When a 27-year-old London receptionist named Nicola Thorpe was sent home for refusing to wear high heels, the news led to a campaign “to overhaul a sexist dress code in the workplace.” According to Sagrasso & Grey shoe company founder Katie Owen, “Whilst I agree that it should be a woman’s personal choice to wear heels, I strongly believe and have statistics to demonstrate that it isn’t the heel itself that is the root of this controversy, but the fit of the shoe.”
There is a widely held belief that most stilettos are painful, cause discomfort and, over time, can lead to foot deformity. Owen says, “But a survey I conducted reviewing the footwear habits of 895 women in the UK reveals that 38% of women wear shoes that are the wrong size and 53% need a wider fit shoe. These results lead me to conclude that women’s footwear needs are clearly not being catered for by the shoe industry.” Owen’s Sagrasso & Grey, whose tagline is “Shoes That Don’t Squeeze,” makes fashionable shoes that are available in EE width.
