Wibble . . . wobble . . . whoops! At the most basic level, there is only one way to walk in high heels. Put one foot in front of the other and go for it. The mechanics have not changed for at least 2m years, when knuckle-dragging was superseded by bipedalism. What has changed in that time are the shoes. Thanks to fashion, not evolution, heels have never been higher. Five years ago, few shops stocked shoes higher than 4in — because women wouldn’t buy them. Now 6in heels with hulking platforms and multiple straps are flying off the shelves, while demand for sensible kitten heels has plummeted.

Designs are becoming ever more extreme: witness Madonna’s recent red-carpet stroll in a pair of pistol-heel Chanel sandals. (Students of stiletto semaphore should note that she slipped into these killer heels the night before she announced her divorce.)

As well as becoming more extreme, shoes have also become more treacherous. It’s as if designers and customers are engaged in an ever-escalating game of dare, and the forfeit is a nasty tumble. Even catwalk models, who are paid huge amounts to make walking in heels look easy, are having trouble staying upright in the fierce new shoes. Three fell from their lofty sling-backs at the Prada show in Milan recently, and those who managed to stay upright wobbled their way along the catwalk like newborn foals.

Despite the hazards, the trend for super-high heels shows no sign of abating. A gym in New York has even launched a stiletto class. For health and safety reasons, they can only teach walking and dancing in heels for 15 minutes at a time (which tells you a lot about this new trend), while the rest of the class focuses on strengthening the legs and calves to make walking in heels easier.

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• Extreme Heels

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Highs and lows of wearing killer heels

From Victoria Beckham to Gwyneth Paltrow, super-heels are the latest must-have. But what do they do to your feet?

Precisely why shoes have become the ultimate fetish object of our times is open for debate. One economist has attributed the fierce shoe boom to women’s desire to reassert themselves after male bankers made a mess of the world. Indeed, the queen of Jimmy Choo, Tamara Mellon, equates heels with power. “Super-high heels provide instant stature and empowerment, and the more you wear them the more comfortable you feel in them,” she says. A fierce pair of heels certainly gets a woman noticed. When Gwyneth Paltrow made her comeback as a sexy screen siren, she did it atop a pair of towering Zanottis.

Even men are getting in on the act. Marc Jacobs took his bow at Louis Vuitton wearing stack-heeled booties. “I’ve always wanted to be taller, which is the real reason I wore them. I also thought I can show that I, too, will suffer for fashion,” he said afterwards.

At least he could walk in his heels. There is no more dispiriting sight than a woman struggling in her shoes. All the sex, power and advantage that heels promise evaporates with every wibble.

1 To cut down on wobble factor, make sure the shoes fit you properly before buying them, and strap them firmly to your feet.

2 The chunkier the heel, the more secure you will feel. The more spindly and strappy, the tougher they will be to teeter in. Do consider platform soles — they take the arch ache out of wearing tall shoes and have made super heights (such as Louis Vuitton’s 7in court shoes) achievable.

3 Don’t make it any harder than it already is by wearing slippery socks or tights with strappy high heels. The toes need to gain some purchase on the shoe, otherwise your whole edifice becomes like a building with unstable foundations (it was the addition of a little cotton inner sock that felled the models on the Prada catwalk).

4 Confidence is the key to looking good in heels. Show no fear. Lean back, stand tall, stretch your leg out in front and imagine that you are walking in flats. Swinging your hips helps with momentum.

5 Plan your heel-wearing strategically. Limit the time you spend in them. For example, walk to work in flats, then change into heels in the office. Always carry a pair of emergency flats (roll-up ballet pumps are very handbag-friendly).

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