Let’s get down to it: Heels.

This is one of the age-old questions for any fashion-savvy backpacker – to bring heels, or not to bring heels? Well considering the name of this blog, you can better your bottom dollar I always carry a pair in my backpack.

The two big trips I’ve done included western countries – USA and Australia – so heels were essential. It doesn’t matter if you’re a backpacker, if you intend to go out on the town – You. Need. Heels. Especially in places like Sydney, LA, New York, Vegas, San Francisco, Marrakech, Paris, Rome… Places known for the awesome nightlife. You don’t want to head to The Venetian in Vegas but not be able to get in to Tao because you only have Converse or Havaiianas…

So in the western world, bringing heels with you shouldn’t even be questioned in my opinion. They are essential.

But then there’s Asia and South America… do you need heels? In a word… no. Well I can only speak for Asia but as I understand South America is the same kind of situation. You can get away without them. You won’t wear heels to beach parties or tubing or down Khao San Road. But then if you’re heading to cities – think Singapore, Bangkok, Hanoi or Kuala Lumpur, I definitely found them useful. Do you really want to wear plastic flip flops to Raffles? And I would think it would be the same in Rio or Buenos Aires. I do admit I only wore mine a couple of times in Southeast Asia but I’m glad I had them.

And I am of the opinion that you never know what’s going to happen on your travels. I mean, I met a number of people in Asia who ended up going to Australia or New Zealand on a whim and needed brand new wardrobes when they got there. So I ALWAYS bring heels. You can get away with a casual outfit on a night out if you have a good pair of heels to slap on.

So how many pairs? I would stick to one versatile pair you can wear in a number of different situations that will go with all of your outfits. Yes, this is a pretty tall order. I definitely found it difficult. I mean, I have about 60 pairs of heels in my wardrobe. A fact I don’t know whether to be ashamed or proud of… But how could I choose??

Well ok, I admit I did bring 2 pairs to the States – black sandals and my favourite, ridiculously-high, red pair which I had just bought and couldn’t be parted with. But when it came to the big 15 month Asia and Australia trip, I thought about it strategically and picked silver peep-toes with a kitten heel and ankle strap. These went with all of my going-out outfits and weren’t too high or statement-y to be inappropriate in Asia.

I had reasoned that these would last me until I settled down in Australia and could buy another pair. Quite acceptable in my opinion. So I bought a pair of black wedges in Sydney that also went with everything but would’ve been too big and chunky to carry everywhere. And since I was staying in Sydney for an extended time and it was my last stop, I allowed myself the luxury.

So to summarise – Bring heels. Make them versatile. Make them fabulous. Bring them just in case. 

I’m just saying.