Slingbacks Are the Modest Little Heel That Can Do It All

I become a sharper version of myself when I strap on my best slingback heels—a patent leather Miu Miu pair that I stalked on The RealReal like a lioness hunting a gazelle at lunchtime. I'm powerful and in charge. I understand what a Roth IRA is and can navigate an Excel spreadsheet without anxiety. In those strappy kitten heels, I’m not intimidated by anything—I’m ready to conquer life with my head held high and feet one-and-a-half inches off the ground.

I’m not alone in feeling like the ankle-strapped shoe makes me into a woman who means business. Just last week, I walked into the Marie Claire office and saw fashion editor Lauren Tappan and beauty editor Samantha Holender click-clacking out of a conference room, both wearing cherry red slingback heels.

"There's something about a dainty ankle strap and a razor-thin heel that conveys a strong message of sophistication," Tappan tells me over Slack. Similarly, Holender says that her Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals make her feel formidable: "I'm a staggering five-foot-two, but even those pointy-toed kitten heels make my legs look longer and my outfit more put-together and professional."

TikTok will tell you something similar to what my coworkers and I say. On the platform, fashion creators share hacks to prevent shoes from slipping off in the workplace and rave about their favorite office siren slingbacks from Zara, Franco Sarto, and Nine West. The app's more luxury-minded users cite the slingbacks seen on the recent spring and summer runways—Saint Laurent's bejeweled pumps, Dries Van Noten's sultry snakeskin wedge sandals, and Valentino's crushed velvet block heels, to name just a few of the silhouettes leading the spring and summer 2025 shoe trends.

But whether they’re ranking high as a 2025 fashion trend or getting airtime on social media, slingback heels will always be a favorite because of what they represent. They’re a shoe that signals to the world that you have your act together, whether or not that's true to you or just a put-on persona. You're confident and have complete trust in that one dainty strap to keep your shoe from sliding off. And whether they’re a luxury $1,000 splurge or an easy $100 impulse buy, the silhouette exudes a ladylike elegance that harkens back to the first-ever fashion icons who endorsed the style—like Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, and Jackie Kennedy, all mod-era muses who adored sleek slingbacks.

There’s also a subtle sex appeal to a pair of slingbacks. They were, after all, initially designed in the 1940s so that pin-up girls could play peep-show with their ankles. Think also of a windswept Marilyn Monroe in the film The Seven Year Itch, wearing a white dress and a strappy pair of Ferragamo slingbacks on top of that treacherous subway grate.

Or, more recently, Jennifer Lopez; in an Instagram carousel posted during Lopez’s divorce era from Ben Affleck, the star posed in a pastel pink slip dress and Gucci’s red-hot $1,500 Signora slingbacks. Princess Diana has her revenge dress, but JLo proposes a sultry pair of revenge heels instead.

Ultimately, what separates slingback heels from other items of their power-dressing ilk is their inherent femininity. Unlike a pantsuit or a strong-shouldered blazer, which draw influence from menswear, the strapped heel is designed solely for women and, as a result, has become a powerful symbol of womanhood. There’s a reason little girls play dress-up in their mom’s makeup and several sizes-too-big slingback heels. Who will you be when you step into your best slingback heels? Maybe you’re a Marilyn or a JLo. Or perhaps you’re just you, only with a bit more power in your stride and pep in your step.

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