Style

Men in high heels

by Mish Way

Mish Way, courtesy of White Lung

The only rock star I know who can shred a guitar—I hate saying “shred,” but here, it is the only appropriate word—in goddamn high-heels is Prince. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.

Last December, I sat in a balcony while the world’s original rock unicorn marched under shattering lights in four-inch gold heels and a purple suit. His presence, his power, was effortless. His mojo was a lightning bolt that ran from his toes to his stomach as his hands flew around the neck of his guitar faster than a hummingbird. I was floored. Could I play like that in those shoes? Answer: No.

Playing guitar, and I mean really playing a fucking guitar, in high-heels is almost impossible. Yes, one can easily stand in place and plunk along a simple chord progression or a Kim Deal-inspired bass line (even she never wore heels, but that’s because heels don’t go with sweat pants and an oversized Rush t-shirt), but to have the fluidity, the rock spirit of Prince is simply otherworldly.

Prince has always been in a league of his own. A freak. His sexuality is mysterious, yet he’s fucked more women than all of Zeppelin combined. He’s tiny, creepy, and almost alien, but the world loves him. Prince is a man who can do woman better than most women can, especially when it comes to playing in high heels.

I don’t know why, but men are almost always better at playing in heels than women are. The drags have swag, man. I think it’s because they chose high heels. Women are conditioned to adjust to heels simply by being born with a vagina, but men who want to wear high heels really want to wear high heels. They have to fight for it. They have to go through some serious shit to be able to slip into a pair of Louboutin’s and strut down the street. Women get an invitation to a cocktail dress event and we know high heels just come with the territory. Some of us, we’re reluctant. We do it because we think we have to. But men appreciate them. They master them with pride, where as some women bring running shoes in their purse to slip on the minute the party is over.

Walking in high heels is a different story than playing guitar in high heels. Myself, I respect all the babes that could do it: Lita Ford, Vixen, Kat Bjelland (not big heels, but a little heel) and Kristy Wallace (a.k.a. Poison Ivy). Dolly Parton didn’t shred, but she could play and she wore heels religiously, even at home because she was too short to reach her kitchen counters. But you know, Joan Jett played guitar the hardest and she always wore chucks. Chrissie Hynde didn’t need the extra height, so she stuck to flats.

It took me an entire tour to learn how to carry gear in chunky heels and stand on stage without wobbling. I wanted to wear heels not for anyone else, but for myself. My right as a woman to tower and show off my long, shapely legs. I shouldn’t have to give up my right to look incredible while going crazy on stage just to be given respect. Some days, I don’t care about heels. Other days I do. Very rarely does it have to do with who is in the audience.

And that’s the number one reason that Prince is so graceful and commanding in high-heels: he owns any room he steps into. His confidence is so potent you can smell it. He chooses to wear high heels, therefore he masters those high heels. You’ve got to want it, man.

This article originally appeared in the March 2013 issue of AUX Magazine. Download and subscribe for free in the App Store.