Which brings us back to psychology. It's not just red shoes that make an instant impression; heels in general carry a great deal of psychological weight. In a business place, it's to women's advantage to be able to look men in the eye," Bergstein said. "On the other hand you have women saying, 'Why is it empowering for my walk to be invented? Being empowered should be being in shoes I can walk my fastest in.' That's an argument we're not going to solve any time soon."