Carrie Fisher and the Sex and the City gang may have made it a fashion faux pas for women to strap on anything other than 4 inch-heeled Manolo Blahniks, but doing so could be to their peril.
And not just from vertigo or tripping over a step.
Wearing high heels is being blamed for at least half of an estimated 150,000 cases of foot deformities in Hong Kong, warns orthopaedic surgeon Daniel Wu Yiang.
Dr Wu has based his warning on findings relating to women in major US cities, who he says have similar fashion tastes to women in Hong Kong.
Wearing high, ill-fitting or pointed shoes for long periods of time can lead to hallux valgus or bunions, an often painful and swollen bump around the big toe. It can also be hereditary.
Dr Wu, director of Adventist Hospital's centre for bunion surgery, said wearing high heels and pointed shoes increased pressure on both feet and was responsible for at least half of Hong Kong cases.
Women were also 10 times more likely to get bunions than men due to genetic and environmental factors.