Walking on grating in heels

[CrushedVamp]

I think the worst scenario I see is weddings. So many people are not used to wearing high heels, then for pictures they go on challenging ground like cobblestone, grass, or other wet areas and it's really a struggle for the people wearing them. I never laugh at people that struggle because its just all-new for them and it saddens me that they equate high heels to pain and embarrassment.

[pebblesf]

On 12/18/2024 at 1:40 PM, CrushedVamp said:

I think the worst scenario I see is weddings. So many people are not used to wearing high heels, then for pictures they go on challenging ground like cobblestone, grass, or other wet areas and it's really a struggle for the people wearing them. I never laugh at people that struggle because its just all-new for them and it saddens me that they equate high heels to pain and embarrassment.

Karma would strike me back quickly if I ever laughed (even internally) at someone struggling in heels!

[5150PLB1]

19 hours ago, pebblesf said:

Karma would strike me back quickly if I ever laughed (even internally) at someone struggling in heels!

Never ever mess with Karma or her brother Murphy, their laws will get you every time.

[mlroseplant]

I don't believe I have ever laughed at anybody struggling in heels, but I knew from a young age that some girls were better at it than others. Today, my internal voice is much more likely to say, "Oh, honey.  .  . let's fix this just as soon as we can." I have never offered my services as high heel tutor, but I have had several students over the years. My success rate is exactly 0%. I must be a very bad teacher.

[CrushedVamp]

On 12/24/2024 at 8:24 AM, mlroseplant said:

I don't believe I have ever laughed at anybody struggling in heels, but I knew from a young age that some girls were better at it than others. Today, my internal voice is much more likely to say, "Oh, honey.  .  . let's fix this just as soon as we can." I have never offered my services as high heel tutor, but I have had several students over the years. My success rate is exactly 0%. I must be a very bad teacher.

My most memorable emotion to someone faltering was some model wearing high heels at a fashion show. They were unwieldly and almost unwalkable and she kept falling on the runway. I am sure she was chided and lost her entire modeling career by falling so many times, but I never laughed even though today, and years later, the video clip is often seen on fail type shows. My reaction was out of concern; for her physically from falling on her face so many times, and from the humiliation of it all that probably ended her career.

As I have said elsewhere on this site, I appreciate art and creativity, and understand the NEED to have a creative outlet where efficient manufacturing realities and function are not required, but with shoes they do need to be walkable in them. To me her humiliation was entirely on the designer of the shoes who failed miserably, not the fashion model.

[pebblesf]

5 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

My most memorable emotion to someone faltering was some model wearing high heels at a fashion show. They were unwieldly and almost unwalkable and she kept falling on the runway. I am sure she was chided and lost her entire modeling career by falling so many times, but I never laughed even though today, and years later, the video clip is often seen on fail type shows. My reaction was out of concern; for her physically from falling on her face so many times, and from the humiliation of it all that probably ended her career.

As I have said elsewhere on this site, I appreciate art and creativity, and understand the NEED to have a creative outlet where efficient manufacturing realities and function are not required, but with shoes they do need to be walkable in them. To me her humiliation was entirely on the designer of the shoes who failed miserably, not the fashion model.

Like you say, it seems like many shoes/boots were never designed with actual walking in mind!  Many of those runway heel fashions don't appeal to me at all.  Just because something has a designer label, and is outrageously styled does not mean it actually looks good.   More often than not, "less is more".   

[mlroseplant]

Not that I like to think about falling, which I do think about more and more as I get older (I turn 57 next week), but one thing I notice about these "fail" videos is that nearly 100% of the time, they involve extreme platforms. Every once in a while, you'll see a slippery floor fall, or catching a heel on something, but the vast majority of the time, it's like the old ankle just gave out. I can totally see this with a very high platform, especially if it's even slightly defective.

The one time I have fallen in public, it was a slippery floor fall (involving ice) and not a wobbly ankle fall. However, since I do wear platforms, though not extreme ones, I am well aware of the instability they can exhibit. Luckily, I have strong ankles.

[pebblesf]

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Not that I like to think about falling, which I do think about more and more as I get older (I turn 57 next week), but one thing I notice about these "fail" videos is that nearly 100% of the time, they involve extreme platforms. Every once in a while, you'll see a slippery floor fall, or catching a heel on something, but the vast majority of the time, it's like the old ankle just gave out. I can totally see this with a very high platform, especially if it's even slightly defective.

The one time I have fallen in public, it was a slippery floor fall (involving ice) and not a wobbly ankle fall. However, since I do wear platforms, though not extreme ones, I am well aware of the instability they can exhibit. Luckily, I have strong ankles.

57, sure wish I was that young again, would do so many things better...  I would agree that slippery floors are my biggest fear, I have stumble/fallen more than once.  

[CrushedVamp]

On 1/7/2025 at 7:00 AM, pebblesf said:

Like you say, it seems like many shoes/boots were never designed with actual walking in mind!  Many of those runway heel fashions don't appeal to me at all.  Just because something has a designer label, and is outrageously styled does not mean it actually looks good.   More often than not, "less is more".   

I understand fully what you are saying for sure.

I do understand the outrageousness of fashion shows though, but only because there really needs to be a way for creators to just use their imagination. I mean look at the polar opposite of that... cars. Cars today, no matter the brand all look the same. A Honda CRV looks like a Toyota Rav4, etc. They all look the same because they all have to adhere to the same rigorous crash test designs. Because they are all must meet the same standard, they end up looking so much alike. They have too when the designers are making a car with the same crash test ratings, fuel mileage, range, emissions controls, etc. So if you take that away, and let anything go; sure 99 out of 100 times the design looks outrageously silly, but that one time a design might be new and different, actually works. Or... an element of the radical shoe design works whereas the other 80% of it doesn't. So I see fashion shows as a viable venue to get creativity out for the world to see without limits.

My frustration is; I wish it was not dominated by big bucks. I firmly believe there are excellent Cordwainers and Cobblers doing it as a hobby making amazing high heeled shoes out there that are both unique yet wearable, but there is just no practical way to get their designs for people to see. Youtube and Social platforms help which was never an option 40 years ago, but I think high end designers get caught up in their own success and notoriety. 

[Shyheels]

Even small shoe and boot making companies struggle. I know the people at Jean Gaborit, a French custom boot maker, and while they make absolutely beautiful boots at quite decent prices given they are entirely custom made in their workshop in France, they struggle mightily in a world dominated by  huge corporations churning out cheaply made stuff in China and the Far East. It’s not right.