katie

I bought some shoes from M&S which have the inserts built into them -- they're actually quite comfortable. They feel a bit different compared to other shoes; I suspect it's the arch contact. But they're definitely worth a go.

Barratts.co.uk do size 9s. I have no idea if they stock them in the shops. Tallgirls.co.uk do 9-13s, but only mail order and their selections are bit "ordinary". They do seem to assume that anyone who needs a size 9 also doesn't need to be much taller... Next do size 9s, but they never have stock in the stores (I end up mail ordering). Faith is similar - Faith's sizes in heels seem to come up small, in flats large.

I made a HUGE mess of my knee a few years ago. Spent a couple of years on crutches having it all put back together with a variety of operations, various complications including falling over one day and tearing something in the other knee... Broke it in 2001, had surgery on one complication in 2002, on another in 2004 and again about a year ago for the same thing which finally fixed it. I was on crutches for 2 years and in physio through to about april last year. And these days I'm back wearing heels. I have to be sensible about it and so on, but the muscles have all more or less recovered. It takes **AGES** for this to happen. Really. Sorry and all that, but it really does. You just need to give these things time and then exercise. And don't go messing about early; you'll just tear and pull things that haven't finished healing properly.

We went to a friends wedding. They'd done the reception by booking out a whole pub, which worked out really nicely. So I go to the loo (which was downstairs in the basement), and I come back and say "Hey, guys. Whats the boys bathroom like?" And they say "It's normal. Why?" And then we had to escort all the boys downstairs because they didn't believe me when I said; "Because the girls loo is HUGE. There's atriums and waiting areas with sofas and full height mirrors and fountains..." And they really were there.

So I bought these new shoes from Next. Very nice and all (yes, they're stilettoes). But when I come to wear them without tights, my toes squeak against the inside of the toe-box.... what does one do to stop that? I get this with certain kinds of liner, but I've never worked out how to stop it. And it's really rather loud and distracting.

>Other big no-no's for women during interviews include bright / gaudy fingernail polish, >open-toed shoes, skirts above the knees, wild hair, wild glasses... Hmm. Well. I tend to wear bright nail varnish, but at least I co-ordinate it with my top. There is a definite correlation between my wearing a skirt and getting an offer or second interview -- trousers suits seem to lead to rejections. The only time I've worn a miniskirt to an interview was when I already had two offers, and was interviewing at two more places. One was a games company and one was a printing firm both interviews the same day. I decided what the heck, I'd make sure the games company remembered me. Now to put this in context, I'm 5'7 and my legs come a lot more than halfway up that. So I turned up to both interviews in a mini-skirt suit and sheer tights. The printing company forgot to ask me any technical questions (they later said they didn't intend to do a technical interview, but that would be a first for hiring a software engineer) and made me an offer the next day. The games company guys were clearly having trouble thinking about technical questions, but never phoned back... so it's not a no-no, it just doesn't have the expected effect... I haven't been wearing spikes to interviews recently on account of the whole broken knee/arthritis thing. I've worn high chunky heels and that seems OK. I've worn low kitteny heels and that seems OK. The last time I wore spikes was boots/trouser suit and that didn't, but then the trouser suit seems to be a loser anyway. Just once in a while I'd like to be interviewed for my technical skills, but frankly companies don't actually seem to care. It's not a girl thing, it happens to all the guys I know as well.Hirers don't want software engineers to write proper software, they want direct reports to make a better looking org chart. Actual software production is entirely accidental. In this case they might as well hired cute warm bodies instead of just warm bodies. Therefore I've taken to, ahem, enhancing the attributes which do not appear on my CV...

They had a verion like that with a strap across it meybe the beginning of last year. They're quite comfortable, and actually rather taller than you'd expect to look at them. The flared heel is reasonably stable and the rounded toe box is nice for those of us with wide feet. Similar ones without the strap were also in one of the catalogues not so long ago -- the Argos clothes one maybe?

The metal frame is supposed to look like an Ilzarov frame. It's not actually one - it's not structural enough. The frames were invented in Russia by a chap named Ilzarov (hence their name) and consist of an external fixator structure with wires run through the bits of bones and out of the skin and bolted into the frame. (ouch!) They're used a lot in people who've had muliple fractures (because the bones can be aligned properly and held in place), and also in bone realignments and alterations: people who have their legs lengthened have these, and add a bit of length to the frame each day, so the bone heals longer... The main complication risk is infection through the wire holes, and they need disinfecting several times a day. And people don't wear heels with them. However dedicated they are. For one thing, and trust me on this[1], heels don't work with crutches. Quite apart from having to keep fiddling with the length of the crutches, most shoes aren't up to having all your weight on one of them. Even low block heels will bend enough under that impact that the metal mounting bits will dig in the bottom of your foot... [1] Long story. Short version: broken knee 2 years ago that has repeatedly failed to heal properly. Long periods of time on crutches have resulted.

Tearing something, not breaking something -- they're used when someone has damaged their achilles tendon; the angle means the tendon doesn't have tension on it so it has a chance to heal.

No they're not leather. They're fairly well made, metal tips and heel-anchor bits and so on (remember they actually make these to take men's weights rather then just girls')

Instead of going to transformation for shoes, just go direct to the manufacturer: www.hayway.demon.co.uk

They're a family run factory in Leicester. They're really friendly, and you can shop at the factory to make sure you get the right sizes or mail order.