ladies, it'a about your shoes...

[dolfette]

is your footwear seriously damaging your health?
are you causing damage to your spine? hips? knees? ankles? toes?
are you just a bunion waiting to happen?

we have the vote, we've shrugged off corsets, we have careers and rights and lives.

...so why is our idea of female beauty still to hobble ourselves?

 

[Catharsis]

There's also the ancient, horrible, ruthless Chinese tradition of foot binding. :O

I've heard and seen on Dr. Oz that wearing pointed shoes (especially with heels) can seriously alter the bone structure in your toes. I would find that scary. :S

Sorry for intruding, just wanted to give some input.

 

[dolfette]

There's also the ancient, horrible, ruthless Chinese tradition of foot binding. :O

I've heard and seen on Dr. Oz that wearing pointed shoes (especially with heels) can seriously alter the bone structure in your toes. I would find that scary. :S

Sorry for intruding, just wanted to give some input.

we've not progressed that far from foot binding.
http://www.feetandankles.com/images/bunions.jpg
modern feet. self inflicted mutilation.

i work with countless old ladies who are now crippled by their feet. those tiny, fragile bones have to carry us for perhaps as much as a century. they don't need the added wear and tear.

 

[LaFemme]

Not my feet - I wear flats most of the time, comfy and cute flats. I do an occasional 2 inch heel, but that's as high as I'll go. No bunions, corns or mishapen toes on my feet. I have a lot of bad habits, but wearing high heels on a daily basis isn't one of them.

 

[B_subgirrl]

is your footwear seriously damaging your health?
are you causing damage to your spine? hips? knees? ankles? toes?
are you just a bunion waiting to happen?

No, it is not!! I've never worn a pair of heels in my life, nor have I worn a pair of pointy-toed shoes, in part because I think they are terrible for our body.

My Docs are a little too big though. They occasionally cause blisters if I wear them for too long without taking precautions. Must buy a smaller pair when I have the money.

we have the vote, we've shrugged off corsets, we have careers and rights and lives.

...so why is our idea of female beauty still to hobble ourselves?

I have no idea!!! I really don't get the obsession with shoes that cause damage (the other part of why I don't wear them :redface. Maybe this thread will further my understanding a little.

 

[dolfette]

Not my feet - I wear flats most of the time, comfy and cute flats. I do an occasional 2 inch heel, but that's as high as I'll go. No bunions, corns or mishapen toes on my feet. I have a lot of bad habits, but wearing high heels on a daily basis isn't one of them.

i'm in love with my new flats.
Womens Sports Shoes - Idyllic Pump in Silver Leather from Clarks Shoes
the most comfy shoes i ever wore.
soft leather, plenty of cushion in the heel, and the diagonal strap just feels so much better than the regular type.

 

[dolfette]

No, it is not!! I've never worn a pair of heels in my life, nor have I worn a pair of pointy-toed shoes, in part because I think they are terrible for our body.

lol, i have high heels i've only worn in bed.
as far as i'm concerned they're more dress up costume than actual clothing. i'll wear them but not to walk in. :wink:

 

[Catharsis]

It's probably because they think that heels look better on them (I don't want to speak for women but I just want to give my personal input on why I say this). I think that many guys (myself included) think that women in heels look very attractive as it appears to lift their legs and generally appear to be more shaplier and defined. I think this makes sense because you flex your calves when you stand on your toes.

But I know that they can cause pain and really aren't very good for your feet, so I would think that health should come before appeal. But I'm not a woman, so I don't really understand why so many girls do this (especially those in college, you should see how many wear heels to parties - they're doing a lot of walking in those!).

 

[LaFemme]

i'm in love with my new flats.
Womens Sports Shoes - Idyllic Pump in Silver Leather from Clarks Shoes
the most comfy shoes i ever wore.
soft leather, plenty of cushion in the heel, and the diagonal strap just feels so much better than the regular type.

Ooh, I have a couple of pairs like that (different brand) and they are so comfortable! One pair in black and one in deep blue - I love them.

 

[dolfette]

Ooh, I have a couple of pairs like that (different brand) and they are so comfortable! One pair in black and one in deep blue - I love them.

what brand? gimme a link to the shoe porn :tongue:

 

[LaFemme]

what brand? gimme a link to the shoe porn :tongue:

I don't know! I got them at the Shoe Company, lol!

 

[ArtofDesire]

Okay, I have to offer my two cents. I really love pretty shoes, so that means I have a number of high heeled shoes (3.5 - 4 inches is the normal height for me, but the red shoes in my album have 5 inch heels and granted I only wear them for playtime. I bought them to match a red leather collar also shown in my album.) I love the way I look in heels, and I like that they make me about 6 ft tall, or more when I wear heels - I like being tall.

