Mariah Carey not about to hang up her high heels

The ever-glamorous 41-year-old trotted onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday wearing sky-high suede platforms with a figure-hugging black lace dress.

Aghast at her seven-inch heels, DeGeneres offered a more practical alternative: pink fluffy mules with sparkly heels.

Carey, who insisted her own shoes were 'sensible' because they had a rubber sole, dismissed the sensible flats even while carrying the baby because her feet were 'specially made' to wear heels.

'These are hot, I like these! Very cute,' she said, about the princess-style slippers.

'The funny thing is my feet, when I was born, that's how they are - permanently in a little high heel.

'That's how they made them. My babysitter would make fun of me walking on tiptoes.

'So Nick is always like 'Come down, where are you? Always up in sky'.'

The Grammy winning singer and actress, who is married to TV presenter Nick Cannon, says she does not know the sex of their unborn baby.

And she stressed she won't be opting for the predictable pink or blue route for the nursery, instead preferring to keep it 'gender neutral'.