Platform shoes are something we use to get extra height and also to be more comfortable than with high-heeled shoes. They can be either full platform, which is the sole of the shoe or just platform in the front and high heel in the back. It is a known fact that platform shoes, ever since they were first invented, in Ancient Greece, were used to give extra height. But why this need to be taller?
History of Platform Shoes
In Ancient Greece, they were mainly used to give height to theater characters on the stage to be seen either, but also, to build upon their importance.
Because of the muck on the streets, in the 18th century, platform shoes are thought to have been worn to avoid it, while the same practical use had the Japanese Geta, the wooden sole shoes they used to wear. During the Qing dynasty, aristocrat Manchu women wore a sort of platform shoes with a separate heel, which was later(cca. 1590) adopted by Europeans.
Platform shoes have enjoyed their fair share of popularity in the US and across Europe in the 1930s and up to the 1950s, when Moshe Kimmel designed the first version of them for Marlene Dietrich. However, people really found out about the in the gap between the 1960s and 1980s, that is when they were really popular!
The 1990s brought a reintroduction of the platform shoes, done by UK designer Vivienne Westwood, which “helped” Naomi Campbell fall on the catwalk. That and the fact that the Spice Girls kept wearing them, brought the platform shoes back to the surface of fashion and got the popularity they have today.
Of course, platform shoes, throughout history have also had a negative connotation, but in this article we will concentrate on the good.
This article teaches you 18 creative ways on how to wear platform shoes, along with explanations and outfit ideas. Why? Because we love you!
#1: Get Your Summer Going On!
Summer is a moment to try new things, but it is also holiday time, which makes it the perfect moment to experience some new sandals. Of course, when it is overly hot outside, you do not feel like wearing platform shoes or high heels, but here, we have some ideas on how to style them to look chic, and also be comfortable.
Go cute, use florals and use a lot of white as it attracts the heat less than black does while also picking up some contrasting shoes and a nice bag to make your outfit pop out. Showing up your confidence, while being taller than usual with platform shoes can only attract good things.
Pick shoes in bright colors, it goes the same with the contrast and it makes your outfit more interesting. Besides, platform shoes are infinitely more comfortable than high-heels and we all know that, don’t we? When picking your shoe, make sure that the platform is not too narrow at the sole, and you will be perfectly fine to wear them in the summer without killing your feet (or at least not too much!).
onlinewomenmagazine.com
Go for soles made out of cork as shoes are lighter and so it helps with the walking. Also, remember that platforms are not always the 10 cm ones, you can always opt for a smaller platform. When shopping for platforms, aim for comfortable materials, nothing too tight to keep comfortable, but also to let your skin breathe in the summer heat. Last, but not least, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!
glamradar.com
#2: Sporty Style Trend
While outside is very hot and you do not want to go out of your comfortable air-conditioned room, you might still have to, so here, we suggest a few sporty-chic ways to wear your platforms. As I have mentioned before, there are many types of platform shoes, and Isabel Marant was nice enough to come up with the platform sneakers, which, as much as I don’t like them, provoked quite a craze and became a must-have item in basically everybody’s closet now. So pick them up if you have them, and accessorize them with a chic skirt and shirt to create this relaxed and simple look, perfect for the hotter days.
If outside happens to be a little bit colder, layer up and create an outfit similar to the one you see in the image below. Pair everything up with some chunky platform short boots and create this rather disheveled look to work out with the colder day.
onlinewomenmagazine.com
If you feel like going more towards the masculine side, pick up your boyfriend jeans and a larger blazer and rock your platforms off with this outfit. It is a great choice to wear platform shoes, because, besides the comfort, they make your legs look longer in a type of pants that does not do that, in particular.
#3: Are You Hippie Enough?
When people say platform shoes, they generally associate them with hippies or with the 70s, as that is where it has strongly emerged as a trend. So are you hippie enough?
To create a disheveled hippie look, inspire yourself from the image below and pick a very large, night-gown style sort of a dress and pair it up with your favorite platforms. Add some big sunglasses to complete the look and make sure your hair looks a little bit scruffy and you are done.
thenletitbe.blogspot.ro via ELLE
If you feel like you wouldn’t really wear a dress, take on your maxi skirt (which is usually too long for anybody to wear) get a nice contrasting shirt and take your platforms so that you don’t step onto your lovely skirt. This look is easy to pair up with long curled hair that is kept up with a little hair wrap. Accessorize your look and you are officially hippie in a chic and modern way!
