He decided to try out heels so as to give better advice on wearing them

Ladies, let’s have a chat. High-heels: you are getting it all wrong.

Most of you don your heels and wobble about thinking that just because you have a pair of expensive-looking footwear on you, everything will fall into place.

If you can’t manage to stay upright and look elegant then it’s perhaps best you don’t graduate above one or two inches.

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Etiquette expert William Hanson reveals the best way to walk in high heels

So many of you (35s and under, mainly) are getting it badly wrong: goodness only knows what it’s doing to your feet and leg muscles. If the posture is okay, the gait isn’t, and vice versa.

Some of you look highly medicated when you teeter down high streets on a night out – the lack of length and tightness of your skirts not helping, either.

Due to having to teach deportment in my own etiquette classes, it came to my colleagues’ and my attention that I really needed to do more than talk female clients through the theory of high-heels and lead by example.

It was time to step up to the sling-backs and learn. What I’ve found, coming to it as a total novice, is that I seem to do it better than most ladies. I almost had to intervene in the opticians the other day when I saw the assistant’s heels that had bent (from bad walking and standing) to a perilous 45-degree angle.

In order to properly understand the art of walking in heels William invested in a pair of size 9 pumps

So, armed with a pair of hot red four-inch stilettos, I enlisted the help of Pam Holt, who, during the 1970s-1990s, ran the Pam Holt Model Agency, to learn how to walk in heels.

On Pam’s newly laid kitchen floor I wiggled back and forth for an initial assessment before being politely corrected by the pro. My already excellent posture helped, apparently, but the positioning of the pelvis and hands are somewhat different for those who wish to wear heels, I learned.

Heels aren’t easy. Let’s not pretend otherwise. You need training, and thanks to Pam, and some surreptitious practice at home, I am now somewhat of an aficionado and offer to you, dear ladies (and the odd male), my guide on what you should be doing.

The right shoes

First you have to find a pair that fits and are moderately comfortable.

Heels should really never be over four inches; unless you’re attending a party where ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ is the dress code. Generally, it is lower heels for daytime, higher for evening. Too many women think they will look sexier the higher the heel. Wrong.

Putting them on

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.

Posture

Before you can even think about moving, make sure you are standing correctly. So few of us today (of either sex) have good posture thanks to spending far too long slumped over computers.

It defeats the object of wearing the heels in the first place (to make you look confident and your legs look sexy) if you shuffle or slouch along. Roll your shoulders quite far back, imagine you are pushing them over a garden fence and back down the other side. Your hands should be behind the seam of your trousers/skirt and your chin should be parallel to the floor.

Final prep…

Clench your bottom, tip your pelvis slightly up and let your hips take you forward… Your waist plays no part in all this, it just remains straight and motionless.

First steps

Push your weight through the pelvis. Your ankle gets lifted up, knee bent and then straighten onto the floor. A traditional walk is heel-toe, and whilst in heels this is still true, it shouldn’t be as pronounced as when in flat shoes. Whilst we are not trying to emulate Nicole Scherzinger in the latest production of Cats, some find it helpful to picture a feline movement.

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER Stance Too many women stand with their legs crossed – maybe they want to go to the lavatory? Correctly done, stand with your heels lined up (a gap or two or three inches in between), your toes pointing in different directions, your right foot in front of the left. Set off on the right foot Literally! With correct deportment, we always set off with the right foot leading. Step in time Have some rhythm about your gait, but take your time over medium-length strides. Give us a twirl If you do ever need to turn around, and wish to do it with flare, swivel on the toes of your left foot, so you can set off again on the right foot. When seated To show off your legs and shoes cross your legs and rest one ankle on your other leg’s shin. Advertisement

The straight and narrow

As you walk, imagine you are walking down an invisible straight line. We don’t want to look like we’re on a catwalk, placing one foot directly in front of the other (too many young girls think that is the be-all-and-end-all of a stiletto), but imagining such a line will help you from walking along imaginary tram lines.

Best foot forward

Well, sort of. Your heel should be ‘on’ the imaginary line. Your toe should be pointing off. They key, however, is NEVER RUSH!

I know many reading this will initially feel uncomfortable about the sight or thought of a man in heels. I can assure you, I have no further desires to explore the realms of women’s clothing and accessories. But I felt if I was to fairly critique women on their walk, I had to give it a go myself.

Many girls learn just by, at best, putting a pair of their mother’s on and tottering around their houses; others, at worst, decide they’ll use their first time out clubbing to learn.

It often takes an outsider to point out a social group’s flaws and so I hope my guide will be of some assistant in quelling the gaggle of girls who tend to look more elephant than elegant.