High heels only make women look better until they start walking—then the benefit disappears unless they're pros.
March 19, 2026
Original Paper
Costly Beauty: Effects of Trait Exaggeration and Material Cost in Footwear on Perceptions of Female Attractiveness and Wealth
PsyArXiv · aq56w_v1
The Takeaway
High heels are supernormal stimuli that enhance attractiveness in photos, but video trials show that the physical struggle to balance can make the wearer look less attractive than if they were in flats. The research highlights a social trade-off where the visual gains of 'costly beauty' are easily undermined by the observable physical cost of movement.
From the abstract
Women's appearance modification practices have been theorised to function through two complementary mechanisms: supernormal stimuli, whereby trait exaggeration exploits evolved perceptual biases, and costly signalling, whereby visible expenditure communicates resource access. The present study tested these frameworks using a 2×2 factorial design manipulating trait exaggeration (flat vs. heeled footwear) and cost (economy vs. luxury brand) in a laboratory setting with 279 raters who evaluated lif