WOULD YOU PAY THE PRICE?

 by: Chiffon Curtis

Illustration by Henrik Sorensen

 Most women and men fashionistas understand the crucial part shoes play in completing ones overall look. The right shoe choice can make a statement, while the wrong shoe choice can definitely ruin your fashion efforts. Both men and women love shoes and how they look on the opposite sex. Most women pay more attention to a man's shoe than any other feature, and It is no secret that men are often turned on by a woman donning a  sexy pair of high heels. Unfortunately there is a down side to
wearing these expensive pieces of joy that extends beyond a depletion of funds in your bank account but wearing designer shoes can be costly, uncomfortable and down right shady towards your overall foot and leg health. I must admit, I  have much admiration for the beauty and craftsmanship of designer shoes but the price and comfort level are in an unhappy marriage that I have to live with diurnally.

Let's examine some of the positive characteristics of wearing high heels.

• adds height to shorter women
• added self confidence
• better posture
• leaner legs
• toned calves
• added femininity
•  added sex appeal
• a more slender appearance
• foot appears smaller

 Now let's examine some of the negative effects of wearing high heels.

• They can cause foot pain.
• They increase likelihood of sprains and fractures.
• They make calves look more rigid and sinewy.
• They can create foot deformities, including hammertoes and bunions.
• They can cause an unsteady gait.
• They can shorten the wearer's stride.
• They can render the wearer unable to run in case of an emergency.
• Altered forces at the knee caused by walking in high heels may predispose to degenerative changes in the knee joint.
• Foot and tendon problems
• Women who wear high heels frequently have a higher incidence of degenerative joint disease of the knees. 

 Some of the most uncomfortable  high heeled shoes seem to be the ones that are most expensive, which is hard for me to understand. Those of us who wear designer shoes i.e. Christian Louboutin, YSL(most comfy), Jimmy Choo, Guiseppe Zanotti, Manolo Blahnik, Brian Atwood, Gucci(more comfy than most), list goes on and on look great in our fancy footwear, but I would be a liar and a thief , if  the smile you see when I am strutting the streets wasn't really a painful-where is a chair-I can't wait to get these bastards off- I hate my life- frown, but we look good, so its' all good right? Call me strange and out of my mind, but I believe things like cushion, arch support, being able to walk a few steps without buckling over in a shoe is kind of a big deal. Lets be honest with ourselves, at certain price points, I strongly think it is preposterous that my phalanges are being crushed and realigned in opposition to God's natural design. Why must we play twister with our toes for the O sacred RED BOTTOM?

But I must ask what price are you willing to pay to be fabulous?