Foot-Weary

I was in NYC yesterday meeting friends in the garment district.  It was a fabulous day filled with laughter, good food, and yes, some retail therapy as well.  I shipped my purchases home, and I will share as soon as the packages arrive.  Life is too short to spend a day dragging heavy bags of fabric around.

Especially when your feet hurt.

I thought I was being really practical.  It was raining so I wanted to wear some water-resistant or rain protective shoes.  I have several choices, but I chose the pair with the narrow, 2 inch, kitten heel.  This has long been one of my favorite pairs of rain boots, and it was, in fact the same pair that I wore last time I was in NYC walking around all day.

It was only when we decided to go to a movie to get out of the rain and rest, that I realized that "last time" was two years ago, and that I had been on my feet, on the pavement, and on hard floors, for 7 hours, with a brief, half-hour, lunch break in between.    Obviously my 49 year old feet, were more adept at this than my 51 year old feet seem to be.  

Although the movie did provide ample rest for me to be able to walk to dinner, and from dinner to the subway and my train home, my feet are protesting mightily today, and I have had to curtail my workout substantially in order to give same feet a rest.

I am not ready to give up heels, and given that I do not live a life where I am on my feet all day, I am not convinced that it is necessary.  But I do recognize that I need to find some comfortable walking shoes with thick soles and enough support to keep me comfortable for those days on my feet.  I don't believe it was the heel that was a problem here, in fact I know a 1 1/2" to 2" heel is often more comfortable on my back if I am standing around a great deal, which was the case yesterday.  But a narrow 2 inch heel on a shoe with a very thin sole, is not a good idea.  Thick cushioning soles, platforms or a wedge, and some support are increasingly more necessary.

I am coming to  realize that, although I do wear heels regularly, the structure and support of that heel is much more critical than it was when I was in my thirties or even forties. Some heels are comfortable for a day of getting in and out of a car and even walking a few blocks or the aisles of a grocery store or mall, and other shoes are painful after a few hours of being out and about.   It is time to put some more thought into the shoes I wear more, even as this means giving up a few cherished "beliefs" about what looks good.  After all our aesthetics are deeply shaped by what we see around us.

For all the 4 and 5 inch heels circulating in the market place, and all the young women who post their shoes on their blogs, or whom I see striving through town (or Grand Central Station) on narrow 4 inche heels,   I also see large numbers of attractive young women who chose and wear shoes that are stylish and comfortable without being treacherous.  Oh even they may wear a higher heel for a party but not everyday.    I should take a lesson from this.  

I need shoes for long days on my feet but these are rare.  Primarily but for the most part I need shoes I am comfortable in for a 4 to 6 hour stretch of driving walking, lifting, turning, standing, and doing whatever needs to be done.  Sometimes that may be a heel, sometimes it may not.    Shoes are irrelevant when I am home as I am mostly barefoot and have been since I was old enough to have my own place, a place where no one could make me wear shoes.  No amount of warnings about the dangers of running barefoot can dissuade me from the pleasure of slipping my shoes off when I walk through the door and running through the house with bare toes.

Bare feet are strong feet.  I think strong women need to be able to stand and walk with their feet firmly planted on the ground, even if their heads may be in the clouds. 

Comments

[Grace]

I've been wearing granny shoes all my life. Fortunately, Doc Martens and Keds were in fashion in my teens.

I am appalled at the heel heights in the stores and on women's feet right now. It was proven over 20 years ago that heel heights over 2.5" do permanent damage to women's knees and hips. Yet, one of the women's magazines made light of this (with an accompanying photo of 8" heels) and advocated doing exercises so that one can wear extra high heels.

I have systemic arthritis. I take very good care of my joints. I keep my weight down, exercise nearly every day, and always wear low, stable shoes.

Yet, my orthopedicist's office is full of women getting knee and hip surgery because of their shoe choices and/or obesity. (That's what the orthopedicist told me.)

As we debate universal health care, I think more attention should be paid to behaviors that damage one's health. We seem to be in agreement that smokers should pay more. We are debating a tax on unhealthy food. Why isn't a Jimmy Choo tax on the table?

[materfamilias]

Bravo! I'm currently icing a sore heel/ankle and trying to decide whether to blame it on over-training (I've been increasing my running mileage) or on the heels I've been wearing more now that school's back -- how foolish that I try to find ways to avoid giving up the heels even when I see that they jeopardize my activities!

[Gina]

As much as I love heels, I cannot wear them for an entire day of city walking. However, flats don't seem to be the answer either with the PF. The best option does seem to be a 2" heel from a company such as Clarks, Sofft, etc.

[K-Line]

I'm not even 40 and I can't do those thin soled kitten heels very happily. The skinny heel means there isn't much over which to diffuse the weight! And aren't you so lucky to have gone to NYC! I can only imagine what a fantastic day of shopping you had. Show us your new loot!

[Shannon]

Over the last year or so, I have found that my feet are less and less forgiving of cheap, non-supportive, poorly padded shoes. I still have my 4' stilettos, but those are reserved for "sitting around" days. On the days when I have to be standing, walking and chasing students around the school, I stick to my Clarks and Naots. Life is too short to have sore feet!