Khan Market looks like many other outdoor markets in Delhi â€" a crowded inner lane, uneven pavement, spontaneous potholes and an occasional pile of garbage or stray dog. Like the others, this U-shaped market is not the easiest to navigate, but many of its patrons wouldn't dream of shopping there without the “right†footwear â€" high, high heels.
Khan Market is famously known as India's most expensive real estate for retail. Stores carry everything from bridal outfits to electrical appliances to fancy groceries. The stores include fabulous eateries and top-shelf international brands, which are frequented by expatriates and wealthy locals.
Delhi women love to dress up for any occasion, and it seems Khan Market is no exception. There, I have seen women vegetable shopping with a Hermès Birkin (retail price $10,000 or so), tottering up and down the bumpy, narrow lanes and climbing scary outdoor staircases in sky-high stilettos.
Clearly, this market is not just about shopping, but also about being seen in your finery, pavement be damned. Radhika Jha, a jewelry designer and a well-known fashion stylist in the city, who said Khan Market was one of her favorite haunts, explains: “Some women's social life is centered on Khan Market, and they feel they need to look stylish whenever they go to Khan. Slipping on a pair of heels is a way of achieving this.â€
After all, there is nothing like a pair of heels to make you feel dressed up. With Khan market right in the middle of Delhi's most expensive residential area, it is important for a girl to put her best foot forward, even if that might cause her to stumble on the m arket's uneven paths.
Mrs. Jha observed that most of the sky-high heel wearers are women who do not work, and their day job is to look their best at all times. Whether it is Khan Market or a visit to the mall, heels are simply a must.
Christian Louboutin seems privy to that information. The French shoe designer's store opened in Delhi's luxury mall Emporio earlier this year, and it stocked only high heels. Even though his international collection does include mid-heels and flats, these styles were absent during opening week.
But doctors say these high heels should come with a health warning, especially when they are combined with the shoddy pavements in Delhi.
Rajiv Thukral, senior consultant at Max Hospital, has worked in both Delhi and Mumbai, and said there are more injuries like broken ankles and back and knee problems in the capital, thanks to Delhi women's love of stilettos. “If you must wear heels, try and wear them for no more than half an h our a day,†Dr. Thukral said. (And not where the pavement isn't flat.)
Many of Delhi's young fashionistas do not want to listen to this advice, he said. “There needs to be more understanding on the impact of heels,†he said.
Thankfully, some shoe designers believe that comfort can coexist with fashion. Nayantara Sood, who is based in Delhi, started her footwear brand, Taramay, with a line of ballet shoes in December 2010. She is happy to report that as some women are becoming more confident in their own style, they are starting to see that flats are a more practical option for market and mall dressing.
“You have to remember high street brands are new to India,†she said. “Finding casual dressing that was not sloppy was difficult before high street brands so women dressed up all the time.â€
But she admits there is a certain amusing charm to the fact that there will always be women who will insist on wearing heels to Khan Market. “It is e nduring, and it is part of Delhi's love of the good life,†she said. There is no doubt that these women in high heels make for great people-watching. Without them, Khan market would now seem under-dressed.
Sujata Assomull Sippy now lives in Delhi via London, New York and Bombay. A stylelista since a teen, she never cried over the break up of her first boyfriend, as the thought of her mascara running was too scary!