See also: 5 Buns To Try Right Away!
polyvore.com
Still, maybe the day you decide to wear your platforms is not a skirt or a dress day, pick your boot cut jeans and rock the hippies disheveled, pants look, similar to the image below. Pick a loose blouse so that your upper part of your body can breathe and braid your hair on the side to add a bit more volume to it. Get your sunglasses and make people jealous of how good your legs look!
#4: How Office Can You Get?
Platform shoes are constantly worn in a way that is a bit sportier, to hippie, but who says you cannot wear them at the office? I am not talking about the cork or braided soles ones, but about the more elegant type of them, that can be worn to parties, or to the office.
Learn how to wear platform shoes at the office!
Office looks sometimes have a certain amount of glamour, but in some places you cannot experiment a lot with it. Still, if you work in a place where you can get a bit (or more) out of the norm, get inspired from the outfit below and get a pair of large, white pants, with a men inspired blazer, a t-shirt and awesome platforms! This outfit will definitely turn heads and it will show that you can still be fashionable and appropriate without being completely in conformity with the norms.
If you work in a place where you can’t go without the deux-pieces that is a bit outdated and sometimes even boring, choose one in a different material. Check out this Chanel inspired one that would work perfectly with platform shoes, to create an elegant and different approach to the classic suit. If you can’t find anything similar, or you simply don’t like this material, try to opt for a coloured one, instead of a black, grey or brown one, just so it gets you out of anonymity and adds a note of chic to your everyday work clothes.
onlinewomenmagazine
Again, if you can bend the rules a bit it is even better, because instead of always wearing a deux-pieces, you can go for a dress instead. Watch Suits to get more ideas about it, but dresses sometimes relieve us of the pain of picking several items of clothing. This way, you only pick the dress and match it with your favorite jacket and everything is done. If you find any, you can pick dresses with a longer sleeve so that you look perfectly appropriate even without your blazer on.
lyst.com
#5: Midi Frenzy, Anyone?
The Midi Skirt is the new craze at the moment. There is no second that goes by without us noticing it in the street style photos, or in every other store in the mall. Truth is, it looks amazing, it creates a lovely waistline and it also give you an air of retro. Still, if you are very short, as I am, you can find that the Midi skirt might not always be the greatest idea you have had so far, as it covers up a bit part of your legs and it can shorten your appearance if you do not pair it up with the right shoes. However, I have found out that I absolutely love wearing platform shoes with the Midi Skirt as it makes my legs look longer and my whole body slimmer. Who wouldn’t want that?
Here are a few ideas on how to style it with the platforms. First, we have the lovely cutout Midi skirt, that let’s the viewer glimpse your legs a bit more that the classic cut one. get your white T-shirt working with it and keep your accessories simple. Make sure your shoes are comfortable and you are ready to go!
Crop tops are yet another thing that everybody probably already has in their closet by now. Why not bare parts of your abs with a crop top and a Midi skirt and then make your body look longer with platform shoes? It looks great and it makes people turn their gaze on you!
A more elegant way of wearing the Midi skirt is when pairing it up with a shirt. Create a contrast between the shirt, the skirt and the shoes and opt for a pleated one for a textured effect.
#6: Let’s Get The Party Started!
Because they are so comfortable, you can wear platform shoes at a party so that you can dance all night and not have to change your shoes immediately after going on the dance floor. To create an aired look, get a silky dress, maybe even with a print, as in the image below and make yourself taller with your platforms to evidence the dress.
Another way to create a truly royal entrance at any party,is to get a dress in a wonderfully rich shade of royal blue. Get inspired from the look you can find below and find yourself some patterned platform shoes to create contrast, but also to let your feet shine.
Inspiring yourself from the Greek and Roman Goddesses, get a one shoulder dress, that has some transparency to it and add your platform shoes to look like you are 2 metros tall and overly thin. You can always pull that look up, especially when going at a party with your friends.
#7: Cover It Up?
Baring your legs for everybody to see, may not be the easiest thing to do, and, as the maxi skirt is definitely a trend, cover it up a bit, and add more mystery to the lower part of your body.
Get a chunky necklace, your crop-top, bare a bit of skin then cover everything up. Taking platform shoes with this look adds height and nobody will know, well, unless you actually show them!
A denim jacket is yet another must for the summer, but why not have a coloured one sometimes? The classic blue one will also do and definitely gives this look an extra layer of chic and matching it with your shoes is always nice to see. Add your pattern, so that your look is not monochromatic, and voilá!
youngatstyle.com
Cover it all up? Yes, until you have an Angelina moment with one of your legs and this will turn everybody’s attention to you! Pulling a monochromatic look is not always easy, but let a bit of skin see through and elongate your legs with the shoes and you are set.
