Would you like to see you male colleagues try to make it through a work day in high heels? Four men from the London office of StylistMagazine attempted to do just that—and captured the whole thing on video.
Heels have been in the news recently, after temp receptionist Nicola Thorp, an employee of outsourcing company Portico, was sent home without pay from PwC’s London office when she refused to wear shoes with a “2-inch to 4-inch heel.” (Portico has changed its policy to allow for flat shoes.)
The men of Stylist seem to know that they’re in trouble right from the start, as one compares his stilettos to wearing ice skates and another says, “I’m not going to lie—I think I might break my ankles.”
The obstacles they encounter will be familiar to most women: stairs, cobblestones, a grassy lawn (“How are they doing it? How’s the heel not sinking into the grass?”). A pair of the men attempt to totter across a busy road without getting mowed down, while one of their colleagues tries running to catch a bus (he misses it).
“I genuinely feel sorry for women who are forced to do this,” says Dan, a Stylist employee.
The video ends with one of guinea pigs giving up and walking barefoot across a city street. Holding up a pair of black pumps, he sums up many women’s feelings about navigating life in heels perfectly: “I’ll put these in the bin, I reckon.”
Watch the full video here: