Fake stiletto heeled shoes for babies up to six months old are the latest cute product from child market entrepreneurs. Britta Bacon and Hayden Porter, the American inventors, say the heels are only for show and will collapse if any pressure is put on them, but critics are putting Heelarious (brand name) shoes in the same shopping basket as padded bras and “pole dancing” kits for little girls. “This is part of a worrying trend of inappropriate clothing being marketed at young children,” said a British child protection executive.

Miss Bacon said she got the idea for the shoes while walking to her four-year-old daughter’s party. She thought: “It would have been hilarious if I could have brought Kayla to a party in high heels when she was a baby.” The shoes are on sale at over 50 stores in the US, Canada and Switzerland, and are also marketed through the internet. A nice little money-spinner at US$35 a pop. ~ Telegraph (UK), June 12