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This week, we here at Racked are celebrating all things shoe related. From the world's wackiest heels to the sneakers of our dreams, we'll be exploring the highs and lows of footwear. Welcome to Shoe Week 2013.
Many a chortle was had. Image via Getty
We plebeians should feel blessed that we learned how to walk in heels far from red carpets, and the only people judging us during the process were friends, family, and probably our prom dates. That said, we hold celebrities to higher standards. Is it wrong? Probably. Is it still giggle/shock-inducing? Certainly. Thankfully most of them have a sense of humor about it, too. Enjoy our six favorite shoe fails of the past year below.
1. Kate Middleton and the Handsy Grate
Remember Kate Middleton's St. Patty's Day shoe-in-grate fiasco? There she was, innocently attempting to pin sprigs of clovers on suited men and dogs, and a drainage grate snagged her heel. We might actually call this a fail for Prince William, since he didn't meet his most basic princely duties by getting down on a knee to remove the shoe. But as for Kate, we're just like, "D'aww. Is there anything you can't do adorably?"
Image via Glamour.com
2. Lena Dunham and the Maniac Heels
Lena Dunham seems at constant war with high heels, but she just keeps on keeping on with them until, of course, she doesn't. During her "Voice of a Generation" acceptance speech at the Glamour's Women of the Year Awards last November, she jumped ship, removing her Brian Atwood pumps while on stage. But to be fair, the shoes are named "Maniac," and have we even considered that she's performing an incisive piece of social commentary that posits "Your twenties: The time you learn to walk in heels?"
3. Melissa McCarthy and the Sparkly Death Spikes
We'll never know whether Melissa McCarthy was inspired by Dunham's real life/performance art pain, but her own rendition of strugs-while-wearing-impossible-heels-by-Brian Atwood on SNL was epic. In McCarthy's own breathless words, "They told me, 'Make sure you practice in your shoes.' I said, 'What? I live in heels.' That was not honest. I'm primarily in a Croc."
One less painful example via Getty
4. Kristen Stewart.
And finally in the heel-struggles department there's Kristen Stewart who often flat out refuses to wear a pump no matter how glitzy the dress or designer or venue. Her stylist, Tara Swennen, told The Cut that she and the actress came to a basic compromise: "[Kristen will] always change into her Converse by halfway through a carpet, which is to be expected at this point, but she puts on the heels for me for the photos, God bless her." That's a win for staying true to herself, and a fail for, you know, looking odd.
5. Rihanna's Bum and the Prada Boots
This one is less of a celebrity shoe fail, and more of a celebrity butt win: Rihanna received custom boots from Miuccia Prada and proceeded to Instagram herself wearing them and not much else. As one of our commentors noted, "Sure, it's the boots that got 300,000 likes." Rihanna's ass: 1; Prada boots: 0.
6. And now, Harry Styles gets hit in the crotch with a shoe:
Twice:
· Watch Melissa McCarthy Struggle in Brian Atwood Heels [Racked]
· See Kate Middleton's St. Patty's Day Wardrobe Malfunction [Racked]