BEAUTIFUL SHOES FOR NARROW OR WIDE FEET

Try These On for Size
O, The Oprah Magazine  |  From the February 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

Shoes for All Sizes
"One size fits all" doesn't work when your feet aren't average, which is why shoes used to come in widths. "My dad owned a shoe store for 57 years," says Jeffrey Kalinsky, owner of Jeffrey New York, a megachic boutique in Manhattan's hip meatpacking district. "He sold everything from AAAA to B, and women bought shoes by width almost as much as by length." These days shoe sizes are usually a lot less specific, so you must be guided mostly by brand: Certain lines are better for broader feet, others for slim ones (and there are a few considerate makers that continue to produce shoes in a range of widths). Whatever your feet need, here's how to hit your stride

Narrow Feet
What to look for:

    * A well-fitting heel — too loose and you'll wobble (and risk a sprained ankle)
    * Straps, laces or ties, so that you can adjust the shoe for a closer fit if necessary
    * Leather rather than suede (the latter is too yielding to give adequate support)
    * Round toes, which make very long, thin feet look more in proportion

Wide Feet
What to look for:

    * Suede or soft calfskin that stretches where you need it
    * More covered styles — broad feet "spill" out of bare, low-cut shoes
    * Moderately pointy toes to add length (but beware shoes that narrow radically in front; they can trigger pinched nerves)
    * Shoes the same color as your skin, to make feet seem less prominent
    * Nonbinding design—feet bulge unattractively around straps

MY THOUGHTS

this is a case of accepting reality and learning to live with it. most often than not, when we try to 'go against the tide', we end up the losers.  so, next time you shop for beautiful shoes look for what's best for your feet size.

BEAUTIFUL SHOES FOR THIN ANKLES

BEAUTIFUL SHOES FOR THIN ANKLES

from "Shoe Selection 101"
Original Content  |  January 01, 2006

For those with thin ankles…

…will look like trees stuck in concrete in clumpy shoes such as Birkenstock clogs. Even a ballet flat will appear to swamp the foot, and large details, such as flowers, tend to overpower a thin ankle.

    * If you wear an open-backed shoe, it needs to be a thong sandal so the flow of your legs isn't broken.
    * Pointed toes finish off the ankle in a less jarring way than a round toe.
    * Any detail in the front of the shoe should be delicate.

If you have thin ankles…

…beware of hefty heels. They dominate the shoe, make your feet look enormous and exaggerate the skinniness of your ankles.

More elegant heels will allow the wearer to show off her ankles to the best advantage without the shoes detracting from them and drawing too much attention to your feet.

MY THOUGHTS

"shoes like trees stuck in concrete"!  what i way to put it.  it conjures a very, uh, unpalatable (?) image.  i don;t recall sewing anybody with thin ankles and chunky feet.  so, it's the beautiful shoes.  choose well, then.

Beautiful Shoes for THICK Ankles

SHOES FOR THICK ANKLES

from "Shoe Selection 101"
Original Content  |  January 01, 2006

For those with thick ankles…

…flat shoes with a thin toe make the ankle look even stumpier. A high ankle strap strangles the ankle, and a low kitten heal is in danger of looking like it's going to snap under your weight.

A more substantial shoe looks in proportion to a more substantial ankle:

    * A chunky loafer is a good choice.
    * A simple thong lends much-needed length to a thick ankle.
    * Clogs and mules are a thick ankle's best friend.

For those with thick ankles…

…slingbacks with kitten heels and mules with a thin heel will both look like you have squashed a large leg into a tiny shoe.

If you wear a pump, make sure the heel comes straight down from the base of the shoe, which will give your ankle some shape.

    * A slingback can look good with a high, sturdy heel.
    * A heavy heel on a wedge mule will make your ankles appear thinner.

MY THOUGHTS   

i don't like clogs.  but i like loafers and i tolerate thongs.  so, not a problem.

WHAT RAISING SHOES MEANS

WHAT RAISING SHOES MEAN

FROM Babylon & Beyond
February 11, 2011 |  3:48 pm


EGYPT: What it means when protesters wave shoes

When protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square heard President Hosni Mubarak's natioanl address, in which he refused to step down, many took off their shoes and waved them in the air.

