I'm 5'11" and known for my 4 and 5 inch "diverse" high heel shoes & I wear them predominately in the workplace because that is wear I spend the most of my time during the week. As a tall woman, I fully embrace my height, the power that it exudes and would never reduce my heel height to make someone else feel better about themselves. My high heels add to my self esteem in and out of the workplace and it shows in my stride. I encourage you to not look at your height as a bad thing. Tall women, Amazons, WNBA players or whatever negative nickname you were given for being tall should be embrassed as beautiful. When you are truly confident with your height, short people tremble in fear and desire to be you. :)

Height is fine but not necessary.  Taller people, even women, make no difference to me.  If your power and confidence come from being tall, then you are not powerful and confident; just silly.

I am truly confident with MY height, too. "Whatever negative nickname you were given for being PETITE should be embraced (check the spelling, there, Super) as beautiful."

keep wearing them hot heels ladies, we appreciate it!

While I don't agree with the part of 'especially if you're short,' if women want to wear heels, then fine. But I think there shouldn't be flashy heels worn in the workplace and women should wear proper attire with heels so that colleagues can take you seriously. We as women have worked too hard for equality and to intentionally wear items in a way that would draw attention to your figure rather than your work is taking a step back. I guess, in a nutshell, my stance is whatever your footwear is, make sure you are professional looking in it.

i'm tall and wear heels. (5'10") i do wear about 2.5 inchers to work if i am wearing heels with my outfit. i'll wear 4 inch heels occasionally too, but in social situations more .

there is sometimes that feeling that i am a giant ogre drag queen in my 4inchers bein g around petite people (life is not a runway you know, its not always revered) so i try to keep around the 3inch height if i can. its nice to be able to be in flats and still have your legs look good in short things, on the flip side it would be nice to wear funky platforms and not stand a head above all your friends

to me its not the height of the shoe so much as the style (which sometimes correlate and sometimes don't) women look foolish when they were evening shoes with suits. "dressy" is not a one size fits all. they also look foolish when wearing clogs with suits- style transcends heel height, you can look commanding in flats and heels if you know what you are doing. even if you are 5"

Mother Teresa was pretty powerful, and she wasn't tall nor did she wear high heels.

somebody forgot to tell carla bruni that i guess! hehe

Me too! And before you ask, I am a doctor (see the short comment above about "can you imagine a woman doctor in high heels?" -- well, YES, it's me!). Do I wear strappy patent stilettos with Swarovski crystals to work? Of course not. But since I'm only 5' 2", and since I work mainly with male colleagues, I need the height. I wear platform heels (they add 4" to my height, but with a 3/4" to 1" platform they feel like 3" heels) with a relatively sturdy looking heel, in classic basic colors like brown, black, navy, taupe, or charcoal (leather or suede). I make absolutely CERTAIN that I can not only stand comfortably in them but that the heels are placed so that I can walk without "teetering" -- I also make sure the shoe fits PERFECTLY before I decide to buy it. Those are the secrets for not looking cheap and tawdry! Also, I would never wear this heel height with a skirt hitting above mid-knee (I usually wear mid-calf length skirts; then I can get away w/ knee highs and not (UGH!) stockings -- if you want to oppress me, put me in pantyhose!).

Everyone's foot is different and everyone has a different tolerance for heels in general. I used to think I couldn't wear heels because I wobbled or had to take mincing little steps; I have since realized that everyone walks differently, and you have to search to find a brand that works for you. If you wobble towards the outside of your foot, you need to find heels placed slightly more towards the outside of the shoe (and vice versa), or try a more blocky heel style (less pointy). The platform style also adds a lot of stability compared with a soft leather sole at the ball of the foot.

Another cause of wobbling is if your foot moves in the shoe -- that means it doesn't fit properly. It has to be snug without being too tight. (Stick-on pads for the ball of the foot or for the heel cup may be useful if there's just a little too much play.) Straps across the instep area can be very helpful in keeping your foot in the shoe (regardless of heel height). Blisters and bunions again mean your shoes don't fit properly (since both conditions are caused at least in part by constant rubbing of the foot against the shoe).

I can walk faster than all of my male colleagues in their Rockports, even with the heels and my shorter legs; I can also run in most of my heels. In fact, my most UNSTABLE shoe was a little 1/2" kitten heel sandal, because the heel is placed too far to the inside of the foot for my particular balance point. I tripped EVERY TIME I wore those, and so I gave them away.

Empowered? I don't know. I like how I look in them, how they make me feel, and how they complement my wardrobe.