The thing nobody mentions is how much a platform sole changes your hems. Two centimetres doesn't sound like a lot until every pair of jeans you own is suddenly skimming the floor and picking up grime on the back of the heel within a fortnight.
If you've never owned a pair, start with something low and chunky rather than tall and dramatic, a sole that adds maybe three or four centimetres with a flat, even platform rather than a wedge shape. That height is enough to lift your leg line and give you the posture boost without the ankle wobble you get on the taller ones, and it's forgiving if you're used to a flat trainer and your calves aren't braced for the change. The fit through the foot matters more than people expect too. Because the sole is rigid, any trainer that's snug across the top of the foot will pinch harder than it would on a normal flexible sole, so go true to size or even half up rather than sizing down for a snug look. Over months, the platform itself is usually the toughest part of the shoe, it's the upper that shows the wear first, creasing across the toe box and picking up scuffs at the side where the sole meets the leather or canvas. A damp cloth and a soft brush after muddy days keeps that from setting in, and letting them dry away from direct heat stops the glue on the platform from going brittle and separating at the edge, which is the one failure that actually ends a pair rather than just ageing them.
They sit best with things that have some length in them, wide leg jeans, a midi skirt, a longer coat, because the extra height at the bottom balances out when there's more fabric above it rather than a cropped trouser that leaves a gap of bare ankle and sock. I've found they look wrong with anything too fitted at the leg, it draws the eye straight to the sole and makes the whole outfit look bottom heavy rather than lifted. For occasions, they're an everyday shoe rather than a going out shoe, good for a day that involves a lot of standing and walking where you still want some height, markets, galleries, a long lunch that turns into an afternoon. They're less good for anywhere with stairs you're climbing fast or ground that isn't flat, the rigidity that makes them comfortable on pavement makes them clumsy on uneven surfaces.
A good platform trainer gives you height without the trade offs a heel makes you accept, and that's worth the slightly longer hem job.
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