"The message of the shoes is clear," British blogger k2p wrote.

But was it?

The moment was captured in photographs, including one on k2p's blog and another snapped by a prostester and uploaded to Twitpic, titled "The anticlimax."

Some of the best descriptions of the significance of shoe-waving came after another incident broadcast around the world in Dec. 2008 — when Iraqi journalist Muntather Zaidi threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

The Iraqi journalist was detained, and some supporters in Ankara, Turkey, later laid a black wreath with an imprint of a shoe at the gate of the U.S. Embassy in a show of solidarity.

At the time, the Inquirer explained:

"Facing the soles of your shoes toward anyone's face, striking them with your shoe soles, or throwing your shoes at them are considered to be grave insults in Arabic cultures. All Arabs regard streets and, by extension, shoe soles as unclean, and view being struck by shoe soles as a form of extreme disrespect."

MY THOUGHTS

now you know what to do, or what NOT to do, with your shoes when you're angry.

600 SHOES on EXHIBIT

600 SHOES on EXHIBIT

Yakima shoe show strolls through history

About 600 pairs of high heels from David Childs' collection will be on display at the Yakima Valley Museum for the rest of this year after an opening reception Friday.

By Pat Muir

Yakima Herald-Republic

David Childs saw something in the high heels stashed in his mother's closet, something most people would miss.

He saw how a shoe could transcend function, transcend fashion itself, into the realm of art. He saw the curve of the heel, and, where you or I might have seen the potential for bunions, he saw sculpture.

"It's just a fascination," Childs said, standing among hundreds of shoe boxes. "I can't really explain it any other way. They're pieces of art."

About 600 pairs of high heels from his collection will be on display at the Yakima Valley Museum for the rest of this year after an opening reception Friday. Childs has more than twice that number of shoes in his collection, an obsessive pursuit begun in 1968 and abetted by decades as a Nordstrom salesman that has only deepened his appreciation of fine women's footwear.

"I have paid $4 [hundred], $5 [hundred], $600, several times for something I thought I really should have," he says.

While the aesthetic appeal of high heels remains his primary motivation, Childs has found that, like any artistic medium, there are fascinating sociocultural aspects to footwear. The history of American society can, in some ways, be traced through his collection. The earliest pieces on display at the museum date to before World War I; they're high button boots, echoing the Victorian modesty of the late 19th century. To contrast those with high heels from the Roaring '20s is to acknowledge the broad cultural changes that took place over a decade's time.

"This was the first time feet and legs really showed," Childs says, picking up a pair of ornate Art Deco-influenced heels dating to the Jazz Age. "Shoes were important. Manufacturers went wild with color and new innovations."

High heels from the 1930s reflect the influence of Hollywood's early Golden Age. Heels from the 1940s show innovation, specifically the use of reptile skins and fabric as a replacement for war-rationed leather. The postwar high heels reflect postwar American society's move from rural to suburban, with open-toed shoes and spiked heels.

"Until the '60s, many women dressed like that just to go shopping at the grocery store," Childs says.

The '60s, of course, brought liberation — political, sexual, and artistic — all of which is reflected in its decadent high heels. And there was, blessedly to Childs' mind, still a bit of classic glamour to the Kennedy era. By the '70s, that love-generation excess got out of control in the footwear arena just like it did everywhere else.

"Shoes got real chunky in the '70s," Childs says. "The heels came down. I call it the chunky, ugly era."

The '80s marked a return to styles from the '50s, mirroring the nostalgia movement that brought us "Happy Days" and all those '50s-themed diners.

"Most shoe designers will tell you there's only so many things you can do with shoes, and then they repeat," Childs says.

In recent years, high-heel fashion has splintered and fragmented like so many other forms of pop culture. There is no one style that defines this era, and Childs collection acknowledges that.

His newer shoes are all different colors, shapes and materials. That diversity, says the museum's curator of exhibitions, Andy Granitto, is indicative of yet another societal trend, the modern willingness to stand out. It's not such a negative to be seen as eccentric or outside the norm anymore.

