It might seem a little more logical for women to slip off their heels to do some dancing, but the Wall Street Journal says a new fitness trend requires precisely the opposite. Called things like “heel hop” or “stiletto fitness,” the classes are offered in a handful of spots from LA to Vegas to Kansas City, but proponents expect them to be spreading quickly. The idea is to strengthen lower leg muscles—the ones needed to wear high heels without stumbling around. Read more…
A recent episode of the BBC’s “The Why Factor” explored the history of high heels. Of interest is the background of men wearing high heels, which they originally wore as a form of riding footwear.
“Good horsemanship was essential to the fighting styles of Persia – the historical name for modern-day Iran …When the soldier stood up in his stirrups, the heel helped him to secure his stance so that he could shoot his bow and arrow more effectively,” said Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
I’m so enjoying the visual of a man on horse in stilettos. From there, interest in Persian fashion spread to Western Europe where the high heel became a way for men to flaunt their status. The more impractical the footwear, the more privilege it displayed. The higher a man’s heel, the less distance he had to walk. After the jump, find out what put an end to men hobbling around in heels. Keep reading »
Maybe this is an odd thing to say, but I find comfort in the fact that any bizzaro idea you can dream up already has an accompanying paraphilia or SubReddit page. It makes me feel a little less alone in the world. A friend of mine told me about the wet and messy shoe fetish for people who get aroused watching women walking in water or mud while wearing high heels. I’m not here to judge, or even try to understand, just to report my findings. If you have some free time you’re looking to waste, WetHighHeels.com has plenty more footage where this treasure came from.
Last week I was wandering the aisles of Nordstrom Rack and found the cutest pair of blue suede Franco Sarto pumps (shown above). When I slipped them on, they fit my feet perfectly and felt shockingly comfortable thanks to a bit of padding in the sole and a relatively low heel, at least compared to the 5-inch monsters I always accidentally buy and then never wear. I thought I had finally hunted down my white whale: a pair of heels that were cute and comfortable, but then I wore them over the weekend, and after about an hour, I wanted to DIE. Seriously, my feet are still aching, and now I’m feeling hopeless about the existence of truly comfortable high heels. So let’s talk this out, shall we? I would love to hear about any brands you love, or random tips for making uncomfortable shoes more comfortable. Do my feet just need to get more accustomed (and by “accustomed” I mean numb) to wearing heels? Are you one of those people who wears high heels every day? How in God’s name do you do it?!
After the jump, check out other Frisky staffers’ picks for most and least comfortable heels, and please (pretty please) share your own in the comments! Keep reading »
Can’t walk in heels? We feel you, girl. Especially for a red carpet event so high-profile and fancy, you want to feel confident, beautiful, and traditional — especially if it’s your first time there. It’s no surprise that Lena Dunham went with the safe choice in terms of red-carpet footwear — a black, peep-toe Christian Louboutin pump with a bit of a platform and a heck of a heel. However, the mix of nerves, Moët, and an unwieldy skirt probably made a precarious situation even worse. Read more…
Ever since I saw my lifestyle role models Amelia McDonell-Parry and Celine Dion [I am honored to be in such esteemed company. -- Editor] rocking some fabulous pointy toe pumps, I’ve been dying for a pair of my own. I scoured the internet and found 10 pairs that are sexy, stylish, and less than $60, which is a great combo if you ask me. Click through to check ‘em out!
Fairest shmairest! Let’s get real about beauty and body image. Mirror, Mirror is a column running every other week on The Frisky. It is written by Brooklyn-based columnist, freelance writer, and bagel enthusiast, Kate Fridkis who also writes the blog Eat the Damn Cake. You can follow her on Twitter at @eatthedamncake.
I lead services at a synagogue, and I need to dress up for my job. Nothing over the top—just business-y, tailored clothes paired with nice shoes. For the longest time, my mom was my workwear fashion consultant, because none of my friends were working somewhere that required a suit, and she advised that I go with padded shoulders, long skirts, stockings, and thick, low heels. So I did, because I am oblivious. Then I moved to NYC, and I was like, “Oh! THIS is how people dress.” And I bought some pencil skirts and some legitimate heels. And then those heels wore out, and then, stay with me, because this is about to get really interesting: I went to DSW.
And I tried on heels.
And I began to ask some existential questions like, “How do women wear these things and not fall down the subway steps and kill themselves?” Keep reading »
Artist Leanie van der Vyver created these insanely high leather heels, aptly titled “Scary Beautiful,” to draw attention to the strange and intense ways humans alter themselves to achieve “perfection.” The front heel requires the wearer to lean forward onto their shins in order to stand and walk upright(ish). Extreme? Yes, but if you had no context at all for modern day beauty standards, would these seem any more ridiculous than a 6-inch studded Louboutin stiletto? Or a syringe full of Botulinum we use to voluntarily paralyze the muscles in our faces? Food for thought. Check out a scary, beautiful video of the shoes in action, after the jump… [Laughing Squid] Keep reading »
Nobody ever told us who designed Cinderella’s glass slipper, but if a contemporary version of the tale were to take place, Christian Louboutin would be a shoe-in for the job — so it’s only natural that Disney chose the French designer, known for his luxurious red-soled footwear, to create a modern-day take on the fateful shoe. Unveiled yesterday in Paris, the results are infinitely more practical than a heel constructed of, uh, glass: the shoe is actually made of a fine layer of lace and covered in a smattering of Swarovski crystals, including crystal butterflies. I totally would have preferred to see Louboutin create a pair of actual glass slippers, even if it meant they were unwearable. They would look just as pretty on display as they would on the foot of a future princess. Or, you know, a stripper named Princess. Or Shauna Sand. [Fashionista]
If you ever entertain the notion that modeling as a job must be a piece of cake kale, think again. We’ve seen so many models trip, stumble, and cry on the runway at this point, it’s practically old news, but every time it happens it’s impossible to look away. At yesterday’s Melbourne Fashion Festival, so many models removed their platform stilettos midway down the runway that it almost seemed like an organized revolution. I don’t know exactly how many girls participated, but it was apparently enough for Australian news sources to refer to the situation as a “silent protest” or a “runway revolt.” Seeing as this is the alternative, I give the models credit for knowing when enough is enough. The CEO of the festival, Graeme Lewsey, expressed his disappointment to the Sydney Morning Herald but he did confirm that “models know, if there’s the slightest problem, they have to remove their shoes for safety.” Indeed: one model told the newspaper that she removed the shoes in fear of “breaking an ankle or worse.” God, I’m so thankful I barely break five feet, but not at all. [Fashionista]
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