Anyway, I will wear heels, usually high wedges, to work when the weather is nice but I'll usually switch to sensible low-heeled or flat shoes for running errands. Currently I am 57 years old and have absolutely no problems with my feet, nor have I ever. I do take very good care of my feet though making sure to get regular pedicures and switching to flats anytime I'll be doing a lot of walking so I guess that's why. I do have heels that I will wear with party dresses, but I always take a pair of foldable ballet flats with me in my purse in case my feet start to hurt.

One other note, I always make sure to buy shoes that have a rounded toe box, I never wear pointed toe shoes, nor do I wear peep toe pumps that have a narrow opening and squish the toes together, so I guess that's another reason why I've been able to get away with wearing heels for so many years without any issues. Of course maybe I should append a 'yet' to that last statement...

Oh, yeah, since the New England winters are long and very snowy I wear flats pretty much all winter and that gives my feet a break too.

 

[Missee75]

Um…I do wear high heels…always. Don`t really know how to walk in flats (do not own any flat shoes…apart from a pair of trainers, even my winter boots have heels), can walk barefoot (which I do a lot) or in heels (4-5inch…can run in them too...as to catch a bus, not to compete )… Funny thing is that I never wear skirts…just pants so it`s not to please the male eye at all…I do not wear pointy shoes, just round. Great thing is that my size 3-4 is always on sale as not that many adults really wear such size;-)
And why? Because I am very short… I am 5 foot and feel like a child when I talk to my students. My husband is 40cm taller than me…pretty much everyone above the age of 12 is taller than me…so I am used to my heels. I have been wearing them for past 20 years and my feet do not show signs of any damage BUT I am aware that it may come…

And I do not hobble…but I do admit that I can hardly become a spy considering that my heels make everyone aware of me approaching the classroom or a room in general…

And yes..I wore my heels even when pregnant...

 

[SprinkleMe69]

Art of Desire you rock your high heels Wish I could wear some heels but sport injury a couple years ago impedes that. Even flats are hell for me due to no arch support so I'm screwed either way. So I guess I will stick to my wide slip ons for work and flip flops at home. My sneakers are all wide as well. The curse of Native people's feet.

 

[D_Hey Sailor]

I am a comfort first type of shoe shopper. There are times when I break this rule, but that only occurs for footwear to fit a select-occasion, which shouldn't beat me down over time.

-For running I have a really funky pair of Vibram FiveFingers runners (which are *awesome*)
-My hiking boots are made by AKU and are literally the most comfortable things my feet have ever been in. I almost get sad when I have to put my feet in anything else.
-Daily wear depends on the dress occasion, but I try to stick with flip-flops or a dressy/casual pair of sneakers with really good arch support.
-Everything else I own has heels in some form, but it's rare that I would wear them more than a couple times a week, or do any endurance walking in them.

 

[LaFemme]

Art of Desire you rock your high heels Wish I could wear some heels but sport injury a couple years ago impedes that. Even flats are hell for me due to no arch support so I'm screwed either way. So I guess I will stick to my wide slip ons for work and flip flops at home. My sneakers are all wide as well. The curse of Native people's feet.

Did you know that Nike (I think it's Nike) makes special sneakers just for Native people? Just because the Native foot is different? I'll try and google it. Being only half, I inherited the 'white' foot so I don't have that problem - but a lot of my friends do.

Edit: They are Nikes and called Air Native N7. You'd have to Google to find out where you can order them from if you're interested.

 

[hsarge]

I think that proper sizing is part of the key. When I first got married my wife said she was a 6.5 or 7. No way. She was a 9 or 9.5 and wide. She had been cramming into her shoes. Also pointy toed shoes just force a bunions. I like open toed shoes. It's the cleavage, i guess.

 

[D_Hey Sailor]

I think that proper sizing is part of the key. When I first got married my wife said she was a 6.5 or 7. No way. She was a 9 or 9.5 and wide. She had been cramming into her shoes. Also pointy toed shoes just force a bunions. I like open toed shoes. It's the cleavage, i guess.

I don't trust sizes at all. It seems like every brand and application fit different for the same size. I have some shoes here that are 2 sizes up from what I should be, and wider too, but they fit me right! :scratchchin:

Then there's that whole problem with things like my taller leather boots, which don't fit right until you break them in. :02:

 

[ManofThunder]

I have some heeled shoes, man-heels. You know, the shoe that's almost a boot type. I wear a plain pair of hard-wearing black shoes for exercise and general use. Other than that, I have a pair of very nice oxfords that my father made. Those are my dress-shoes and the closest thing I have to 'lucky shoes'.

 

[hsarge]

Moxie, you are right. Sizes can be all over the place. My wife was young at the time. Because she took a small size in one pair, didn't mean that was her size in all shoes. She also thought a big size was a stigma until I told her Jackie Kennedy was an 11.