How high is high?
I wear them now for various reasons, here are some:
Long pants that need a heal for the length of the leg on the pants.
To feel a little sexier.
Color of shoe or the fashion matches my outfit.
In the past (my late teens through my late 30’s) I wore them because I thought they looked good, and then I had worn them so much, being in a flat shoe was uncomfortable. It took time for me to switch back to flats and be completely comfortable again. To this day very flat shoes feel a little weird.
Heals don’t hurt my feet, bad fitting shoes or crappy material hurt my feet. If a heal is too high it hurts my leg muscles, but I have some muscle trouble. 2–3 inches is comfortable, but because of my muscle trouble I’m not stable like I used to be. I have trouble now on a skinny heal, I previously I could walk and run in them with no problem. I still wear 4 inch heals, but not often. Doesn’t hurt my feet, again it’s just a muscle stability thing for me now.
When people have painful feet I usually ask them if they get pedicures. Don’t let them remove all the calluses and hard skin! Some people have plantars fasciitis or other very legitimate foot problems.