平底鞋：时尚新高度（上）

平底鞋：时尚新高度（上）

2015-06-03 英语世界

Flat Shoes:

Why Flatlining Is Now the Height of Fashion (1)

平底鞋：时尚新高度（上）

（选自《英语世界》2015年第5期）

We’re moving out of the complex fug of the high heel and into a whole new era of flats and mid-heels.

我们正走出高跟鞋的繁复冗杂，跨入平底鞋和中跟鞋的崭新时代。

文/莉萨·阿姆斯特朗 译/谢峤

By Lisa Armstrong

Wearing heels – it’s complicated, isn’t it? A little bit of empowerment and a whole lot of disempowerment, particularly when you can’t run and your bunions are throbbing like a nuclear power station. There’s a raft of[1] contradictory indicators involved in shoe altitude, such as wanting to look very expensive and a bit trashy at the same time, and I’m afraid we just don’t have the space to explore them all today.

高跟鞋，真是麻烦，不是吗？高跟鞋的弊绝对大于利，尤其当你跑不动，拇囊炎疼得像核电站要爆炸的时候。关于什么样的鞋高档，有着一大堆自相矛盾的指标，比如既要看起来价格不菲又要有些不咋样。鉴于篇幅有限，我今天恐怕无法一一道来。

[1] 许多，大量。

In any case, we’re moving out of the complex fug of the high heel and into a whole new era of flats and mid-heels. Shoes you can walk, run and feel comfortable in. What’s that all about? The economy is what, according to a new report linking the nation’s flatlining finances with… flat shoes. Who employs these people? The economy’s been tanking since at least 2008. Louboutin[2] did a 6?-inch heel in 2011.

不管怎样，我们正走出高跟鞋的繁复冗杂，跨入平底鞋和中跟鞋的崭新时代，这些鞋子散步、跑步穿起来都很舒适。怎么回事？一份新的报告认为跟经济有关，该报告把国家一蹶不振的财政状况与平底鞋联系了起来。谁雇的这帮人？至少2008年以来，经济形势就一直糟透了，而鲁布托2011年才推出 6.5英寸的高跟鞋。

[2] 著名高跟鞋品牌，以法国设计师克里斯提·鲁布托（Christian Louboutin）的名字命名。

No my friends, this is about fashion. Fashion is tired of the killer heel. It doesn’t see any future in the relationship. As far as fashion’s concerned, it has given its all trying to make things work. Louboutin toiled day and night to produce a shoe that, technically, functioned. But there are limits to the ingenuity of even the greatest, most optimistic shoeman. After 6? inches, you’ve reached the logical and practical terminus of the heel: there’s nowhere to go but down.

跟经济无关，朋友们，其实就是时尚。时尚界厌倦了“恨天高”。高跟鞋与时尚缘尽于此。就时尚而言，为了维系这段感情，它已经尽力了。鲁布托为创作出一双鞋，技术上要求实用的鞋，日以继夜地工作。但即使是最伟大、最乐观的制鞋人，独创性也是有限的。6.5英寸高的鞋子已达到了鞋跟在合理性与实用性方面的终极：只能盛极而衰。

The mid-heel is going to be the chic evening choice in the seasons to come. Listening to designers who decried it as the epitome of middle age to talk it up as the acme of style will be very entertaining.

在接下来的时装季，中跟鞋将成为别致的晚装选择。有些设计师曾把中跟鞋贬为人到中年的象征，现在要听他们把中跟鞋捧成顶级风尚真是太有意思了。

For daytime, however, the really fashionable choice will be a flat shoe. Hip designers such as Nicholas Kirkwood and Tabitha Simmons, both Brits, report a big upsurge in demand, a sign that women are willing to invest a considerable number of pennies on flats.

不过，在白天，平底鞋才是真正的时尚之选。一些走在时尚前沿的设计师称，平底鞋需求大幅增加，这是女性愿意为其豪掷千金的一个迹象，英国设计师尼古拉斯·柯克伍德和塔比莎·西蒙斯就是其中的两位。

To be honest, the flattie always has been popular down on the streets. As Louboutin was scaling new heights, the average girl about town was running around in ballet flats. These have been a staple of the shoe wardrobe for more than a decade. When they weren’t on our feet, they were in our handbags and totes, waiting to release us from the torture of higher, flashier, less considerate shoes. There wasn’t much of a flattie alternative: brogues and trainers were mooted, but perhaps because of the way they covered the foot, they just weren’t as flattering with the ubiquitous skinny jean.

说实话，平底鞋一直是街头巷尾的流行款式。鲁布托为鞋跟设计新的高度时，城里的普通女孩正穿着芭蕾平底鞋到处游逛。十多年来，平底鞋一直是鞋柜的主要款式。不穿的时候，它们就待在我们的手包提兜里，等着帮我们摆脱更高、更炫却不够体贴的鞋子所带来的折磨。没有什么可以替代平底鞋：粗革皮鞋和运动鞋都不大可能，也许因为鞋型的缘故，它们与普遍穿的紧身牛仔裤并不搭调。