"For people who buy that shoe," he says pointing to a flamboyantly bejeweled heel, "it's important that it makes a statement. It defines them as a person."

And this is a guy, Granitto, who initially wasn't crazy about the idea of a high-heels exhibit. John Baule, the museum's director, was wary at first, too, Granitto says. But that changed after they went to see Childs' collection.

"John comes back and says, 'There's this guy with this collection of shoes,' and I was skeptical," Granitto says. "But I went and saw them and was just immediately like, 'This is going to be an incredible exhibit.' "

Like Childs himself, Granitto and Baule started to see something in those high heels. They saw history and they saw culture. And they saw art.

"At some basic level, no matter how people look at it, it's a side of culture, of humanity, of embellishment, of turning things into something," Granitto says. "They're works of art."

MY THOUGHTS

yakima valley is in central washington! so much for seeing the exhibit.  i was just curious.

SHOE SLASHER

Shoe slasher investigation

7:35am Thursday 27th January 2011

POLICE are investigating a bizarre incident in which an intruder targeted a family home and slashed ten pairs of shoes.

The shoes, which were on a rack inside the porch, were attacked with a knife before being thrown all over the floor.

A trailer in the garden of the house in Oatfield Gardens, Totton, also had its cover slashed.

PC Vicki Tomkins said: “This is a highly unusual crime. Police would like to hear from anyone who saw something suspicious or who may have information about who could be responsible.”

The incident occurred between 7pm last Sunday and 8am the next day.

Ring PC Tomkins at Totton police station on 101 or call Crimestoppers on

MY THOUGHTS

your guess is as good as mine. could be a prank? or a member of the family stepped on someone else's shoes?  whatever, i would hate to be the victim.  not my shoes, please.

Do Special Fitness Shoes Really Work?

Do Special Fitness Shoes Really Work?
Hilary Walke on Jun 4, 2009 at 1:16PM
www.ivillage.com

MBT's Anti-Shoe

MBT's The Anti-Shoe is supposed to improve fitness levels and overall health. Could it be true?

Claim: Improves posture; tones butt, lower limbs
Price: $239.99 to $247.00

Our Fitness Expert Says: In a study published in the Journal of Prevention and Rehabilitation, this shoe did have postural benefits. The good news is that if your back is achy and your posture could use a boost, these shoes can definitely help with standing tall. This will improve your appearance and prevent future back and joint problems.

Earth's Exer-Fit Sandal

These new summer sandals are apparently a comfier alternative to average flip-flops.

Claim: Strengthens, tones, activates core muscles; engages hamstring, quad and calf muscles
Price: $49

Our Fitness Expert Says: Unlike most sandals, these will provide you with great arch support and even a little extra incline in the sole to push your weight back over your heels. It’s a great way to engage the core muscles and improve posture.

Acupressure Sandals

Imported directly from China, these acupressure sandals are supposed to heal and massage your foot.

Claim: Revives vital organs; accelerates metabolism; improves blood circulation; reduces heart strain; helps you look and feel younger
Price: $35.95

Our Fitness Expert Says: Even though acupressure has been shown to help with a wide range of issues, from nausea to PMS, there is no evidence that this sandal will help you look and feel younger.

Z-Coil Footwear

With an actual spring attached to its heel, this shoe seems to be one of a kind—for sure.

Claim: Relieves foot, neck and back pain; reduces the shock of impact; improves mobility.
Price: $200 to $230

Our Fitness Expert Says: If you’re on your feet for most of the day, these shoes can help protect your joints from repetitive impact. However, unless that motivates you to move more, the extra cushioning won’t only be found on your shoes.

Skechers Shape-Ups

Skechers Shape-Ups resemble sneakers that you'd use to walk on the moon.

Claim: Improves posture, tightens abs, firms butt and calves; reduces cellulite and tones thighs
Price: $99 to $110

Our Fitness Expert Says: These sneakers have a similar concept to MBT’s, so if you’re looking for a little help with the slouch go for it. Just remember that wearing these shoes isn't your replacement for the gym.

MY THOUGHTS

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