Can you wear open toed high heels to a job interview?

There is no real right or wrong to many questions about high heels, and the issue of wearing open toed high heels to a job interview is no different. It certainly used to be frowned upon – presumably as an issue of promiscuity – but times have moved on.

It probably is fair to say however that open toed heels are *usually* a less formal, more relaxed look than your average pair of black, closed-toe work pumps.

So, if you are trying to project a formal, professional, sober approach then turning up with a party on your feet may not be the best idea.

Quite where the line is may be anyone’s guess, but flip flops are out and peeptoe heels are probably fine.

peep toes job interview

Another thing to remember is the importance of not letting your wardrobe distract from your personality. Unless your job interview is for a fashion buyer, perhaps.

Within those simple guidelines, wearing open toed heels to a job interview is certainly not a fashion faux pas or error of etiquette.

Here are a couple of tips for wearing opening toed heels to corporate job interviews should be taken on board:

  • always get a pedicure – because nobody wants to look at your unpedicured feet during a job interview and certainly not while working with you.
  • don’t wear stockings with open toed shoes – I know: d’oh! The same rules apply in job interviews to real life on this front so *never* wear stocking with open toed shoes to job interviews.

Finally, it should be remembered that, like the rest of your attire for the interview, your shoes reflect the image you want to portray. And that’s entirely up to you.

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Did you like this blog post? On our main site we publish a detailed guide to the shoe etiquette of job interviews. Please take a look if you’d like some more guidance.

Image attribution

Marc Jacobs shoes” (CC BY 2.0) by Kekka