It's time to raise our heels again (sensitive, mid-high) | Jess CartnerMorley

It took a while but things are finally back to normal. The pandemic is gradually receding in the rearview mirror of life. We're still devastated, the scars are still there – lost people, lost years – but we've relearned how to blur the scars with makeup and chatter. We started worrying again about all the stupid things we used to worry about before we had this to worry about.

You know how I can say that? Because of the shoes. Covid killed the high heel and elevated the slipper into a style icon. At the end of the confinement, everyone became hysterical. Some said they would just be apartments forever. Others embraced Revenge Dressing in reckless spindly heeled sandals they couldn't walk in. And some have changed their minds every weekend, going from coaches-only camp to the four-inch-heel brigade.

But for the past month, the shoes I've worn the most were a pair of knee-high snakeskin leather boots banged up on a one-inch kitten heel and square-toed loafers that sit on a two-inch chunky block. So the wearable heel is back - and it's not just me. I've been traveling in fashion weeks for most of the last month, and everywhere I go - in airports, on sidewalks and in pizza places - I see others too.

< p class="dcr-8zipgp" >Last winter the chunky stomper was the only boot in town, but this time around there are a lot of solid color midi dresses twirling around the calves of leather boots. non-stompy leather. Pant shapes that don't hug the leg are definitely happening - either baggy pleated pants, maybe baggy leather joggers, definitely cargo pants - and women who wear them find they have l look more fun, lighter, if the foot is not too caged. So instead of sneakers, I see them with sandals where it's warm enough, or with a short block heel. the catwalks themselves, which is unusual, because wearable and comfortable shoes with a little but not too much of a heel are like fashionable houndstooth. Designers prefer to make grand, showboating statements with dramatic pancake flats or super high heels. Pancake flats are fine if you're 5-foot-11 and have mostly legs, but most of us could use a little help, you know? And a high heel is an instant show, but a fashion show lasts 15, 20 minutes, max. Whereas when you or I get dressed at 7am, we have to live with our shoe choice all day, whether we have a seat on the train or not.

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There is no shame in making the reasonable, middle of the road decision. If you're invited to a party, it doesn't have to be a binary decision between staying home (which might seem a bit flat) or going out until 4am, which is high risk. You see where I'm coming from, right? The mid-height heel is the two-glasses-of-wine option, home before midnight. Call it sensible; call it the best of both worlds.

And there are plenty of ways to make a modest heel more exciting. A simple kitten or block heel pump looks great in bright neon or animal print. If it's black, maybe go for gloss. A flash of bare skin always adds a thrill: a closed toe with a low-cut front will do just that, without the need for a pedicure. This shoe doesn't have to be fancy. We've had enough of unprecedented times, surely. Normal looks a lot more ambitious right now.

Model: Kit at Body London. Hair and Makeup: Carol Morley at Carol Hayes Management using Sculpted by Amy. Heels: LK Bennett. Shirt: Reiss. Leather Blazer: Whistles. Combat pants: H&M