The Page 3 girl is dead. Long live the Page 3 girl. Rumours¹ that The Sun’s topless mascot² and author of “news in briefs” was to be retired³ after her 45-year tenure⁴ at the tabloid⁵ paper proved unfounded. She bounced back this week, as pert as ever, and as unwelcome a surprise for those journalists who had penned her obituary⁶ as it was for the feminists⁷ who claimed her demise⁸ a victory for women.

三版女郎》(The Page 3 girl)将不再出版了。《三版女郎》“永垂不朽”！坊间盛传上身裸露的模特、也是“众多八卦新闻”缠身的当事人在《太阳报》(The Sun)上持续刊登45年后，会“退隐江湖”，该传闻事后被证明是谣传。不久前，三版女郎重出江湖，香艳如故，与那些宣称其终结乃是女性胜利的女权主义者一样，这个消息对于那些报道其“寿终正寝”的媒体记者同样也是始料不及的惊愕。

I was just disappointed not to see how her future incarnations might manifest. The proposition that she could be “scantily¹⁰ clad” in future suggested such quaint¹¹ possibilities: so very Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls.

我失望的只是没看到未来三版女郎的真容是啥模样。未来三版女郎可能“稍有穿着”的提议暗示会出现以下离奇有趣的可能：可能如同《日历女郎》(Calendar Girls)中海伦•米伦(Dame Helen Mirren)的穿着。

It was not to be. The episode was but a daydream¹² — or, possibly, an artfully directed publicity¹³ stunt¹⁴. Instead, her continued existence remains¹⁵ one of the great anachronisms — and more pitiful clichés — of modern Britain.

但这种情况终究不会出现。这类情节设计只是白日做梦——抑或说可能是精心筹划的宣传噱头。相反，三版女郎会继续存在下去，仍是现代英国社会存在的时代大混搭，而且是更让人遗憾的那种。

These are interesting times on the road to emancipation¹⁶. Recent research from the University of Cambridge finds that the key to longevity¹⁷ and good health might well reside in a brisk 20-minute daily walk, which spells trouble for purveyors of another signifier of oppression: the stiletto shoe.

这些都是实现女性真正解放过程中的有趣时刻。剑桥大学(University of Cambridge)的最新研究表明：健康长寿的秘诀最好是每天快步行走20分钟，这给另一压迫性标志——细高跟鞋——带来“巨大麻烦”。

The sight of a woman staggering around in ill-fitting heels is another of those pitiful clichés we should surely have grown out of as a society. And yet, it continues to exist. High heels can be a beautiful thing, and I adore them, but few are blessed with the genetic¹⁸ disposition¹⁹ to stride for miles while so shod. Could the new findings be the spur for us to be rid once and for all of “taxi shoes”?

看到穿着不合脚高跟鞋踉跄行走的模样，无疑是我们这个社会另一种习以为常的陈腐旧事。然而，这种境况依然如故。高跟鞋让女士显得美丽优雅，本人对此也非常喜欢，但几乎没人有先天条件、穿着它健步如飞走上几英里。这难道还不足以促使我们断然扔掉这些“行走不便”的新玩意儿吗？

Thankfully, the fashion industry has seen this coming — and is investing heavily in our future health. The heel may traditionally have been associated with the very height of elegance²⁰ but its flat counterpart has been making chic²¹ inroads for several seasons now. It was officially sanctified at couture last year, when Karl Lagerfeld sent his models on to the catwalk in tweed sneakers at Chanel, and Raf Simons offered a crystal-mesh sneaker hybrid²² at Dior. A parade of Velcro-strapped, skater, trek-inspired, orthopaedic and otherworldly varieties has walked into our hearts ever since.

谢天谢地，时尚界已付诸实施——正以实际行动为我们大众的健康着想。高跟鞋传统上可能关乎优雅程度之高低，但如今接连好几个时装季，平底鞋实现了漂亮逆袭。在去年的高级定制时装展上，卡尔•拉格菲尔德(Karl Lagerfeld)让旗下模特脚穿粗花呢运动鞋行走香奈儿(Chanel)秀场，拉夫•西蒙斯(Raf Simons)则推出了迪奥(Dior)水晶网眼混搭式运动鞋。从那以后，维可牢尼龙搭扣、受启发于滑冰鞋、徒步旅行款、矩形款以及超自然款的鞋履接二连三问世，成为时尚拥趸的新宠。

And the trend is set to continue. At almost all of the spring accessory presentations in September, the shoe collections were split between heels and flats. Even at those labels usually associated with sky-high podiatric architecture. Even in Milan.

这种时尚趋势注定会延续下去。去年九月各大品牌举办的2015年春季配饰展上，所有鞋履品牌都是高跟鞋平底鞋兼而有之，甚至那些通常主推超高跟鞋的品牌也概莫能外，米兰时装周也顺应了这股时尚潮流。

“With the amount of travelling and running around that goes on, there’s been an increase in sales and interest for our flats ” says shoes designer Nicholas Kirkwood, before adding: “Women still want something interesting and unique, though.”

“随着旅行及步行渐趋风靡，平底鞋的销售量以及消费者的热度与日俱增，”鞋履设计师尼古拉斯•柯克伍德(Nicholas Kirkwood)说，而后又补充道：“尽管如此，女性仍痴迷于妙趣横生与不同寻常的鞋履款式。”

Well, obviously. Flats should never be shameful²³. “I wanted to create flats you don’t have to apologise for,” agrees Edgardo Osorio, founder²⁴ and creative director of Aquazzura who, despite having founded his line in 2011 in search of “a heel you could dance in”, now dedicates a quarter of his collection to flats. No hideous²⁵ hiking hybrids²⁶ here. Ossorio specialises in strappy little shoes. “I want my flats to go from day to night,” he tells me. “I want a woman to wear my flats with jeans and a T-shirt but also with a beautiful Alaïa dress.”

