High Heels

I wore them for a short time in high school and I can't/won't wear them anymore.
People think foot binding was barbaric but women wear these shoes voluntarily and the damage to the feet is not trivial, pretty or sexy.

I have friends who go gaga over shoes so high they are practically walking on stilts.
I nod and smile at their choices - then do the same thing when the complaints about pain start up - and I refrain from saying that their pain is self inflicted so quit whining about it.

Some women are willing to suffer for fashion - I'm not.
Birkenstocks all the way for me!
My feet are pain free and gorgeous!

They make cute flats too. lol I have never worn heels. I'm 5'11 and already tower over everyone. I do recall when I was in my 20's there was a really cute wedge I could wear to a dance I went to every month. Back then they were popular and put me at about 6'4. But I have never worn them at any other time. I guess I can look cute from the ankles up. =0)

I can wear them for short periods of time, but all day? Not if I want to be able to walk the next day.

She will not be happy about wearing them all of her adult life once she is older.

My first job in my teens was in a woman's shoe store and I was shocked by the damage they caused women's feet from wearing high heels all their lives (the older women). No one thinks about it when they are young.

I am sure woman with flat feet wear them and I am sure they also have aching feet, legs, etc., they just wont say anything.

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/27/study_wearing_high_heels_...

I normally wear a minimum of 4 inches, and I wear them constantly.

I never used to - they always hurt the balls of my feet. And then I discovered a nifty little product called Insolia - which is an insert that shifts your weight to your heels instead of putting pressure on your toes.
It's a miracle little thing in all of my shoes now.

I've got flat feet. I can wear heels all day. But it takes some getting used to. I used to wear heels 6 or so days a weeks from 7am -9pm, and commute in them too.

Would you believe, when I was in the habit of wearing heels, my feet would hurt after an afternoon in flats?

Best,
F. B.

If I wear them, my lower back hurts. I will wear them for special occasions - a formal evening out - but that's literally maybe 3 times a year. Otherwise, no, I never wear them. And, I have high arches so it doesn't have anything to do with that.

Plus, they are not good for your feet and joints anyway, so why suffer through it.

I can only wear a high heel if it's in wedge form. Then I can wear them all day.

I have average arches.

There's something about the support in a wedge - I feel very secure and can wear super high ones.

I lived in high heals. Pregnant? high heals. Grocery shopping? high heals. Until the day that my body said- no more high heals. I cannot wear them anymore. I have come to realize in my research and journey with chronic knee and hip pain, that high heals probably caused me body alignment problems that affected me far beyond mere foot pain. Your co worker is an idiot. Don't debate it with her. But know that its true that heels wreck havoc on body alignment resulting in all kinds of pain and disfunction.

http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/teetering-on-the-brin...

Had I read the article above while being a high heal lover, I would have said "bahh humbug! poo poo and piddle piddle". But now with a chronic knee injury, pelvic floor problems, and a host of other ailments all attributable to poor alignment, I realize that I did myself a great deal of damage wearing heals all the time. Your coworker may or may not notice the damage she has done until she is much older. It is mostly woman getting knee and hip replacements, and this is linked to positive healed shoes (not just high heals, but positive rise in the heals over .5", so even men's dress shoes). Turns out that looking tall and sexy comes at a price. Your friend will probably not accept that information because the need to feel attractive will cause her not to take it to heart. So again, don't even bother debating. You know that your body has said no to heals. Listen to your body, not your coworker.
(FYI, I have a high, yet collapsing arch. )

I have flat feet and wear heels, but I prefer short heels or flats, personally. I can't wear really tall heels because I don't like my toes to be squished. I would go somewhere and try on a bunch of shoes and see what you like. I personally don't like to wear heels all the time, and usually only wear them for the office or church or special events.

When I was a kid, a woman we knew wore stilettos all the time. Found out later that she suffered from problems with a short Achilles tendon due to the constant wearing, and a ton of toe problems. It's one reason I give my feet a break when I don't really need to be dressed up.

she's a twit.
i LOVE high heels but can no longer wear them in any form. my knees are in serious peril if i try, and it's just not worth it.
khairete
S.

Yes, I wear heels once in a while.

But really, what's with a co-worker that debates with you that you can wear heels when you say you can't?

I don't think she would "wear" well with me.