#8: How To Wear Platform Shoes Like a Coachella
As everybody knows, Coachella is happening now. Everybody went crazy over Beyoncé’s dance with her sister, Solange and of what stars are wearing everyday at this music festival.
You can do those looks too, and add extra height with platform shoes. For the first outfit inspiration, you need big sunglasses, a long crochet jacket, a demi- crop top and shorts. Of course you add your platforms to complete the look, and you have officially brought Coachella to your yard!
onlinewomenmagazine.com
Another way of getting the Coachella look, is through a maxi skirt. Sunglasses are an absolute must, and so it the message shirt and the fringed bag, along with the platforms. You’ll add us some more chic with a hat, scruffy curly hair and loads of bangles!
Another idea would be to take a skirt similar to the one below as it add a tiny bit more elegance to your outfit, but also as it bares more skin than the maxi, and less skin than the shorts.
#9: Are Your Legs Long Enough?
Pairing pants with platform shoes is a very inspired choice if you want to have never-ending legs. Get your ankle length pants, that might only look good with heels and get platforms instead to add a bit of edge. It will look easy to pull out, relaxed and very very tasteful.
We have talked before about the deux-piexes, but what has started to gain ground is the pants and cropped shirt one. It looks something like the one below and it is amazing! Especially, when you wear it with platforms, because it makes you look elegant and very trendy.
If you feel like going more relaxed than usual, just take you favorite jeans and get those platforms working. Your whole body will look transformed and you will feel great!
blog.styleestate.com
#10: Cold Mondays
Of course, even in spring and summer you can find colder days, but this shouldn’t stop you from wearing your favorite heels, even if they are sandals. The image below gives us an idea of how to wear the platform sandals with socks. It is yet again a bit disheveled, but the layering and texturizing of the outfit makes it stand out!
Note: Sandals with socks don’t always work so be careful how you style this look!
Platform shoes are not always sandals, and the following images show us proof of how to accessorize everything! The first look is again texturized and has a splash of color that is brought up by the blouse. The midi skirt, having a cut on the left leg, shows some skin without being too daring and add to the sexiness of the legs that is brought by the shoes.
Another example of platform shoes that can make your feet look longer, without cutting them!
The second look is a hot weather look adapted for colder days. Her legs look like they will never end, thanks to her gorgeous looking platforms, and the layers, caught at the waist with a belt emphasize her body shape and get her out of anonymity.
#11: Get Your Neons Working!
There is no warm weather moment without something neon to it. It used to be a huge trend that has tamed down in a way, but it remains a great way to accessorize a very simple outfit in order to stand out in the crowd.
Your jeans and your simple, white camisole have never looked as good as when they were paired up with your neon platforms, have they? Well this is a great way to wear a marvelous color splash every now and then!
Still, if you feel that your neon sandals ask for a more elaborate outfit, get inspired from this street style snap and add texture to your clothes, while combining them with neon and other colors to make them pop out! It does require some skill, but it can truly be done!
lyst.com
Check out these Christian Louboutin neon combination shoes. Tell me they are not amazing?
#12: Go Crazy!
It is common knowledge that, along the years, designers have invented different and sometimes even totally weird types of shoes. Still, if you really like to experiment and turn heads with something quirky, get inspired by these and you will rock your weirdness along! These shoes will get any outfit you might think of wearing out there, and you will be recognized as someone courageous for pulling them out!
The first contendent is Miuccia Prada. In this collection, the shoes were totally crazy, but along with the outfits, they looked absolutely stunning, so why not try this out?
The second and third contestants are both Dolce&Gabbana, as they have lately started to create these dreamy, intricate and a bit crazy shoes in their collection. The first ones represent a huge splash of color, that goes very well with their Italian themes catwalks. To me, these look like the perfect summer heels!
The cage like shoe looks absolutely stunning and would get any outfit out of the crowd! They are AMAZING! Even though they are part of the A/W collection, they seem appropriate to wear at any time of the year, but you have to be careful not to freeze!
vogue.co.uk
#13: The Alexander Wang Way!
