Mar 24, 2017

This Is the Perfect Heel Height, According to French Girls

by Hannah Almassi

When it comes to relying upon French girls for fashion advice, we're about as faithful as you can get. Our level of trust knows no bounds, from buying into the brands that Parisians can roll off like the alphabet to knowing their fail-safe colour combinations, the Instagram accounts they follow, which underwear style they rate the most… The obsession is limitless.

Which is why when we had the opportunity to grab 60 seconds with our favourite French shoe designer—Laurence Dacade, she of the perfect, street style–adored, buckled, block-heeled ankle boot—we knew precisely what we'd want to ask. Parisians are well documented for their footwear choices, and it's rare that you will have seen high profile countrywomen such as Carine Roitfeld or Emmanuelle Alt in flats or sneakers, so that begs the question: Just what is the perfect heel height in the mind of a French woman?

"8.5cm because it gives a feeling of height," Laurence tells me. "The leg is graceful and allows the woman to live her everyday life with elegance and style." She continues, explaining that there is no one most flattering shoe, but a host of them: "I believe that all shoes can be flattering. It all depends on the lines. When they are well placed on the feet they always benefit the allure." And in her capable hands, we shall entrust our ankles.

Photo:

Collage Vintage

Yasmin Sewell wearing Laurence Dacade boots.

With a white V-neck court shoe making its way into Style.com's exclusive capsule collection with Laurence—a project the site's fashion director Yasmin Sewell has been closely working on—we couldn't help but wonder how the ultra-chic women of France felt about what was once such a taboo shoe. "I have always loved white shoes, I think they are fresh, simple, charming yet modern. They pop a look," says Laurence. "Maybe white shoes were considered as fragile in the past and worn occasionally. However, today, they are worn daily." So there you have it—perhaps we were wrong to judge white shoes so harshly in the past.

Shop Laurence Dacade's exclusive collection below.