Un-supportive Shoes?

While browsing through the pages of the August 2009 issue of Elle, I came across a pair of ponyskin pumps from Nina Ricci, with no heels. The pump is several inches high with a large, sloped platform that looks like it was inspired by elf shoes.

I've seen something like this before on Victoria Beckham--a pair of thigh high vinyl boots by Antonio Berardi which she donned at a fragrance launch. Yet even Victoria's pairs seem a little comfier than those Nina Ricci shoes.

As stated to the The Daily Mail, a representative from the British Chiropody and Podiatry Association has said "I certainly would not recommend these shoes. The heel is there to stabilise. When you elevate the rear of the foot it makes you lean forward, which is bad for both the back and the food."

I'm curious about these shoes and if I could have a chance to try them on, I would--just to see how long I'd last striding in them. I'm imagining that walking on them is like being perpetually on your toe with a large paperweight beneath them.


They're fascinating but I guess these heel-less pieces are better to look at then worn on your feet--displayed proudly beside other deviant pairs like the famous Vivienne Westwood platforms that Naomi Campbell tripped in.

Dresses and Booties!

While doing a PR writing gig for the Samsung Ultra Style Icon Awards, which honored actress Anne Curtis, basketball player/TV host/social worker Chris Tiu and blogger, Cecile Zamora-Van Straten (aka Chuvaness) one of the most dominant looks I spotted on the runway was the very current dress and bootie combo. Booties are after all, very trendy right now and personally, I tend to shy away from whatever is on trend.

Hence, I've rarely paired calf-length shoes with a dress. I think I did it just once with a pair of suede wedge Kenneth Cole boots that I wore with black-and-red argyle tights and a tube dress layered over a t-shirt. While I'm a sucker for boots--which I think is one of the more comfortable ways to wear heels because they keep your feet in place so there's not much sliding forward--I tend to gravitate more towards knee-length, like the beige leather pair I wore that night with jeans and a basic black top. (Boots paired with jeans or dresses is my uniform and I unashamedly wear them even on hot days!)

Nevertheless, seeing all the geometric dresses and booties is making me think of bringing out some of my old calf-length footwear and see if they'll work with my other frocks. Especially, after I saw these peep-toe mesh beauties on Anne.

Here's a closer look:

They're Chanel booties! I tried to look for a clearer picture of the same shoe but instead, I found a picture of the knee-length version:

The mesh and ribbons soften the tough look of booties. Plus, the peep toes on this  pair give it an extra dainty touch. It's the opposite of the Rihanna-tough approach, whilst she likes to pair studded footwear (plus a spiky do' and a few tattoos) with a brightly-colored dress.

But I did find a cheaper alternative with these mesh pumps in Topshop Powerplant (below) but their smallest size is still big for me (bummer!). The classic shape will make these shoes lasts beyond the bootie trend so I highly recommend them! They're on sale right now and if I'm not mistaken, there are a few pairs left over. 

Open Toe High Heels on a Rainy Day

On wet days like the ones we've been having this past weekend, I normally like to put on a comfy pair of leather boots (I'm a sucker for boots. I wear them even on hot days, which I justify by blaming office air-conditioning for the "more-than-bearable chill").

Instead, I reached out for a bare pair of strappy heels. I didn't have to worry about getting my toes wet since I was going to have dinner with my family and fiancee inside a mall. 

When I first saw this black high-heeled sandals from Stella Luna, I thought it was going to be among my more painful pairs but it was incredibly comfortable.

Firstly, the velcro straps are adjustable, which are great for my small, boney feet. 

Secondly, I placed a pair of Hello Heel padded half-insoles to keep my toes from sliding forward so that I can isolate the pressure of my body weight on the back of my feet. Sliding toes are on the top of my high heel-induced pain list.

I highly recommend HelloHeel half-insoles because they're generally cheaper and they don't get as easily soiled as gel inserts. I'll post more on how I've used gel inserts to make my other high heels more comfortable. 

