Why do women usually trip in their gowns?

In the recent Oscar's, Jennifer Lawrence trip prior to accepting the award.  Below is the video of her fall.

We had Miriam Quiambao who tripped before as well in her gown and the reigning Miss Universe 2012 during the gown competition. But why women are prone to stumble in gown?

In Physics, we describe motion either in statics or dynamics. In statics, this can be best explained in the realm of static equilibrium under STABILITY. Stability of any entity is affected by following factors: height of the object, center of gravity, weight, and surface area.

Let us begin with height of the object. Consider a bottled soft drinks of different heights, if you apply same amount of force to both, the taller bottle will topple down first. Therefore, the taller a person is the greater is the chance of stumbling or tripping.

Next is the center of gravity (COG). COG is known as the geometric center of an object in regular objects. This is dependent to the height of the object. If the COG is relatively higher with respect to the ground then the object has a greater chance of toppling down. Therefore, the taller you get, the higher your COG becomes.

How about weight of the object? Consider two identical containers. If one is empty while the other one is filled with fluid then there is a difference in weight. For an obvious reason, the heavy container (filled with fluid) is more stable than an empty container.

Finally, the surface area. If you stand a coin on its face or ridges then apply an equal amount of force, the coin lying along its ridge would topple down first then, the one lying on coin's face. Another example is the match box. It has different surface areas and the wider the surface on which it stands, the greater is its stability. You also increase its stability if it has more match sticks inside.

Now, the factors I have mentioned above are epitomized by Jennifer Lawrence. Do not be deceived by the gown covering a great area. The area she covers is only the area of her high-heeled shoes. High heel shoes is the culprit in her unfortunate tripping. Her gown consequently added to these factors because it prevented her from seeing the ladder well. How can you manage to step on stairs without feeling first by your toes, right?


Therefore, high heel shoes plus wide gowns would spell disaster. Likewise, a smaller surface area would also result to greater pressure on the floor as well as on legs.

This is not the first she tripped. She also tripped in here.