May 2014 editor's letter: Head over heels

Back in February, when fashion and beauty director Catherine Franklin first talked to me about a feature on how to wear flats, tied to a spring runway trend, I said, “Great!” then immediately proclaimed, “But that’s one trend I will not be embracing.”

“We should make you wear them for a day and write about it!” our charming editor-at-large, Dianne de Fenoyl, volunteered. Sure, it’s her job to push us to create compelling content, but, simply put: I don’t do flats.

I put on my heels when I dress in the morning, and I don’t do my hair and makeup until I have them on. I don’t take them off until I change into my pyjamas. (I may or may not have a pair of fluffy pink kitten-heeled slippers.) Weekends in the winter find me in my Fiorentini + Baker boots (with a two-inch heel) or my three-inch lace-up Pajars. In summer, it’s open-toed heels all the time. I own a few pairs of ballet flats — including a gorgeous pair of fuchsia Christian Diors that have never seen the light of day; when I put them on, I just don’t feel like myself. I wear flip-flops at the beach (never, ever, anywhere else) and running shoes to work out. I have studied how to wear runners with jeans (love my Tretorns), but I feel like a true fashion victim when I put them on.

“How would you feel,” a friend recently asked me, “if you had to give a presentation in flats?” I didn’t even hesitate: “I wouldn’t feel powerful.”

At five foot six, I don’t think I have a height complex. Heels make me hold my frame straighter, lengthen my stride and give me confidence. They are part of my daily uniform and they allow me to feel comfortable. Heels complete me. I know I am not the only one who feels this way. “Always wear high heels,” Carine Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, once said. “Yes, they give you power. You move differently. Sit differently. And even speak differently.”

So, Dianne, as you can see, I didn’t rise to your challenge. But our “How to Get a Kick out of Flats” is just one of the many helpful features in the May how-to issue. Check out our ingenious balloon-wrapped glasses, tips on how to add colour to your home and our cover-worthy, mouth-watering rhubarb-vanilla tarts, all of which I can’t wait to try out! I hope you find lots of ideas in this issue to inspire you (and please let us know what you think).

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy May. And a Happy Mother's Day to my #extraordinary mom — and everyone else's, too!