High No-Heels Are In

The 5 1/2in creations byDesigner Briton Antonio Berardi, 39 created these 5 1/2" highs.

For the bargain price of £1,800, the wearer will get to totter around with all her weight balanced on a thickened platform sole.

To get the trend rolling, stars like, Gwenyth Paltrow and Uma Thrman both picked up a black patent leather pair after their first appearance in Berardi's spring/summer collection in Paris.

And Victoria Beckham apparently has a snakeskin pair, reports the The Daily Mail.

They are going on sale in Browns stores in London, where they have to be ordered up to five weeks in advance.

Lincolnshire-born Berardi, 39, said he was inspired by Latin American music and 1980s post-modernism, adding: "When you walk, it is almost on tiptoe. You look really dainty."

When walking though, you have to put your toe rather than your heel down first and you cannot wear them for very long.

"They are not dangerous because you would have to lean quite far back before you fell over."

It may not be easy to fall back, but podiatrists do not recommend these shoes saying the heel is there to stabilise. Michael Paynton, chairman of the British Chiropody and Podiatry Association, said:

"When you elevate the rear of the foot it makes you lean forward, which is bad for both the back and the foot. The front of the foot ends up taking the weight of the bulk of your body, which can in turn do damage to the tendons in your legs by shortening them."

I can't wait for Paris to eat it in these shoes. Be patient.