Suzanne Carillo

Yesterday my girlfriend and I went on a little shopping/fact finding trip. I just wanted to discover what's fresh in the stores for Spring and a sampling of what is currently offered in fashion for the masses at our local haunts.

A little note about me…I'm not tall. I'm 5'4" and a "bit".  Which is pretty much dead on for the "average" height of females in North America. I do not have long thin legs. I have what I affectionately call my "man" legs, muscular and a little stout. Wearing a little bit of a heel is always a good thing for me since it will balance my body. I am not the best at wearing heels. I almost always "walk out" of heels, that is to say that my heel lifts out of the shoe when I'm walking. Often I avoid heels and purchase boots instead since I know that they stay on my feet no matter what.

I have a large collection of what I like to call my "bedroom" heels since it seems that is the only place I'm able to wear them. These are usually stunning 3-4" heels that make me look taller and thinner and feel more powerful. Yes, I love me some good heels, but 99% of the time they do not love me back.

Wearing shoes that hurt your feet is akin to ritualistic torture. It starts in your feet but after as little as 5 minutes the pain has spread throughout your entire body and is now a full on raging headache accompanied by all over body pains, foot cramps and burning toe pain. Looking this good is not for the faint of heart.

I noticed on our shopping outing that it is all but impossible to find a comfortable 1-2" high heel. Everything as far as shoes go is stiletto, 3-5" or a combination of platform and stiletto up to 6" or a complete flat. How many of us love to wear either? I need something that still supports my foot but doesn't force me to walk on my tippy toes and take baby steps.

This is why I can't imagine people are actually able to wear these super high heels and still "function". Can they walk on their own? Or do they offer accompanying crutches/walkers? What about all of us that simply cannot possibly walk in these crazy high heels? I don't want to sound old fashioned, but what happened to "sensible" shoes? Where no foot icing was necessary after wearing them, or where you weren't deforming your feet with blisters & bunions? Can't shoe makers understand that not everyone is willing to put themselves onto these stilts? Not too long ago these shoes would have been called "stripper" shoes. Even strippers aren't crazy enough to walk in these, they just stand in one spot and dance around. That's also why they have the stripper pole…they can grab onto to steady themselves.

It was frustrating seeing that no other choices were available other than "ugly" what I like to call "nurse" or uniform shoes, flats which although cute aren't the best for my physique or foot arch, or the uber high heeled stripper shoes.

Here is a quote I found from Louboutin, the ultra famous stiletto shoe maker whom obviously does not care one bit that the shoes are horribly uncomfortable,

“I hate the whole concept of comfort! It’s like when people say, ‘Well, we’re not really in love, but we’re in a comfortable relationship.’ You’re abandoning a lot of ideas when you are too into comfort. ‘Comfy’—that’s one of the worst words! I just picture a woman feeling bad, with a big bottle of alcohol, really puffy. It’s really depressing, but she likes her life because she has comfortable clogs.”

I understand why the woman has a big bottle of alcohol…she is trying to numb the excruciating pain in her feet from wearing your shoes!

Fashion is a love of mine, but my overall health is more important and I need some shoes I can actually walk in and still feel good about myself. Let's hope that the fashion industry gets over it's obsession with vertiginous heels and starts offering more beautiful wearable solutions.

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