How do they walk in high heels?
We went out shopping today. Saturday is the day we usually get the week’s groceries and run errands. So, in the course of doing that I happened to spot a nice looking young woman coming in from the parking lot as we were heading out. Leather jacket and large purse, nice turtle-neck sweater, jeans, and cute strappy heels at least 3 inches high maybe more.
I don’t wear heels. In fact, I trip over shadows, so heels would just add a level of danger that I’m not comfortable with. Even my dress shoes are flats. When I do get something a bit higher in the heel — well, we are talking maybe an inch and that’s without a separate heel just a wedge that lifts the heel higher than the toe of the shoe. My highest heels are on sneakers and that’s because the whole sole is so thick.
So, the upshot is that every time I see a woman in extreme high-heels, I just stand in awe that they can not only walk in them but maybe even talk on the phone carrying on a conversation at the same time. If it was me, I’d look like one of those comedy skits or that scene in Miss Congeniality where Sandra Bullock as the newly pressed and polished FBI officer comes out of the hanger looking like a million bucks and falls off her heels and lands on the ground. Later she has to hold onto things because her balance is all off — that would be me but not looking even close to the beauty of the actresses just managing the pratfalls.
A long time ago, I worked with a woman who wore heels all the time. She said her Achilles’ tendon had shortened and she couldn’t wear normal shoes. She had to have at least an 1 1/2 to 2 inches of heel or her feet hurt and she couldn’t function. Why do women do that to themselves. While I can admire the balance required to walk in them, I have to wonder why women wear them. They pinch the toes and make your feet hurt and yet women continue to wear high-high heels. Why? I’m stumped.
In fact, when women friends complain about their feet, I’ve been known to say, “Then why wear them. Get something pretty and comfortable.” The response is usually what you’d expect if you’d suddenly dropped sixty IQ points and grew a second head. Again, I’m at a loss. You see, I’ve never been a girly-girl. I always was a bit of a tomboy and boys got cooler toys. I actually preferred Lincoln Logs and chemistry sets to dolls and doll clothes. In college I was in a lot of science and technology classes … often the only woman in the class — so not being a fashion queen or even having someone to key me into the whole fashion thing, there’s a lot of things I just don’t get.
I’ll never wear high heels and don’t understand the women who do so when it causes them pain. But, I certainly have to stand in awe of their ability to balance and walk across broken gravel in shoes that see me making a quick trip to the emergency room for a broken ankle or leg.