Could This be the Secret to Painless Heels?

My friends would never guess it, but I actually look for any excuse to wear heels, despite the pain they cause. But, as it turns out, I have actually been putting on heels incorrectly my entire life. And, doing it the right way may have helped alleviate the discomfort I suffer while wearing them. According to etiquette expert William Hanson and former PHA Model & Casting Agency executive, Pam Holt, there's a right and a wrong way to step into your stilettos.

The duo told The Daily Mail that they would advise women to step into heels like this: "Point toes, as if you are Saint Darcey Bussell, arch foot and slide into heel. Wiggle those toes to spread out and settle in their new, rather cramped, home." Who knows exactly how that will make heels more comfortable, but hey — I'll try anything at this point!

My mom would tell you that my love for heels began when I was 5-years-old and tried to wear my plastic princess heels to my first day of kindergarten (full disclosure: I started school at a year earlier than most.) When she wouldn't let me go to school in them, I opted to put them on as soon as I got home and wore them all day long on weekends. Dressing up was my specialty and my plastic heels were always my muse.

Of course, as I grew up, I fell into the trap of waking up late and dressing for comfort rather than style. Heels were replaced with Converse or Vans, and were only worn for special occasions. I always sought that extra occasion, though. Even though I hardly ever wore them, I always felt more put together in heels.

That love came to a screeching halt this summer, during my internship in New York City. I had a networking meeting, so I wore heels to look extra-professional (or extra-look-like-I-have-my-life-together). I had to go straight from the meeting to my internship, to visiting a friend. I was in heels all day. Finally, after enduring only a block of the .5 mile walk to the subway from my friend's apartment, I had taken my heels off and bared the NYC streets barefoot. Then I got lost. Then I cried, barefoot, on the sidewalk. It wasn't my proudest moment.

Hanson and Holt's advice gives me hope that I may, one day, be able to rekindle my relationship with heels. Until then, I'll sit on my couch and try their advice with every heel in my closet.

Images: Getty(2)