A Fond Farewell to Heels
My shoe obsession must have come from my mother who lined up her huge collection of dazzling high heels around the walls of her bedroom just so she could look at them. There was glitter galore with rhinestones and sequins and bows and furbelows. It took me hours to take a complete tour when I was just a tween – even trying on a few for size.
We all know that high heels are not good for the feet or bones. They shift your weight forward putting huge pressure and stress on the ball of the foot and toes so the ankle gets no support and can twist. If you’re wearing pointed-toe heels, your toes will be crushed and painful.
But they make your legs look thin and long! Yes, they do. Beauty at all costs, right? Maybe when you’re twenty. But now?
Sadly, I haven’t worn high heels without straps or platforms for years now. It happens to the best of us. Every time I try to put on a pair of my fabulous heels, I totter and teeter around, my toes and bunions scream out in agony, and my ankle turns. As a result, I’ve spent many waking moments in search of stylish pumps that I can wear in comfort. If you’re like me, here’s what to look for: sturdy block heels with shock-absorbing soles and a strong shank with arch support. Trust me, they’re out there and affordable.
And necessary. Now that I (and eight million other American women of a certain age) have osteoporosis, shoes with any high heels are not a good idea. If you have a high risk of fracture from falling, they are verboten. I take heart in the fact that I now live in a world where generations of younger women don’t even wear heels at all anymore – especially maybe as part of their wedding ensemble. Let the dancing begin!
But what do I do with all my gorgeous shoes, the pale pink slingbacks, the fuchsia heels with daisies on the platform? Each pair represents such wonderful memories of a more fashion-conscious time of elegance and fancy. Giving them up feels like I’m leaving part of me behind, the part that was young and went dancing in short skirts and stilettos to die for.
I am comforted only by the report in the Economist last December that announced that even French women, who live in the land of all that’s chic and fashionable, don’t wear high heels much anymore. They’re in heavy, rubber, grooved-sole boots, and shoes, and – can you believe it - sneakers. Quelle horreur!
Oh well, I tell myself, if those styles are good enough for the French, I guess they’re good enough for me.