The Intelligent Life re-boot

By Rebecca Willis

Almost as loud as the sound of children moaning about going back to school, the sound of feet protesting as they go back into winter shoes signifies the end of the summer. And here in London, after a couple of encores, the summer is finally due to end. The sock drawer is firmly back in action and the shop windows are full of boots of all kinds—a sign of worse to come, weather-wise. But despite the promised return to women’s fashion of flat footwear, high heels refuse to disappear—a fact which should have osteopaths and chiropractors up and down the country rubbing their hands with glee. Because heels are definitely not what the doctor ordered.

A year ago in Intelligent Life I wrote about my quest for the perfect heeled boot. I was really trying to answer a question which had bugged me for most of my adult life, but was gaining an edge of urgency as I got older: is it possible for heels to be really comfortable, or does the structure of the human foot dictate otherwise? I approached the shoe designer Tracey Neuls, who agreed to let me be involved in and write about the design process as she attempted to create a super-comfortable boot with a heel. Her stated mission is to make footwear that is “individual, timeless and comfortable”. “I design from the inside out,” she told me. “I always start with the foot.” That sounded promising.