HIGH HEELS - A FEAT OF ENGINEERING AND DESIGN

High Heeled Shoes:  Thought to have been invented in response to the problem of horse riders feet slipping forward in the stirrups when wearing flat shoes.

 My personal relationship with high heeled shoes is probably a lot like yours.  On one hand I love that they make me taller, Braxton (like most all men) thinks they are sexy, the do make ones bum look better and legs look longer....buuuut, they are are so friggen uncomfortable, they make me walk slower and feel slightly off balance.  
Have I ever mentioned that I'm just a smidge under 5ft tall?  I should be living in high heels!  Sleeping in them!  Showering in them!  But for me, super high heels are definitely a special occasion shoe.

For clarification, let's define heel heights.

• A kitten heel (which is where I'm comfortable) is 1.5 inches.
• A low heel is between 1.5 and 2.5 inches.
• A  mid heel is 2.5 to 3.5 inches
• A high heel is over 3.5 inches 

 Christian Louboutin explains the engineering behind the high heel:
"The heel is engineering in itself.  This little thing that supports the human weight has to have a precise balance.  If the metal points which are inserted into the heel for balance are not exactly inside the center of gravity position, inside the gravity line, the weight would make you flip out behind, or the weight would make you break the heel and fall forwards."


I'm just going to trust Mr. Louboutin on this one...I think it's safe to say that with shoes, especially ones with high heels, it's advisable to get the best made shoe one can afford.  Not only do well made shoes last longer and look nicer, they are "engineered" to be more comfortable and therefore safer to wear.

 42% of women say they will wear a painful shoe if it is pretty enough.

 Podiatrists have longed warned against wearing shoes with extreme heels, due to...

• foot pain
• increase sprains and fractures
• hammertoes and bunions
• shorter stride
• knee-joint damage

 Some advantages of wearing high heels are...

• better posture
• they make one taller
• make ones legs appear longer
• make ones foot appear smaller
• they help you reach the really good cookies which are always on the top shelf at the grocery store.

 "  Not diamonds but heels are a girls best friend"  William Rossi

 "I don't know who invented high heels, but all men owe him alot"  Marilyn Monroe

 "Nothing has been invented yet that will do a better job than high heels at making a good pair of legs look great, or a great ones look fabulous"  Stuart Weitzman

 "You put on high heels and you change"  Monolo Blahnik

I swear these are actually shoes...designed by architect  Julian Hakes.  Just to show you how much engineering goes into the designing of shoes, Mr. Hakes said "for me it wasn't much different from designing a bridge."

This captures how I feel whenever I wear super high heels.

Have a beautiful day.
yancey