CrushedVamp

I think fit and function are what dooms the high heel industry. Having raised six daughters almost everyone of them wore heels for the first time at their Junior Prom, a right of passage for a high schooler here in the USA anyway. But since they might grow out of them, and being for a singular event where they would only be worn for a few hours, they were all chosen entirely for how they looked with my daughter's dress. They therefore were cheap and ill-fitting. That was how they were introduced to wearing high heels and it really never got better for them. Most of the time the only time they wear high heels beyond their junior prom which was to weddings and other special occasions. Again the high heels chosen for a singular event and chosen for how they looked and not fit and comfort. This causes many problems. The first is that they learned by experience that high heels were uncomfortable to wear. The other issue is, being chosen for how they looked and costs, properly fitting heels are hard to find. The girls went to the local shoe store where there was a crappy selection of heels to buy and none were expensive because people were not buying expensive, well-fitting heels. And when they bought them off the internet, they were bought based on style and color and not about to be sent back because they did not fit well. "It was only for one evening" was the statement made. My wife, she is a little different. She loves high heels, but struggles to find good ones. When she does find a pair that is comfortable, she wears them exclusively, and I tended to notice these are often the most expensive ones. But the quality retail shops are closed now, and only crappy, ill-fitting ones grace the local chains that are still open.

The only dress code I can think of in regards to shoe-dress-codes are airline stewardesses. The last I knew they were required to wear heels while in public settings. I think it was a two inch heel height minimum, but honestly I can see no reason why they could not be allowed to wear flats if they wanted too. I do not like the look of flats myself, but am not into forcing anyone to wear something they loath either. An interesting note about their dress code too is that they do not actually wear pantyhose/tights but instead wear compression nylons because of the constant pressure and depressuring they are subjected too. It does not matter so much for only a few flights a year, but a career of it can be damaging to a person's circulatory system. Because of that they were once required to wear them, but I think that requirement has eased up. Mostly because they are not paid that well and so many just wore regular pantyhose/tights which were NOT compression ones because they were much cheaper but their employers were none the wiser just looking at them. And in a fire situation several stewardesses sustained severe leg burns when the nylon melted onto their legs in a crash.

There is a High Heel Race in Washington DC every year and is coming close now to 40 consecutive years of the running of it. I think on May 20th, High Heel Day, men are encouraged to wear high heels to their jobs so that they understand the rigors of what some women are required to wear for shoes all day, every day. Not the same as a race I know, but I always thought that was a great idea and not encouraged enough. I read an article years ago about the day and suggestion and some men had to remove the heels only a few hours in because of the rigors of wearing them showing that wearing them did heighten awareness.

I always thought your photos and poses were well put together. I am not sure that it matters but my wife does photography and we like the fine arts; said only so you know there is some added credibility behind it. As many of you know, I do not wear high heels myself, it is my wife who is the high heel shoe lover, I just like her in them, but I think if I did wear high heels it would most likely be in wearing high heel clogs for starters. I have no idea why, I guess it is just like fine art, there is no need to explain, if you like the painting you just get it. But the same can be said for high heels too I suppose, no need to justify or explain why; just wear what you like. I think for me it would be heeled clogs. Sorry to read quite a ways back and here that a lot of people have had eye trouble. I hope everyone is clearly on the mend regarding that. I certainly relate as due to my profession I have had my eye drilled seven times and my eyes are showing the wear from that. My plight lately is more inline with dental issues. I had a tooth extracted recently and it went horribly wrong. It took an hour and a half, then the broken tooth had to be drilled out, the dentist broke my jawbone so it had to be grafted back, the stitches came out before I even got home, only to get dry socket and an infection in the removed tooth. It was so bad that I was curled up in the fetal position driving myself as far back from the chair as I could it hurt so bad. It has really ruined me as I don't think I could endure a simple procedure without being knocked out by an oral surgeon. It really was that traumatizing to me.

Hey thanks. It is good to be missed. Just very busy as we finished up this house and then decided to sell it due to the incredible market right now. That part is easy but now its on to find a new place. It is tough as we are looking for a VERY specific place and there are only six places in the whole state. For those that might not be sure the scale of what I am talking about, our state is the exact same size as all of Ireland, so picture such a big area and only six houses to pick from. Fortunately three are in the are we wish to live, but none are perfect. If only this place, which is perfect building wise, could be put in this town people wise, but the town having views like this other town... Anyway, it's tough. I did think of all of you though the other day. I was watching a video on home renovation and a woman was just given a walk-in closet by her husband. As she looked at the top shelf of the closet she exclaimed, "wow, a place for all my red-soles". That is literally how she referred to her high heel collection. I thought it was cute and thought of members on here. My tenons are getting better in my legs with only a few pangs of pain now and then, but they say restarting again too fast is the number one cause of its resurgence. So I have yet to get out there walking again, but I do miss the exercise.

Good for you on trying to stay fit! I can certainly relate, wanting to get in better shape but am struggling with quality shoes myself. I have not been on this site for awhile and part of that has been because I decided to be a little more proactive in my health myself.. It worked at first until it took a dark turn, but in three months I was able to lose forty pounds. Lost a lot off my waist and was two-thirds of my goal...Then all my walking caused the ligaments in my shins to detach from my tibia. Grrrrr. A lot of pain and a long recovery time. But I also hit a weight loss plateau and despite walking 5-7 miles per day, the weight loss was the exact same. I just stalled. But even before that I was struggling with good sneakers. I got some Sketch Slip-In's but their design rubbed a lot on the shoehorn part of the shoe causing the material to wear off and expose hard plastic that gave my archille tenon's blisters. I have switched to Kirik slip ins that use what they call a "cage" and they do not have the shoehorn issue, but they need help in their insole design as they are not comfortable to wear in extended walks like I do. I wish I could help you on your color choices but got nothing. If you can find quality white trainers/sneakers you might be able to dye them the color you like. My wife often does that matching dyed white Keds to specific outfits she wears. But I fully understand dying Keds is pretty easy.

What are people's thoughts on "having a way out" for those who wear high heels? For my wife who LOVES her high heels and wears them a lot but not every day; they can get painful at times so we always have a less painful option for her if it becomes too painful. Like having a pair of Keds (primisols) in the car that she can put on, or a pair of ballet flats. It depends on what she is wearing of course so she looks stylish even in shoes without high heels, but we have a way that she can quickly change from painful to painless. Or do you feel working through the pain is best to toughen up and get more accustomed to high heel wearing? I know sometimes for me, I am a little disappointed because she can be quick to change, especially if it is the main event we are going to, but she wants to switch out to flats when I think she would look more refined in heels. But it is not my feet in them, and I am not the high heel police.