HIGH HEEL SAVIOR: HelloHeel Insoles

PRICE: About P102 / pair

WHERE TO BUY: PCX Stores (I get mine at Rockwel

l, Powerplant); First Aid (3rd Level, Greenbelt 3)

High Heel Schizophrenia

Like most girls, the first pair of heels I’ve tried on were my mom’s. My initial introduction to those painful beauties was done in a traditionally sneaky fashion—while scouring my mom’s shoe collection behind her back, for a pair that I could only wear in my dizziest childhood dreams.

I set my eyes on a strappy gold wedge number that she personally designed. The moment I placed my foot in the glitzy shoe, I felt like I had finally gotten a taste of what it’s like to be a woman. I was instantly taller. I felt sophisticated. A gold shoe is definitely more mature than the hot pink Babrbie sneakers I lived in and often paired with cycling shorts (it was the early 90s). It boasted of gold fabric straps that wrapped around the foot and had to be tied into a careful knot at the ankles. There is a hint of sexuality that comes with wearing high heels, the way it draws attention to what people may think of as an erogenous zone. It’s not just a wedge; it’s sex appeal you can wear and little girls should only don such sensual things in the secret alleys of their mother’s closets.


When we’re young and several years short of puberty, we wonder about all these aspects that come with being grown up: wearing a bra, getting married, putting on high heeled pumps as you get ready for work.

But as soon as age gives us the license to wear the coveted classic black pump, platform sandal or pointy knee-high boots, our fashion fetish starts to betray us. We get burning soles while dancing at our first high school party; we suffer from blisters on prom night; we walk painfully in shoes we especially purchased for a college interview because, damn, we couldn’t find the admissions office in that impossibly large campus!

Just as the promise of independence and financial freedom in adulthood is muddled by the harsh realities that come with achieving these, high heels come with a price and the price of aesthetics and fashion-forwardness is red, swollen feet.

Left: Killer Heels from the Fetish exhibition of designer Christian Loubutin and director, David Lynch.

This is when we begin to suffer from High Heel Schizophrenia, whilst we shift from loving to hating our footwear.

Because as soon as we remove those studded strappy platforms and soak our raw toes in tubs of steaming water, we start to love our high heels again, as slowly as the pain melts away with the heat of our soapy foot bath.

In the meantime, our critics watch us fall in and out of love with our shoes, calling us fashion victims. “You should wear what makes you good!” they exclaim. “If it’s a choice between fashion and comfort, I’d rather go with the latter!” they declare. “But what if a gold pointy pump with a height of 4 ½ inches makes me feel good?” I reply.

They may as well call us the battered wives, married to that masochist called style.

Is there any way to save this marriage? Yes! While we may often feel like our shoes wear us instead of us wearing it, it’s possible to find a middle ground where both heels and heels-owner can be happy. Nowadays, there are a myriad of products that make shoes easier to bare. I’d also like to note that even those relatives of heels (ballet flats, thong sandals) can also be a pain sometimes. But with a few helpful gel inserts, padded foam insoles and even the occasional stretching process done by a professional shoe repair service, we can wear our heels and enjoy it too. I’ve also learned to choose my footwear based on what I’ll be doing for the day or sometimes I bring an extra pair of flats that will still go well coordinated with my outfit. On some days, I even slip my feet into a comfy pair of Chuck Taylors—it adds playful irony amidst my collection of dressy footwear.

While I think that shoe-induced pain is not about to go away (especially with every brand-new, un-broken shoe), in this blog, it is my goal to share experiences on how fashion shouldn’t be entirely about suffering and taking charge of your wardrobe is just one simple way of empowering your style persona because no matter what you say, the way we look will always have an impact on how we are perceived by other people.

And when all else fails and your double strapped mary janes still manages to hurt you, it won’t hurt to detach yourself from them and go barefoot even for a while.