没错，这种现象显而易见。穿平底鞋永远不会不体面。“我希望设计出时尚拥趸不会感到无地自容的平底鞋，”Aquazzura创始人兼创意总监埃德加多•奥索里奥(Edgardo Osorio)也附和上述说法。尽管2011年他创办该品牌时，目的是设计出“能翩翩起舞的高跟鞋”，但如今旗下四分之一的产品为平底鞋。“我希望能设计全天候穿着的平底鞋，”他对我说。“我不但希望上穿T恤、下穿牛仔裤的女性能穿我设计的平底鞋，而且身穿漂亮阿拉亚(Alaïa)连衣裙的女性拥趸也能堂而皇之穿本人设计的平底鞋。”

“There’s been a strong demand for flats in the last two seasons,” says Tabitha Simmons, who launched in 2009 with teetering stilettos but then spearheaded the flat revival²⁷ with a simple, pointed⁹ black-and-white shoe called the Alexa. It now has a cult²⁸ following — “and we’ve expanded with styles such as the Vera, Daisy Chain and Hermione”, says Simmons. I’ve got my eye on Vera, pointed, ankle-strapped and blessed with a saucily²⁹ low-cut toe.

“过去接连两个时装季，平底鞋需求旺盛，”塔贝莎•西蒙斯(Tabitha Simmons)说，她2009年推出了超高跟鞋，但随后以一款设计简单的Alexa尖角黑白鞋引领平底鞋“王者归来”。这款鞋如今让时尚拥趸趋之若鹜——“我们随后又推出了Vera,、Daisy Chain 以及Hermione等多种款式”，西蒙斯说。我比较关注她设计的Vera这款鞋——尖角、脚踝处系带，足尖设计成十分时髦的低切式。

Sophia Webster won a British Fashion Award in 2013 for her delightfully³⁰ eccentric, geometric designs and this season has included a sneaker-style day shoe alongside her spindle heels. “Having just had a baby, I know how much of a necessity everyday flats are,” she explains. Even Paul Andrew, “king of the slingback” and 2014 winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, is feeling lowly. “Flats are about 15 per cent of my collection,” he says. “For pre-fall 2015, I introduced the Rhea flat and it became the collection’s bestseller.”

索菲娅•韦伯斯特(Sophia Webster)凭借她赏心悦目的几何形另类设计风格勇夺2013年度英国时尚大奖(British Fashion Award)。这个时装季，她除了推出细长款高跟鞋外，还设计了运动鞋风格的日常用鞋。“我初为人母，知道日常平底鞋必不可少，”她这样解释道。甚至“露跟女鞋设计之王”、2014年度美国时装设计师协会与Vogue合办的时装基金大奖(CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award)得主保罗•安德鲁(Paul Andrew)也表现得很谦恭。“平底鞋约占本人系列的15%，”他说。“2015早秋季，我加入了Rhea平底鞋，它成为自己系列最为畅销的款式。”

Of course, the French could have told us this years ago. Paris is the spiritual home of the ballet flat, a shoe style that seems mandatory³¹ for most women living within the Périphérique, where the cobbled streets are unsparing on one’s feet. An upcoming book, Paris Street Style: Shoes, by Isabelle Thomas and Frédérique Veysset (published in March), calls ballet flats “the little black dress of footwear”. And while Paris-born shoe designer Roger Vivier may have been credited with inventing the stiletto in 1954, it is a flat on which the fortunes of the house now rest. “Our most popular shoe is the Belle³² Vivier — a flat. And the second is also a flat, the Gommette,” says designer Bruno Frisoni of the label’s signature styles, with their distinctive³³ square detail at the toe. “High heels are a dream,” he adds. “And the flat is a dream come true.”

当然，法国人几年前就可昭告天下，因为巴黎是芭蕾平底鞋的精神家园。这种鞋对于生活在环城大道(Périphérique)内的多数女性来说似乎是必备的行头，因为鹅卵石街道对她们的脚可是“不留情面”。由伊莎贝尔•多玛(Isabelle Thomas)与弗雷德里克•维塞(Frédérique Veysset)合著的书《巴黎街道时尚风情——鞋履大观》(Paris Street Style: Shoes)于今年三月出版，该书把芭蕾平底鞋誉为“鞋履中的黑色小礼服”。尽管巴黎出生的鞋履设计师罗杰•维威耶(Roger Vivier)或许可誉为细高跟鞋的设计鼻祖，他1954年推出的这款平底鞋奠定了其同名时尚品牌大获成功的基石。“我们旗下最知名的是Belle Vivier平底鞋；知名度紧随其后的也是一款平底鞋，它就是Gommette，”设计师布鲁诺•弗里索尼 (Bruno Frisoni)说，他是这两大招牌款式的设计师，他在脚趾处设计了精美独特的方扣。“高跟鞋就好比黄粱美梦，”他补充道。“而平底鞋就是已成真的美梦。”

A dream come true? Perhaps. Or maybe just a solution — and an elegant one at that — for modern women. Leave the clichés on page 3.

美梦成真了吗？或许如此。抑或说对于现代女性来说，平底鞋只是务实的选择——而且是优雅的选择。还是让《太阳报》“迂腐”的三版女郎继续存在下去吧。