I have chosen Alexander Wang as he brought these great shoes back and started teaching women how to wear platform shoes. In shades of nudes, very light pinks and black he made a “parental advisory” revolution in his SS2014 catwalk. I personally fell in love with those shoes, so I even have proof that they make your outfit pop!
vogue.co.uk
Aren’t they perfect? This color is especially amazing, in particular on tanned skin!
vogue.co.uk
Spotted at London Fashion Week, this young woman, even though she might not be wearing some huge brands, made a great impression of a casual, stylish and Alexander Wang – is an outfit in pastel colors, and with shoes that resemble the above-mentioned ones. Her outfit looks stunning and very very cute!
#14:Miu Miu Craziness!
Because, Miu Miu was already mentioned before, here is an outfit with which you can pear up the following shoes. I have chosen this outfit as it is pastel coloured, and we are in spring when these colors work perfectly with the weather outside (well, at least most of the time!), but also because it is rather simple, but hard to go unnoticed.
vogue.co.uk
These first ones are a wonderful architectural piece to add to your closet and they can attract the looks of everybody with their intricate sole!
Another crazy and cute platform shoe from Miu Miu. The color combination makes it perfect for a more elegant look, but their quirkiness, makes it great for getting a very simplistic outfit out there!
Last, but not least, these shoes, sporty or not, look amazing with most of the things I can imagine. They are interesting and make your quirkiness stand out of the crowd.
#15: Is it a Platform Shoe or Not?
A good question! Here I will talk a little bit about the shoes, that you are not sure if they are considered platform shoes or not, but they definitely look interesting and edgy. These shoes, I would personally match with a monochromic outfit, to let them take the stage. Still, thy looked too good not to be included in here!
The first outfit, is a very casual and relaxed all black outfit. It has texture from the combination of materials and it will give you long legs to show to the world.
Get inspired from Rosie Huntington Whiteley and create this all-black outfit. Again texturized, with a bit of fringe going on in the upper part of the body! This one will definitely make the shoes be the center of attention!
rdujour.com
Take these Victoria Spuce SS2012 shoes and let them do their thing to get the attention of people. They look truly fascinating!
Celine is a brand that is considered a master of elegance, French elegance in particular and Phoebe Philo knows what she is doing! These shoes stand as proof of that!
These Dolce & Gabbana shoes represent an interesting take towards snake-skin platforms, and the unclose shot shows how well they are made.
#16: Greek Goddess Style
I have talked a tiny bit about the Greek Goddess style before, but platform shoes give you the rest opportunity to create wonderful outfits, bearing this theme!
This draped bright orange dress looks absolutely stunning and, even though it is simple, the color instantly makes people look at you!
This outfit inspiration will go perfectly for a party of any kind. you can go with it to something rather elegant, but also to a club with your girls.
polyvore.com
Yet another Greek Goddess outfit, elegant, chic and very modern. The colors are simple and follow the palette of the usual Greek inspired outfits, while the hair looks perfect.
#17: Geisha All Over
Because Geishas are known for wearing wooden platform shoes, and also, because their pure elegance is quite unrivaled there are many dress styles that want to create the modern Geisha for us consumers, to purchase.
The first outfit idea is a romper. I know, it sounds weird, but this shape of the “onesie” can look very very sexy, especially when you take platforms and give them a go. It makes your legs longer and you look unbelievably sexy!
We all know, that Geishas were extremely fashionable Japanese ladies, and that the patterns on their kimono, as well as the materials used for those represented a question of rank among them. Take a dress that has a Japanese inspired pattern and pair it up with wooden soles to complete the look. It gets the attention of everybody and it is an easy to wear outfit.
Another Geisha inspired idea is this blazer, that has a wonderful flowery pattern. This is not very Geisha, but more Coachella, but you can definitely see where the inspiration comes from.
A great example of shoes that match the outfit inspiration – Miu Miu awesomeness!
lyst.com
#18: “Flat” Platforms?
Of course it sounds a bit crazy to say “flat” platforms, as platforms are anything but. However are they? This is a very relaxed outfit idea that can easily go to the masculine side with the “flat” platforms you’ll see below.
whowhatwear.com
A very girly, Carrie Bradshaw inspired skirt, with a collared shirt can be tamed down to a day to day comfortable outfit with the “flat” platforms!
alittledashofdarling.com
One full outfit inspiration bearing those platforms I was talking about! They give you a tiny bit of extra height, but are more comfortable and somewhat less elegant, than the platforms everyone knows.
If you love Oxford shoes as much as I do, then you will know that these beauties below are a perfect choice for any outfit you want to pull out during the day!
Simone Rocha gives you an alternative if you don’t feel like wearing a full “flat” platform with these shoes from her SS13 collection. They look amazing, quirky and I would definitely buy them!
