Posted on 05/02/2006 10:11:26 AM PDT by randita
Posted on Tue, May. 02, 2006
For women's feet, bliss is turning to blisters
After being coddled by winter footwear, they now must suffer the indignities of warm-weather shoes.
By Tanya Barrientos Inquirer Staff Writer
Look down. There's a raw human drama taking place right now at shoe level. The annual sacrifice of women's feet.
Protected by socks and tights all winter long, coddled by boots and sneakers, the feet of females everywhere have turned tender and weak.
Each toe, each heel, each insole has become a pillow of soft pink. So vulnerable. So defenseless. And so unprepared for the cruel footwear of summer.
Slingbacks that dig.
Sandals that chafe.
Mile-high heels that rub, rub, rub.
"Oh yeah, every year, they get you right here," says 29-year-old Natalie Alesi, pointing to the corner where her strappy slide-ons touch the joint of her big toe.
Eating lunch on a sunshine-filled afternoon at JFK Plaza in Center City, Alesi says she's already suffered her first blister of the season.
"I expected it," she says.
Sores, bumps, blisters - they've become an annual rite of passage to which women have grown so accustomed they don't even complain. They simply make do, armed with bandages in their handbags, bunion cushions in their desk drawers, and blister wraps at the ready.
"I could say the best way to avoid all that would be to not wear strappy sandals," says Josephine T. DePalma, a podiatrist with a practice in Roxborough. "But I'm a woman, and I know they're going to wear them anyway."
Some women give their feet a one- or two-day break after subjecting them to new-shoe abuse, which DePalma says is good.
Others will try to doctor their shoes themselves, wrapping the most torturous areas with adhesive tape or masking tape, and cramming cushy gel inserts into particularly punishing toes and heels.
But for the most part, fashionistas just suck it up.
"It's amazing how much pain and denial women put up with," DePalma says. "Four-inch-heels with straps and pointy toes? They say, 'Oh, these are so comfortable.' Yeah, right."
Lounging on a blanket on the grass at Rittenhouse Square is 17-year-old Ariana Orvell, a junior at Masterman High School, with five of her friends.
They all have experienced the first wounds of spring.
"This one is from last week," Orvell says, displaying a nickel-size blister on the ball of her right foot. "They were wedge, strappy sandals. I wore them all day, and then I walked to Suburban Station in them."
Collectively, her friends wince.
Then, Megan Holland takes her turn. She shows the bandage currently stuck to her heel, plus the bright red spot on her left insole, and an open sore on the back side of her right ankle.
"That one," she says, pointing to the freshest abrasion, "I got last Friday, from these shoes." She lifts a pair of white flats with a strap that crisscrosses the back of the ankle.
Sure, she's still wearing them, she says. Why not?
According to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), sandals, flip-flops, flats and platform heels will cause hundreds of thousands of aches and pains this spring and summer.
Tendon strain. Irritation between the toes. Ankle sprains. Arch cramps. Heel tenderness. And more.
But even the APMA knows it's futile to tell women to stay away from the latest foot fashions. Instead, the organization simply recommends that they not walk long distances in painful shoes, that they search for sandals with lower, wider heels, and that they cushion their feet with inserts for shock absorption.
Whatever. Jessie Gluck, 17, rolls her eyes at the podiatric suggestions.
"You've got to just put up with it," she says. "You've got to do it to look cute."
DePalma is well aware that's the prevalent thinking out there.
"So my advice is for them to carry moleskin in their handbags," she says. "It's better than Band-Aids, a lot more protective, and you can cut it to any size you want."
In the meantime, women such as 27-year-old Jennifer Sloane of Old City say they'll be toughening up their feet for another summer season of daily abuse.
"I wore these for the first time today," she says, showing off her 3-inch-high espadrilles. "This was the test walk." From her office at Juniper and Market Streets to Liberty Place. Three blocks.
"I made it," she says with a triumphant smile. "But they aren't going to make it to the walk home, I know that.
"That's 13 blocks. Absolutely no way."
Contact staff writer Tanya Barrientos at 215-854-5728 or tbarrientos@phillynews.com.
What are you talking about? Women wearing shoes? What hogwash.. who'd believe such a thing... everyone knows they are to be kept barefoot and pregnant... not fret their pretty little heads about the worries of the world.
Well, now I do wear heels when I'm gettin fancied up. And whenever I'm driving or "out in public" (aside from the neighborhood and my desk), I wear shoes. I may not like the way they feel, but I do like not stepping in nastiness. And I do like "feeling pretty" occasionally. :)
Oh I didn't mean to imply that I don't wear shoes in public, haha.
Low heels for high holidays.
SD
you forgot the "ho-hum' alert
Comfiest. Sandals. Ever. http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7208277.html
I used to have it very bad in my left foot. I got a set of these and am now pain free.
Right. And they instantly add 30 years to your age. See you at the early bird cafeteria special.
Vanity, vanity ,vanity.......
I love heels and sandles. If you switch them around you'll be ok. Wear a pair that rubs the opposite way of the pair you wore yesterday. I can't imagine getting too old to love heels.
Best Antidote to Dr. Scholls Monstrosities = Merrill sandals.
I've had reconstructive foot surgery four times and have fallen in love with Merrill shoes. They keep me walking!
Flexiblefootwear.com. Most comfortable shoes on the planet.
They aren't cheap, but I have three pairs (one for the office, one for in the house, and one for going outside) and recommend them to anyone. I'm a vet and am on my feet all day. Before these shoes my feet ached very badly at the end of the day, especially after standing in one place for hours doing surgery. Now I have no discomfort, and actually don't want to take the Flexible Footwear shoes off, ever. I made my Mom buy a pair after hearing her complain about some major foot problems and she was quite happy with them and just bought a second pair. (And you can sit on them without discomfort!) Why anyone would wear a pair of shoes that hurt just because they're "cute" is insane.
Thanks for the link. ;-)
He just doesn't understand yet what a treasure he has in you.
Oh ok, that's good! :) I was a little worried there. :)
Hmm, when I go there, I see nothing....?? I actually don't mind cutesie shoes. Just don't ask me to wear them on a regular basis. And don't ask me to wear them in Seattle at all - the hills here are nasty.
Aww, you're sweet. Really we both kinda want to make some money for a while. Someday though!
When I visited my daughter in Ohio this past winter, I was shocked to see the college kids wearing flop flops!
Here I was, from sunny San Diego, California freezing in my jacket and scarf, the kids were oblivious to the cold.
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