I used to wear heels. But it depends on the shoe. I have had some incredibly painful heels and some really comfy ones. I have not been able to wear them since I was in an accident and my feet have swollen. I miss them. I do know some women with flat feet that wear heels all day.

I do not wear pointy shoes. My feet are not pointy so why should I buy shoes that are. I look for rounded toes when I buy them and they seem to be the most comfortable.

Wearing 4 inch heels sounds like torture. I can't imagine tiptoeing around all day. For me it's 2" max, and even then I barely ever wear heels.

I guess I'm just kind of butch.

You can do exercises to strengthen ankles. Start out by going up and down on toes, feet pointing straight ahead, next point toes in toward each other go up and down, next point toes out go up and down, do 10 times each way. If you do this once a day your ankles will strengthen up, if you do this 2-3 times a day you will strengthen faster.
You can start wearing a kitten heel and go up from there. When wearing heels you also stress knees and hips, if the muscles supporting knees and hips are weak, you will need do strengthening exercises for those joints also.
When shoe shopping make sure the arch of your foot is supported and the heel fits snugly. I have high arches and narrow heels on my feet. I have an easier time finding heels that fit than flats. I love but can't wear ballet flats, I walk right out of them. Pumps don't fit but sling backs do.

I love heels, good heels! I wear them all the time for work and love the look even if I start off barefoot as the tallest women there. If I'm going to be driving three hours to an appointment I switch to sandals in the car during the commute so I don't scuff them.

It has nothing to do with flat feet but strong ankles. I am a dance teacher and it is the same for pointe shoes. We don't start girls on pointe until the ankles are stronger (usually after several years of ballet) and then it is a process. We don't put them in pointe shoes for hours until they are older and stronger. If you want to wear heels start off small and work your way up. Wear them for short intervals at a time until your ankles are stronger. And you can even do strength exercises to help. I hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless.

I can't wear heels to work due to the dress code. And I won't wear them to the mall or grocery shopping unless it's a wedge, so that leaves church and social outings. I have some heels that are my "dancing" heels which are more comfortable to wear and then I have some that are not so comfortable and I wear those when I know I'll be sitting a lot...church, dinner. BTW, my cousin has flat feet and she hardly wears anything but heels and I mean the 5 inches and up.

Wear shorter heels for a while and do exercises to strengthen your ankles. I love wearing heels and don't have any problems with it when my weight is down.

I wish I could wear them. I am shorter than you! They make my feet, my ankles, and my knees ache. I tend to wobble in them too. I have high arches so I don't know exactly what the issue is, but honestly, I doubt that anyone is fins them comfy!

I have flat feet. I used to wear high heels all the time, but they do hurt my feet so I quit.

The highest I wear is a 3" heel and I backpack them into work and change shoes before hitting the door.

I am flat footed but can still wear heels.

But...I have gone for comfort and wear flip flops and sandals in as many social situations as I can get away with.

I have flat feet and another structural issue with my feet. I can wear heels but they hurt like child birth (minor exaggeration). My shoe size is neither a 8 1/2 nor a 9 which adds to the angst. I have some really sexy heels but can only wear them to tip and sit in. I can only tip around for perhaps 5-7 steps before the pain begins to kick in. Heeled sandals seem to not be painful and wedged heels are glorious for ease of walking.

The most painful for me are the peep toe pumps.

So, I'm 6'1 and avoid heels because I'm already tall enough. Plus my ankles suck. I actually broke my left ankle in January because I was taking the trash out and apparently didn't like that step to get out of my house. So flats and sneakers are my best friends. My husband is 6'3, but I feel like he is getting shorter - lol! So I don't enjoy being much taller than him.

When I do wear even the smallest heel, say an inch, I will notice pain in my legs. I never wear them, so they hurt me. Not everyone can wear them and honestly they aren't good for you. So she can wear them all day long, but she'll get the pain later on in life.

I wear heels every day for work. I need to look the part, and heels look great under the long pants I wear. I have high arches, and there is no pain. I walk all over the place in them.

When I lived in NYC and walked a million miles a day, my ankles were very strong and I could wear high heels easily for as long as I wanted. I didn't always wear them, but I often did. If I did wear them to work (Including subway stairs to and from and walking many blocks) my feet would be tired at the end of the day. There are tricks to the posture and of course you pad the shoes. Now that I live in a car-centric location, I'm a few pounds heavier, and my ankles are weaker from walking much less, my "feet" get tired in them much faster and I rarely wear them.