Skyscraper shoes. Six-Inch Spikes Are Painfully Hot Trend

Women Fall Head Over Heels for Shoe Makers' Arch Designs
Six-Inch Spikes Are Painfully Hot Trend; A Balancing Act That Makes Models CryBy TERI

Anne Betts was sassy and confident strolling down New York's Fifth Avenue in her strappy, 5-inch platform heels. Until, that is, she stepped off a curb and fell to the ground.

"I felt it immediately," says the New York ad-sales manager, referring to the pain that shot up from her just-sprained ankle. Although her doctor admonished her to give up the skyscraper shoes and imposed a 3-inch-heel maximum, Ms. Betts admits she can't resist the allure of tall shoes. "I love to dance in them," she says. While standing still, she notes, "they improve your posture."

Not so long ago, high heels were defined as 3 or 4 inches -- a footnote to give a little height and a more appealing silhouette to the wearer. But this fall, shoes have been supersized with the proliferation of 5-, 6- and even 7-inch heels and platforms. The über-heels range from $100 versions sold by Steve Madden to deluxe pairs costing between $600 and $1,500 from designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Marni, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin. They come in an array of shapes, including spiky stilettos, tapered cones, sloping wedges and thick wooden posts. Exaggerated platforms have thick, elevated soles, as well as high heels, making for a superhero, rather than a Barbie-doll, look.

"These are the highest heels that I've ever seen sold on a commercial level," notes Roseanne Morrison, fashion director for Doneger Group, a retail consultant for more than 200 stores. And they're selling. At Bergdorf Goodman, senior vice president Edwin Burstell says they represent "a large piece of the business this fall."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122394215518830965.html?mod=yhoofront

shoes are my speciality.

but even I think those are ridiculous :crazy:

:wtf:

I wear flats or pumps. And my beautiful arches thank me.

This one model actually fell on her ass right in front of Anna Wintour. One poor woman just gave up and turned around, went right backstage.

Yes, I laughed, I'm a horrible person. I also laugh when figure skaters fall (I used to be one, I have immunity!).

you've landed the triple ass-plant a time or two?
It's my husband's favorite; cracks him up every time. Especially back in the day when it was Tonya Harding doing the ass-planting.

:hi:

I was lucky if I got to the double ass plant. :rofl:

A 2x4 nail-gunned to your spine would also improve your posture, but you don't see people rushing out to... Hold on! They're not rushing out because it hasn't been offered yet! All right, none of you all better steal my new beauty treatment idea (at least not till I make a fortune)...

As a stripper, I know these things.

with the poses that are enforced by super-high heels ;)

My quibble was with calling those poses "good posture" rather than the more accurate 'painful and deforming posture that looks really hot.'

:hide:

But thanks for asking.

LOL.

(I've worn those shoes at work for years.)

...for women stupid enough to wear them. Of course, orthopedists love high heels, as they keep them in business.

:eyes:

Where do you find this shit?

Somewhere a gungeonite with a shoe fetish just died of happiness.

and came across this celebrity show that was spotlighting Madonna's shoes (and some alleged/potential affair with a baseball player).

you were watching E!, breathlessly anticipating any gossip or new fashion trends that might emerge, and you took notes.

that Avril Lavigne's marriage is on the rocks.

*rubs hands together*

:evilgrin:

:P

:P

I didn't really listen to what they were saying. I was fully focused on the shoes and just how damn good Madonna looks for, what, 50?

She is definitely in better shape than almost anyone I know.

I can run in them, too. LOL.

I fell down the stairs wearing Birkenstocks, tore all three ligaments in my ankle.... later retore two of them stepping out of bed.... I slipped on an icy curb while trying to be careful and dislocated a kneecap....

Oh, Hi all, name's Grace.

Tripped on a step and my ankle went over the shoe and snapped.

Next we'll see a revival of foot-binding. Does anyone - aside from those with way more money than brains - buy this shit?

they make me feel ill

I have way too many Birkenstocks. I probably need an intervention, but at least I don't need foot surgery.

My feet hurt just looking at it.

Would like to still be able to actually walk on my feet when I'm an old lady.

your feet will thank you

my dogs are barking, just from looking at that visual aid, there.

