Heels are making a comeback, but this time it’s battle gear

After attaining comfort and a shift in the culture, high heels have returned - for some a symbol of retrogressive femininity, for others a protest

I mean, it sounds mad now. I know this even as I write, it sounds impossible, like a weird lie you tell kids to show them how good they have it, but listen: in the late 1990s and early 2000s when I worked in a fancy underwear shop, I had to wear heels that were at least 3in high every day, no sitting down allowed. And then, and then, in my leisure time, instead of easing myself into, say, a bath of Uggs, I also wore a heel. Eva," I hear you say, Did somebody hurt you? I hope you have someone to talk to." But - it was normal. It was normal! I wore a spike-heeled boot, a massive platform, or sometimes for comfort, as a treat, a 1940s mule.

It was about fashion, yes, but it was also about growing up, and about authority, and about swagger. Also, I lived at the top of a very steep hill and the angle of a heel was sometimes helpful when walking home. Heels have never been about just one thing. Their meaning, pain and politics, move and merge.