Shoes that Define You in your Moments of Identity

I have been thinking about Identity Theory and Hermeneutics and how I am using objects like books and shoes to stand for my various fragmented identities.

My 'uniform' as auctioneer always involved a very particular, very well-thought-out 'costume' for the stage. The colours were all coordinated and designed to match the event. my champagne auction outfit was always different to my grand finale auction. And the high heels were always important because there was a whole 'icebreaker' joke worked around them so they had starring roles themselves.

Standing in high heels on stage for long hours could become very uncomfortable but I believed that their presence was necessary for my confidence, my persona and my stature. I still feel confident, successful and sexy when I put them on.

I wonder if that is the same of others the way it is for me. If none of us are wearing fancy shoes to work at our home offices right now (most video calls can't see anything from your chest down), does that make those shoes superfluous? Would they still fulfill their confidence-building purpose if we wore them on our zoom conferences?