

Read more from Meghan at www.missmeghan.com.

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Have you seen this? I love this one expescially because it’s Gwyneth and totally shows how the mood of the woman changes from hour to hour! Love the Manolo.

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Gwyneth has been everywhere this week. And truly she is looking hottie- puh-tottie as we would say in Michigan — she’s toned it up and is looking sleek and muscular. HOW – ever. Her love for the chunky, aggressive black sandal seems to have overpowered her brain — or maybe her shoes are definitely outlining a total inner dichotmomy — she’s got super chunk black Stilettos on her feet, and a fluttery feminine dress on top — more than once. Is someone feeling a little conflicted? It’s like when Katie Couric would wear those hyper-conservative suits and then a totally racy Prada stiletto “down below” (as my mother would say).

Check out the photo from Glam and BauerGriffin and see what you think.
*Is Gwyneth making a subliminal statement with her shoes?

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