“Are nipple heels actually the bitchiest shoe?,” my former Vogue colleague, Liana Satenstein, pondered on her Substack, NeverWorns, at the end of last year. You should subscribe, but I’ll tease a spoiler of her conclusion: yes. As for it’s taller, arguably more elegant counterpart, the teardrop heel? It’s also a serve. See: Chloë Sevigny smouldering in Jimmy Choo’s 1.9 inch-high woven Pixie mules as the face of the brand’s campaign.
Unlike the erogenous nip, that quite literally “nips” out the heel of a shoe, the teardrop draws further; elongating away from the foot into a stem with an hourglass middle and a curvaceous tip, like a vase being thrown on a potter’s wheel. The clincher: the teardrop is low to the ground (but not skimming). It’s a kitten heel with a more distinctive shape.
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Amina Muaddi has made sharp, pyramid-grounded heels her signature, often coming in at 4 inches (though her Juliette is a slight 1.7 inches). The teardrop takes on a softer silhouette, with rounded edges except the part where it hits the ground – otherwise you’d be unstable. Jimmy Choo has implemented teardrop heels of varying heights across several styles, while Loewe’s Toy range is defined for an exaggerated bulbous heel – akin to the stage of a droplet when it’s just about to fall to the ground.
To Liana’s point, it’s not “bitchy” in the same way as a nipple. By name and nature, it’s sensitive and subtle – yet still very visible. It’s intentional, but it’s not going to completely bring you down. To continue the tear analogy, it’s wet eyes not floods, if you will.
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