If aliens arrive, what will they make of this?

The aliens might well think we need to be put out of our misery.

seen in stores are more toned down versions of the runway stuff... yeah, there are defiantly some insanely high heels out there, but a lot of the styles I saw in mags and on runways is available in more manageable heel heights at the consumer level.

I admit, I actually find a little bit of a heel more comfortable than total flats but these?

Uh uh. I like to go out at night, but I'm not rich and don't drive so I have to do a fair amount of walking (and maybe running if someone started chasing me), so no. Extremes are ugly. STYLE is something totally different, and individual, and has nothing to do with what some random designer is decided to charge thousands for this week.

or, at the very least, alot of broken ankles.

Those are front-door-to-bedroom shoes. :evilgrin:

I want them!

And do just fine in them (but I routinely wear 4" heels to work, so I guess it's an acclimation thing). The ones in the OP scare me, though. :7

But the ones Skittles posted (that I have) are swoony. When I put them on the first time, *I* wanted to fuck me. :rofl:

Damn fine looking shoes, they are. And surprisingly, not hideous, painful killers (as I feared they'd be).

The modern equivalent of the old Chinese practice of foot-binding.

Why would anyone willingly subject themselves to wearing those? Why not just take a ballpene hammer to your feet and get it over with?

:puke:

I was watching an old rerun of "Streets of SF" where a woman who was suspected of murder was referred to as "a woman wearing flats" over and over again. In the end, she was innocent, and I was thinking there was some prejudice against women who wore sensible shoes. Yes, those spike pointy shoes are a form of foot binding.

British granny gives thieves a run for their money: reports

British youths who tried to snatch a grandmother's purse got the fright of their lives when she turned out to be a former cross-country champion and chased after them, according to report. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo Janet Lane, 68, was waiting for a friend on a park bench in Torquay, in the southwestern English county of Devon, when one of three young men grabbed her bag containing her pension payment in cash, the newspaper reports said on Wednesday.

"I think those boys saw a little old lady and thought I was easy pickings, but there was no way I was going to sit there and let them get away with it," she said.

"Without thinking I jumped up and ran after them as fast as I could. I was screaming at them too. I felt outraged."

She followed them to the grounds of a nearby hotel and caught one of them by the collar.

<snip>

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20081015/tod-british-granny-gives-thieves-a-run-f-6058bda.html


Hope I did this right and the link works. If not, forgive me - still new to posting here.

and welcome to DU :hi:

Somehow it conveys a sense of strength and healthy activity. These back-breakers don't do anything for me.

"Ya betcha!"

I've never been a high heel person-my mom bought me a pair of Candies once with a 4 inch heel, and I tripped and fell in the lobby of my high school.

I wore 3 inch Bandolino's occasionally in my 20s, but I have fallen too many times since then and banged up my knees. Anything but flats hurt.

What if you get that sucker caught in a crack..oh man major leg damage!

I will hate my younger self for doing that to my feet. What I do for fashion! :crazy:

I've been wearing 5 inch pumps and 6 inch platforms since 1994.
My feet are fine.
Seriously.

:7

is upturned big toes from ballet class.
Isn't that a trip?

I don't know why anyone would.

there are kinks and fetishes out there you never dreamed of in your philosophy

if you don't get it, nobody cares, just stay out of the way of those of us who do get it

if we listened to the naysayers we'd barefoot and pregnant all the time

the shoes have their place, although i don't think dancing is that place, more strolling in an elegant restaurant or casino for me -- in the bedroom as part of a fantasy is also fine

they certainly get attention, i got some 4 inch heels (they have a wide toe box, so they are actually comfortable) and i'm getting hit on like i'm 20 years younger and it isn't because anyone is looking at my face :-)

it's amazing how many foot/shoe fetishists, and not all of them male, are out there...

as in "F*ck Me".

Howard Dean was there and well I'm already 2inches taller than Dean AND I had an extra 4 inches from the shoes.

I still love em but not practical when you're already 5'10

We all want to be 5'10"!!

Speaking as someone who worked 13 years of 8 hour shifts in both 6 inch platforms and 5 inch pump heels/boots; those are actually better on your arch than the latter.