Magical types like dwarves, pixies, gnomes and Nicolas Sarkozy are all rejoicing after hearing the news that ‘meels’ (man heels) are this summer’s hottest look
Magical types like dwarves, pixies, gnomes and Nicolas Sarkozy are all rejoicing after hearing the news that ‘meels’ (man heels) are this summer’s hottest look, according to one of our favourite fashion blogs, Refinery29.com. The blog recently ran a rather wonderful photo story on men in heels with street-style pictures from fashion week season, including one of a guy hailing a taxi outside the Rodarte show wearing a pair of stupendous boots with a platform sole and a gravity-defying non-heel (we suggest you just look for yourself rather than relying on our rather inadequate description).
Of course, if you’re really into mens fashion and decide to do some research, you won’t have to pore over dusty library books for long before you find mention of men and heels. Renaissance man liked to don a stacked heel along with his powdered wig and beauty spot, and Wikipedia reliably informs us that Mongolian horsemen were among the first to use heels as means to keep their feet from sliding out of their stirrups. Which is probably the only time you’ll hear high heels referred to as practical.
More recently, in the wake of the French president’s visit to these shores back in 2008, Selfridges noted a rise in popularity of stacked heels. The store’s head of menswear, David Walker-Smith, said that formerly Cuban heels or cowboy boots were favoured as casualwear with jeans, but “now the pinstriped businessman wants to up his game by adding to his height.” Shoe brands such as Jeffrey West and Patrick Cox provide heels of up to 5cm instead of the customary 1.5cm.
Our number one fanciable man in heels is Vince Noir, the character played by Noel Fielding in the Mighty Boosh. The self-proclaimed Electroboy puts great pride in his appearance. Hair is very important – “a basic back-comb structure, slightly root-boosted framing a cheeky fringe” – and Vince can often be seen sporting rather fabulous platform boots. In fact, just the other day Fashion Statement was out and about in North London and spotted Fielding channelling Vince in a boiler suit and platforms. He had a very attractive young lady on his arm, so the boots are obviously working for him.
Although a platform boot might be OTT for most men, we’re coming round to the idea that a stacked heel is fine – just make sure it’s in context. A Killers-style rock’n'roll summer festival look could include a stacked heel at the end of a pair of skinny black jeans. Or if you’re going quintessentially English, then why not play the dandy and invest in a pair of Terry de Havilland’s rather gorgeous shoes? They even have jazzy spats!