The Cannes Film Festival has come to an end - and pictures of the stars looking glamorous on the red carpet have flooded social media for weeks.
Some stars went all out in over-the-top ball gowns, others opted for a relaxed, comfortable look with some, Susan Sarandon for instance, even showing up in flats.
Last year the festival organisers made a ''high heels only on the red carpet" rule that created a lot of controversy, with some stars, including Emily Blunt, signing a petition calling on the organisers to clarify the dress code and turning the ''heel rule" into a feminist issue.
"Everyone should wear flats, to be honest. We shouldn't wear high heels," said Blunt.
Recently a receptionist at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London was sent home without pay for not wearing high heels. She countered that it was discriminatory because male colleagues were exempt.
In the US photographs of a waitress's blood-soaked feet recently went viral. After serving in heels all day, she lost a toenail, but was told she was required to put the shoes on again the next day.
Could these bosses actually think heels are comfortable? There's a certain logic to it. Why do women repeatedly spend hard-earned cash on something that makes toes blister?
Most high heels make proper walking extraordinarily difficult.
Shoe designer Christian Louboutin once declared: "I would hate for someone to look at my shoes and say: 'Oh my God, they look so comfortable'." But we forgive this footwear its fundamental flaw because it makes our feet look fantastic.
But just as shoes come in every shape, size and sensibility, so do women. Some of us can't balance in Manolos. There are women with fallen arches who are happiest in clogs. Heels should never be a prerequisite of any dress code.
