Glamour Magazine Editor Goes on 7-Day High Heel Detox
Glamour magazine's editor scraps stilettos for flats. How did she fare?
— -- For Cindi Leive, editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine, high-heels are more than a way of life.
“Victoria Beckham used to be my high heel spirit animal,” Leive told “Good Morning America” of the fashion designer known for her penchant for heels. “She once famously said, ‘I can’t concentrate in flats.’”
But now Beckham says she’s had a change of heart. She decided to scrap stilettos from her work wardrobe and give fashionable flats a whirl.
Beckham’s shift inspired Leive to go on a high heel detox experiment of her own, wearing only flats for seven days in Conde Nast's fashion wonderland.
“I’m 5 foot 2, so having that extra little bit of lift has come to feel to me like armor,” she confided. “Am I going to feel like boss lady me when I’m in flats?”
Leive kept a fashion footwear diary for Glamour magazine and "Good Morning America."
Day 1: Metallic Leather Pointed Toe Flats
For day one, Leive went with metallic leather pointed-toe flats.
“I already have a blister which is weird. I thought that flats were supposed to be more comfortable, and I also have the creeping realization that I’ve literally in 15 years never walked into my office building at my real non-assisted height.”
Day 2: Patent Leather Point-Toe Flats
“I ran for a cab and got a cab this morning, I was definitely moving a lot faster than I would have been in my usual 5-inch situation. On the downside … I still feel really short … It sort of feels like I’m walking through my office in my pajamas.”
Day 3: Black Patent Leather Bow Derbys
"The first couple of days, I kept feeling like I had to explain the fact that I was in flats, like, 'No, I don’t have a foot injury.' Now it’s actually starting to seem kind of normal. Also bonus, I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge today to get to work in my flats. Bam."
Day 4: Patent Leather Point-Toe Flats
More than halfway through the experiment, Leive chose to re-wear the same pair of patent-leather point-toe flats she wore on day two.
“I feel good, but I have an embarrassing confession. I have a big meeting this afternoon and I brought a security blanket with me [a pair of heels], just in case.”
Day 5: Sporty White Leather Sneakers
“I’m super comfortable in these sneakers. I don’t feel 100 percent like myself. I feel a little like I just skipped in from the gym, and maybe I don’t really belong at work.”
Day 6: Metallic Loafer Flats
"I'm still standing. I could stand for hours in these flats, I could go all night.”
Day 7: Purple Straightset Lace-Up Sneakers
Leive felt confident in the lace-up kicks.
"It was super easy to get dressed today. It’s a beautiful sunny day in New York. What do you want to wear except sneakers? It’s a sneakers kind of day.”
Click here to check out Glamour's list of Cute Spring Flats for Under $100.