I actually stopped wearing heels (except for special dressy type occasions) years ago because I have had joint deterioration issues and, in general, it pains me severely to wear anything over about an inch.

But every day I see girls around campus wearing some of the most ridiculously high heeled shoes or boots ever, all day, every day, in any kind of weather, even dangerously icy (which I am sure I would kill myself doing)... it astounds me, and my favorites are the ones who pair really high heels with massively overstuffed backpacks, so they end up hunched way far forward under the weight of their books, looking like some sort of odd pack animal on stilts... I wonder some times what they think they are doing, and if they realize what is going on physiologically as a result.

I am tempted to begin posting this diagram in the ladies rooms around campus... if anything, it should be required reading at some point in a young girls education. That, or all grandmothers should show their granddaughters their bunioned and hammer-toed feet... mine certainly has- she wore 3 inch heels every day to work as a corporate secretary throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s, she felt she had to be able to stand up to the men in her office... so I guess that is why a lot of professional women do that sort of thing. But damn! there is no way I want to have feet like Grandma's when I am 90! They are scary!!!

But anyway, I just thought that diagram was neat and informative in a disturbing sort of way.

*quality but I'll have to wait for an empowered person to do it properly for me.

Invocations (quality) cannot be called by Thylan because Thylan is not privileged - sorry.

I quit wearing them too. I have one pair with 2 inches, but I HATE them. Back in my school days the dress code was well...dresses, so I wore 3 inches every day. Then once I went to secular University.. I happily took a grunge vacation.. (very early 90s)
So when I took a job where I had to dress professionally, it was murder wearing heels again. I opted for sensible shoes from then on out.

I'll only wear heels if it's dressy and it's going to be less than 3 hours of wearing them.

Yes exactly, duration of time and distance to be traveled are key factors in the decision to wear heels. But some of these girls, I see them every day, trucking all over campus heavily laden down with books and gigantic purses (and they don't look attractive at all when they're all slouched forward under their burdens- kinda ruins the whole effect that heels are supposed to provide in the first place)... I just don't understand why!

Do you think this applies to any type shoe with a higher heel? Like hiking boots or something?

I've always had a problem in my ankles with boots, I thought it's just due to my wide ass foot.

Oh and now I have to throw away all my dress shoes You suck!

I never wear heels. They're just plain uncomfortable and impractical. You can have perfectly professional women's shoes that don't have heels. I don't even find them that attractive on women in normal scenarios. Only circumstance I'd wear/want a partner to wear heels would be strappy stilettos in the bedroom. =X

It might snipe... I'm sure even the low heels in men's shoes would encourage a similar type of displacement that would be painful over time... although I doubt it would be as extreme as those heels seldom excede half an inch or so. As for your hiking boots, it might be the heels... what kind are they? There are so many styles and brands of hiking boot these days I'm sure you could find some that fit and are comfortable, and part of it might indeed be due to your wide feet.

@Kuga, yes, agreed, sexy, extremely high stilettos are utterly delicious, but really only practical when you're not planning on actually walking around much on them

You see, I am actually a huge fan of shoes, because I think feet by themselves are kind of ugly, but put on a pair of well designed heels and damn! What a change! I am so impressed by their design in this respect... I would totally go all Imelda Marcos if I could afford to. I used to have all sorts of really high, really sexy shoes (particularly black boots), but then suddenly, as a result of larger health concerns a few years back, I could no longer wear most of them anymore! Its been terribly hard to cope with this sometimes (especially in shoe stores when I happen to have an extra bit of cash burning its way through my pockets)... but, seeing information like this, I guess I'm not really missing out... but its still sad, I had so many fun shoes!

Toe-shoes are the worst enemy of a female's foot-like smoking a pack a day and ignoring the damage, I have seen bunions the size of walnuts, and heard tomes from the book of woe is my feet, from many a dancer, professional, AND, adults whose parents sent them to Dolly Dinkle's Toe-shoe Torture center, after school.

Best thing you can do for your foot, is get a shoe made for YOUR FOOT! Otherwise, keep it flexible, and uncovered as much as possible.....go barefoot, and get some callous......treat yer feet to soothing soaks, and a variety of surfaces....millions of nerves meet up in yer feet, and affect numerous systems in the entire body-regular stimulation by way of massage is the best....

For foot massage call choggie
281-794-1511

Massage is good. You do house calls?

Raven, I was wearing Altama's 12 Wides, they're military boots and stick up about 1/2 an inch. The problem isn't in my toes but in my ankles wear they just hurt all the time after a long walk. Normally I'd be wearing 13Ws but these military boots seem undersized.

My hiking boots are 13s, no wide size available but the same problem, I may need to switch brands but it seems like I've been through sooo many that it's a universal issue.

@snipe Yeah, I would look into something with less of a heel. I wear Asolo hiking boots (pretty pricey when I bought em, but that was 8 years ago and they're still in really good condition, so they have been worth it), and there is very little heel, not even 1/2 inch.

The ankle problem is interesting though, because I have had it before with military style boots (because they seem to always come up well past the ankle, to the calf, or in the case of a pair I was particularly fond of, all the way to the knee), and the issue always seemed to me to be part of the breaking in process because after wearing them for a month or more, and the leather got more flexible with wear, the problem seemed to dissipate and finally vanish altogether. However, memory of this period of discomfort is kind of why I haven't bought myself another pair, I decided the pain wasn't worth the gain.

Yeah I have the tall 12 inch or so boots from EMS that you had to tuck your pants into. The problem that sucked was that even after they were broken in you need to keep them tight and maybe that's why I'm hurting. Mine are totally flexible but I think it has to do with the lacing. At first I could have sworn it's b/c my foot was wide, but that's a wide style boot, so my conclusion is the laces. It's funny how just a 1/2 inch can make a huge difference. My hat is off to you women pulling off this crazy 6 inch heel stuff.

Snipe -

As far as hiking boots go, I have yet to meet someone that hasn't fallen in love with target="_blank">these. And LL Bean has the best return policy in the world, so if you decide several years down the road that they don't give you the support you're looking for, or don't give you enough ankle support, Beans will take 'em back. They're a bit spendy, but worth every penny. Or so i've been told.

Snipe-The most comfortable boot I have ever worn, is a cowboy boot. When you get into the $300-$600 range of a good Lucchese or Tony Lama, you have to try one on to really know the sensation....

Those craptacular military boots, I don't care which ones you try, are cheaply made, esp. issue-type boots-all i have worn hurt my feet-

You have to spend a little coin-Not even a dress boot, I have a pair of steel-toed cheapy Justin boots, bout $130, heavy, but comfy for all day wear....

But NOTHING, has ever come close to a high end Cowboy boot....you think $500 bucks is a lot for a pair of boots, but you are talking something that will last you 25 years, and still look fabulous.....you can re-sole them if ya have to....

Stingray, ostrich, these materials are durable and fashionable, and work for all occasions.....

Stingray, ostrich, these materials are durable and fashionable...

...by Texas standards, anyway.

Yes, the military issue boots are the worst... every vet I have known over throughout my life (WW2, Vietnam, and both the Gulf Wars) has some similar story about how a new pair takes something like a month of agony to break in, and after that they fit but you can't tell if its because the shoe has changed or because your feet have conformed to the shoe, and either way you guard your boots with your life because you don't want to go through breaking in another pair if you can help it. And I have to say, this has been my experience as well, and why I probably will never buy another pair... that 'look' just isn't as important to me anymore as are comfortable shoes.

PS. choggie... I you must find me picks of stingray skin boots!