Our shoes say a great deal about us. Symbols of female power for Freud, the ultimate instrument of seduction for some fetishists, they are said to reveal how we move through life. From flat trainers to 12 cm stilettos, here is what our feet are choosing.
What do shoes say about us, according to Freud?
Plenty of us collect shoes. They finish an outfit and carry a mood, and sometimes they decide what the rest of the wardrobe will do. For Freud, in Trois essais sur la théorie sexuelle, the foot stands as a “substitute for the woman’s phallus”: by giving our shoes so much weight, we would be raising that symbol of power. A reading to hold at arm’s length, but one worth knowing.
More concretely, two criteria guide the choice: comfort, and looks, which feed our vanity and show off our power to charm.
Why choose comfortable shoes?
Flat or orthopaedic, these shoes answer a need to move fast and freely — and a refusal of the “instruments of torture” a beautiful pair sometimes hides. The fit (the arch that suits the foot best) often decides the model.
Why choose shoes for their looks?
A 9 cm court shoe in a meeting room sets the tone at once: a woman nobody is going to look down on — an image Carrie Bradshaw made famous in Sex and the City, where the stiletto became a sign of self-command. Among millennials the current runs the other way: less patience with discomfort, and a growing appetite for menswear-inspired shoes cut for women.
