If the Shoe Fits...

A recent article published in today's issue of The New York Times brings to light a startling scientific discovery: "Women wear shoes that cause pain."

What? We do? The horror! The horror!

The study, sponsored by the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, concludes that,"...smart shoe choices paid off in the long term: women who had mainly worn supportive footwear like sneakers or athletic shoes in their younger years cut their risk of common foot pain later in life by more than half, compared with women who had worn shoes that gave average support, like hard-soled or rubber-soled ones."

Which basically means, all those women who must have looked killer standing on the subway platform in 4-inch heels back in the 1980's are now hobbling around in Easy Spirit, giving wistful glances towards the Bloomingdales Shoe Department sale rack.

Now. I'll be the first to admit that I currently own - wait, let me stand up and count - one, two, three...yes, THREE pairs of heels that will rip my pinky toes to shreds around mile two of walking. These are just the uber-painful ones. Then, there are my heels with longer known pain-thresholds. For example, my wedges are pain-free up until ten NYC Avenues, but my gladiator Kenneth Coles can take me dancing into the night. I reserve my safe-haven "commuting" Sperry Topsiders for the trek to work and spontaneous weekend excursions.

Sadly, an ill-fitting or poorly designed pair of heels can cause even the most graceful, well-dressed woman to walk like a Velociraptor. Yet, oddly enough we keep coming back for more. Is it the height-enhancing, leg-lengthening, instant-pant-hemming, or outfit-matching attributes that make said pump so desirable? While I will outwardly laugh at any woman putting herself through a premeditated painful shoe circumstance, (ie: trekking through 6 inches of snow, in 10 degree weather, in open-toed stilettos), we all have our tolerance levels for the ultimate look.

Might I add, the last phrase of the article matter-of-factly states: "When it comes to shoes, men make much better choices...fewer than 2 percent wore bad shoes."

p.s. For your next evening out, here is a great preemptive strike on blisters: rub Body Glide around back of heel and pinky toe area. Reduced friction = reduced number of blisters. And of course, a few bandaids can go a long way.