I realize that, being a nudist, I’m probably the last person who should post about fashion. However, I’m also a writer, and my heroines most often need to wear clothes, at least some of the time, so I have a vested interest in the topic (no pun intended). Beyond that, I am just starting to see some really disturbing trends that are not only anti-feminine, but could also carry risks to foot health.
This week I'll focus on flipflops and high heels, and I'll say right up front that I'm not trying to offend anyone. I just have opinions about clothing, accessories, and styles I'd like to express in the hopes it will save someone some stress when she opens that closet door and faces The Big Decision (what do I wear?).
Over the last decade, I've noticed a disturbing trend in women's shoes. I have difficulty finding shoes I can wear due to an old injury, and I hate shoe shopping because of it. I also grew up with someone who had back problems and buying shoes was less about fashion than functionality and maintaining healthy feet and skeletal structure, so the current trend of 3-4 inch "fashion" heels is really rather disturbing when 1-2.5 inches will do if it's the right fit. I guess it's like men and their masculine parts, if you get my drift. The same goes for flat flipflops with no support. Wearing them a little is fine, but wearing them all the time doesn't seem like a good idea at all, for a number of reasons.
I don’t know which is worse—flipflops worn to weddings or 4-inch spike heels worn to funerals. Flipflops, no matter how you dress them up, are not semi-formal or formal attire. They're pretty much shower or beach or run around and have fun shoes. It's really hard to see a young woman in a lovely dressy dress with her feet adorned in $2 flipflops (or $50 flipflops that look like the $2 version), or to see someone come in for a job interview in the same attire. Even if you've got the greatest pair of flipflops in just the right shade of black to match your interview outfit, hold back on that urge to actually wear them. For semi-formal and formal occasions, try some pretty strappy sandals, ones comfortable enough to dance in just in case that special someone asks for a turn around the floor. For job interviews, try something with a closed toe. For the sake of your feet, try something with a little arch support. I have some Dr. Scholl's flipflops that are awesome in the support department and are pretty enough to wear almost anywhere (except semi-formal and formal events).
By the same token, three inch spike heels, no matter what you wear with them, really only look like you're trying to make your butt look good (because that's what high heels do). While that's not bad in and of itself, sending the message that you want your butt to look good while saying good-bye to the dearly departed may not win you any friends among the mourners. The women will not appreciate it, and although the men might, they certainly can't express said admiration with their wives sneering nearby. For me, 4-inch heels, especially if you don't know how to wear them, look out of place anywhere but a nightclub (and, I have to say it, a street corner). Most women I've seen in these are wobbling around or their heels are red and irritated or their toes are squished out, mostly because these shoes don't really fit anyone well. They're made for posing and looking sexy, not for actually standing or walking. The high heel can also exacerbate back, knee, and hip problems if you're not careful and can cause worse damage if you fall down in them, which I've seen.
Perhaps I'm just an unhip oldster, or just an unhip oldster dancer who worries about her tootsies too much, but it makes my feet ache and my fashion muse cringe when I see these sights, and I'm seeing them more and more. I have to dress, at least occasionally, my heroines, and so I try to stay up on the fashion thing so they won't look like unhip oldsters, too. Maybe I should just keep them all naked and barefoot. lol
What about you? Seeing any shoe trends that make you stop and think such things as, "Owww!" Please do share and have a great day!
2 comments:
I have often thought about the Chinese practice of literally crippling women to make their feet small. Are we so far off from that with these heels and platforms that make it extremelly difficult to walk? OK, we're not as bad, but we're closer than I'd like. And, no woman looks sexy limping around, regardless of how expensive her shoes were. Flip-flops used to be beachwear or poor-man shoes for a person who couldn't afford a real shoe. Yes, I have strong opinions on this subject, lol (having 3 dd's).
I like 3 inch heels! But only at parties. And I like flip-flops, too, but I don't like the ones that feel like I am walking on the ground.
Everyday wear are my leather 1-inch sandals, though, they are most comfy.
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