Helen Mirren explains her decades-long love of 'stripper heels'

At Erdem’s fall 2026 show during London Fashion Week, Helen Mirren, 80, told British Vogue from the front row at Tate Britain that “Stripper heels is what I like, ideally.” She recalled feeling like “this dumpy little five-foot-four thing” at awards events among taller actresses such as Nicole Kidman and said she bought her first pair for $39.99 on Hollywood Boulevard.

Platform heels were not in fashion then, so “the only place I could find a platform heel was in the stripper shops on Hollywood Boulevard,” and they “worked like magic,” suddenly putting her “eye to eye with [five foot 11] Nicole Kidman.” Mirren has long praised the style, telling Woman & Home in 2010 that “Four-inch platforms give you great height and make your legs look unbelievably long,” and she has called such pumps her “secret weapon” for the extra six inches of height they provide on red carpets.

United Kingdom, London

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