Nobody at a fashion magazine is required to wear heels anymore. That’s exactly what makes the ones people choose worth studying.
My shoe rotation is flat and stays flat. Loafers, ballet flats, sandals, Mary Janes, Chelsea boots, riding boots. Heels come out for the most formal occasions on the calendar, and even then I usually go kitten. If there’s a lift involved at all, it’s a small block. I like a slim, dainty shoe with almost no structural support, which my podiatrist would probably like to discuss with me.
Something has shifted this year, though. I keep picturing ordinary outfits finished with a real high heel, and the idea has been quietly taking up more space in my head. The influence isn’t coming from a runway or a trend report. It’s coming from the desks around mine.
The office is the trend report
Brooke Bobb, our fashion news director, is in heels more often than not: vintage square-toe Prada pumps, a newer pair of Chanel cap-toe slingbacks, gold strappy sandals. Lynette Nylander, our executive digital director, wears her printed Dario Versace pumps and her Maryam Nassir Zadeh Olympia wedges with total ease. Our editor-in-chief, Samira Nasr, turned up the other day in Phoebe Philo’s kitten-heeled Tide sandals. And every single time Michella Ore, our commerce editor, wears her metallic Nomasei heeled sandals, I ask her where they’re from, as though I haven’t asked before.
Fashion editors have a long history with the high heel. The Devil Wears Prada called magazine staffers “clackers” for the sound their stilettos made crossing a marble lobby. One of our directors remembers a personal uniform of 90mm Manolo Blahnik BB pumps, sometimes 105mm, well into the 2010s. Then normcore arrived, fashion cooled on anything that looked like effort, and even editors traded stilettos for New Balance sneakers and Birkenstocks, though the Birkenstocks were often the Proenza Schouler ones.
When heels stop being mandatory, they get interesting
The Bazaar office in 2026 has no dress code worth the name. Sneakers, exposed toes, platforms, all fine. On our half of the 25th floor I have seen Vibram FiveFingers, leopard-print Birkenstocks, heeled flip-flops and plain flip-flops in the same week. When every option is available, putting on a heel becomes a decision rather than an obligation, and the interesting part is what you do with it.
A heel adds a little polish and a little femininity, which then buys you room to go completely the other way with everything else. In the past year I’ve watched heels turn up with sports jerseys, cargo pants, sweatpants, lace capris, basketball shorts and rugby shirts. Samira wore those kitten-heeled sandals with wide-leg denim, a T-shirt and a blazer. Brooke styles her Chanel pumps with army-green barrel-leg trousers and bright knits. Lynette pairs her Versace heels with the matching pencil skirt and a graphic tee. The balance in all of it lands somewhere between fancy and casual, unusual and wearable. The outfits look lived in rather than styled, which is what makes them feel copyable.
My starter heel
For my own experiment I bought a pair of Manolo Blahnik Callamu mules secondhand from The RealReal. They’re strappy, open-toe, snake-print leather, with a two-inch heel. The print means they don’t go with anything in particular, and also that they don’t clash with much either. Taking my cue from my colleagues, I wore them with a red silk floral-print top from an early-2000s Prada collection, white denim Bermuda shorts and small pearl drop earrings.
I got through the entire day upright and reasonably confident, with one small blister that had nothing to do with the heel height. A few people said something nice about the shoes. I’m choosing to read that as approval.
Shop the story
- Phoebe Philo Tide Sandal, $1,600 at phoebephilo.com
- Tory Burch Beaded Heel Mule, $495 at Tory Burch
- Manolo Blahnik Vendona Slingback Pumps, $1,065 at Mytheresa
- Jude Mode Ballerina, $1,070 at thejude.com
- Suzanne Rae 70s Slingback, $575 at suzannerae.com
- Gucci Boulevard Slingback Pumps, $1,220 at Mytheresa
- Herbert Levine 24/7 Velvet Mules, $1,035 at Mytheresa
- Loeffler Randall Dixie Kitten Heel, $179
- Zara Leather Kitten Heel, $179
