--- title: The Walk A Mile in These Louboutins Meme Is Not for Amateurs description: Some internet challenges are best not to try at home. Though if you do, it's definitely at your own risk, as in the case of... canonical: https://time.com/5622802/walk-a-mile-meme/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-09T16:51:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:46.584Z og:title: The 'Walk A Mile in These Louboutins' Meme Is Not for Amateurs og:description: Not for amateurs og:url: https://time.com/5622802/walk-a-mile-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 'Walk A Mile in These Louboutins' Meme Is Not for Amateurs twitter:description: Not for amateurs twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # People Are Really Stepping It Up With This 'Walk A Mile in These Louboutins' Meme > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: High Heels at Work Are 'Necessary,' Says Japan's Labor Minister [Watch (HLS stream): High Heels at Work Are 'Necessary,' Says Japan's Labor Minister](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9TCmVxiO.m3u8) (1:16)  _Published 2019-06-06. Japan’s health and labor minister said Wednesday that it is “necessary” for companies to make women wear high heels at work, the BBC reports._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 9, 2019 4:51 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 9, 2019 4:51 PM UTC Some internet challenges are best not to try at home. Though if you do, it’s definitely at your own risk, as in the case of this latest [meme challenge](https://time.com/5622047/mariah-carey-bottle-cap-challenge/). Set to the tune of Australian rapper [Iggy Azalea](https://time.com/4971892/iggy-azalea-american-express-lawsuit/)‘s [2013 song “Work,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FzR6ROjoOX0) users are uploading videos of themselves over the opening lyrics “Walk a mile in these Louboutins” — while using all kinds of, well, innovative materials to replace actual shoes. (The “Louboutins” of the song are a reference to Christian Louboutin, the fashionable French shoe designer known for making sky-high heels with a signature bright red sole.) In the original music video, Azalea struts down a desert highway in her red-bottomed Louboutins as she sings about working hard to get somewhere in her life. “Pledge allegiance to the struggle,” she raps at one point. Now, in the organic way of the popular short-form video [platform TikTok](https://time.com/5594374/tiktok-artists-money/), the song is getting a second life with this revival as a meme people are imitating. Of course, not everyone has the funds to secure a set of Louboutins, or the interest in doing so. Instead, TikTok users have gotten creative with their footwear, playing on the song’s theme. So far, we’ve come across everything from cups to plastic bottles to buckets, from stilts to oven mitts — all transformed into an (often very precarious) form of shoe. Warning: watch these videos at your own risk, as they seldom end well. > [](https://twitter.com/dodaistewart/status/1148423282963750913) While videos on TikTok continue to evolve in unexpected directions, it turns out this meme is actually great timing for Azalea: she has a new album coming out on July 19, called _In My Defense_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5622802/walk-a-mile-meme/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5622802/walk-a-mile-meme/"},"headline":"People Are Really Stepping It Up With This 'Walk A Mile in These Louboutins' Meme","datePublished":"2019-07-09T16:51:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:46.584Z","description":"Some internet challenges are best not to try at home. 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