ShoeSense

"The foot is the new face in 2006"

I can't help but be apalled by this article on ABC News. Stiletto training classes are kind of old news, but perhaps we need to be reminded every once in a while of their existence if only to marvel at their patent absurdity.

But this article (and video clip) also reminds us of a particularly devious form of plastic surgery: foot surgery meant to make stiletto-wearing more bearable, such as injections in the ball of the foot and (wait for it) TOE AMPUTATIONS.

Oh, it's not so drastic, says Dr. Levine, interviewed for the article. Toes too long? Too wide? Don't fit in your Blahniks? No problem. We'll remove some of the bones for you.

The same good doctor admits that wearing any heels over 2 inches high is painful (they put three times more weight on the ball of the foot) and can create all sorts of problems (I've covered them before on this blog: chronic ankle, knee, and spine pain, among others).

Isn't this a crazy world to push women to amputate parts of their body in order to fit into the fashion standards made mainstream by, say, HBO shows?

Shouldn't we try to make (and wear) appealing footwear that fits, rather than go under the knife (a costly procedure, for sure) to fit into what the high fashion industry dictates?

This just makes me soooo mad. There is a lot at stake in a woman's stiletto: supposedly, it's about power, sexuality, confidence, attraction, fashion, etc. I firmly believe that all of those things have nothing to do with the height of your heels. On the contrary, when you strive to achieve them by suffering debilitating conditions and being in pain all night, I say the message you convey is quite the opposite.

It IS possible to look sexy, confident, and fashionable while also being comfortable. This is what blog is trying to demonstrate. There are beautiful shoes out there that will not require injections in the ball of your foot. That will not immobilize you on fixed routes from limo to bar and back and thus objectify you into sexbots. That will allow you to walk miles in them without feeling the pain. That will not require amputation. That will still be sexy enough to turn heads. And that will not give you chronic and painful conditions as years go by. The truth is out there.

Yes, some Blahniks or Louboutins or Jimmy Choos are works of art. But they're definitely NOT worth amputation. Use them very sparingly, if you must. Shoes should not require training classes, stiletto pole dancing, stiletto strength sessions, and foot surgery. It takes away from the joy of wearing beautiful shoes and kind of defies the purpose of fashion, at least for me.

posted by Cristina Hanganu-Bresch @ 9:32 PM