Before…and After

This is me at the start of the day….

This is me at the end of the same day….

Though both are Skechers brand shoes, do you notice the difference?

Earlier today, I was watching a taped episode of the Marilyn Denis show (a Canadian talk show).  It was one of her Fashion Friday programs, in which makeovers are often one of the highlights.  I always like to see the before and after shots.  Some turn out fantastic and others make me question what the designer/stylist had in mind, not that I am a fashionista of any kind, nor do I mean anything ill toward the ladies who are brave enough to undergo such a public transformation.  Instead, I am speaking about the hair/clothing/shoe styles that are chosen for their final reveal.  On today’s show, I noticed that one of the ladies in particular was given a three-inch pair of heels with a super tight ankle band.  Yikes!  Fashionable?  Maybe.  Wearable?  I am not sure.  Comfortable?  Not even close!  Poor lady!!  Just in posing for the camera, she seemed pained and I swear I was having sympathetic foot spasms as a result.  Why, oh why do we women go through the pure torture that heels elicit?!  (And, if you disagree in that you love them and wear them faithfully regardless of your age, you are my hero!)  For the rest of us, however, we all know why we endure such hardship–it’s to look cute/sexy/hip, of course, but is it really worth it?  Here’s how my answer to that question has gone over the past three decades, and maybe you can help to fill in the blanks with respect to the others:

In my 20’s, my answer was, ‘Yes!  Without question.’  Though truthfully I never mastered anything more than a couple of inches and as for spikes?!  NOT on your life–too Savage for me!

In my 30’s, my answer was, ‘It depends on the occasion.’  And that type of occasion didn’t come up very often.

In my 40’s, my answer is, ‘If I must, but I’m bringing my back-up pair.’  Sometimes, my back-up pair comes out within minutes of kicking off the first unmanageable pair.  My husband is not even sure why I bother in the first place, though he already knows my steadfast answer, “But they match my outfit, and they look cute!”.

As someone who spends 90% of her working day on her feet, with bunions to boot, I just cannot brave the front of heels anymore, though sometimes I still try.  What can I say?  I do like the cutesy shoes, they just don’t like me.  Not anymore, anyway.  And, here’s what I have learned about ‘cute’ shoes over the years.  They do your feet no favours, especially over time.  Take it from one who knows.  If I knew back when what I know now, I would NOT have squeezed my extra wide feet into the narrow, cheap shoes that I did, let alone sport heels of sorts all day long.  Kudos to those who can!  I’m paying for my choices from younger years in that my feet are always tired and sore by the day’s end, no matter how much I spend and how ‘comfortable’ the brand is purported to be.  My husband says I should just give in, wave my white flag and go with runners, but the problem is that my purple New Brooks don’t match a single thing!

So, what’s the point to all of this Ladies and Gents, who love their ladies?

“While heels are neat, love your feet.  Treat them right, don’t settle for tight!”

Advertisement