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Wednesday, April 01, 2009

To heel or not to heel...

What a question!

As many of you know, I can not properly walk in heels. Actually, according to my physiotherapist, I can not properly WALK. Period.

Anyhoo, over the years I have been in awe/lust/envy of high heels, purely because I can not wear them.

So I start getting a bit bitter around the subject. I get envious when I see all these women on Street Style Sites or even fashion blogger sites, because I wish I could wear such high things (and anyway, how on earth can women in New York walk around all day in 5 inches - do their feet not hurt?). Then I feel like chiming in with the feminists who harp on about how women shouldn't wear high heels because it's what men want us to do, etc etc (on that note, and I don't want to start a debate cuz I am not a feminist or remotely PC and thus will lose in most arguments these days, BUT I think it's more that women wear heels because other women expect them to...not men). Anyway, I feel like being like, "yeah, what's wrong with flats, fight the system!" but the fact is, I would wear heels if I could.

Wearing flats is something I have decided to make "my thing" and collect as many pretty ones as possible. Can a flat be sexy? I have yet to see one, but so far they are elegant and often cute and in my opinion that ain't too bad (and if it's not cute then it's rugged and that can be sexy too - though I'm speaking more about flat boots here. Like those Modern Vintage boots that may never reach me - sexy!)

Then today as I was cleaning out my closet (I had a sick day, not much else to do) I came across a pair of snakeskin espadrille wedges from GoJane.com that I had tossed to the back of the closet without much thought (probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was a snowy Feb when the sandals arrived). I stuck them on my feet, walked around a bit and realized that if I ignore the horrible scars on my ankles, the shoes aren't that bad. Why are they hidden in my closet? I mean, I can walk in them, the colour is neutral, the straps are...strappy and quite secure too.

But most of all, I LOOKED better. Suddenly my calves didn't seem stumpy (despite the ankle straps) and looked so lithe. My legs were LOOOONG too and all my body weight seem to spread out a little bit better. Plus I was 5'9" with them on and could reach into my highest cupboards for once.

The aforementioned wedges (Bamboo, at gojane) and a sneak peek at my new Missoni dress that came in the mail today - have two Missoni items now (both huge bargains), and am currently obsessed with acquiring more!



So this is why we wear heels, correct? To feel tall, slim, powerful?

Well it worked with me. That is - until - I had to go take the garbage out and had to cling on to the stairway railing for dear life, lest I take a wrong turn off these 4 inches and fall to my death, then step carefully against the sporadically paved parking lot to the dumpster.

Ahhh. Therin lies the rub! Though it made me feel powerful to stand in them, I felt powerless to walk in them.

I'll take the beauty and power with a grain of salt if it leaves me feeling vulnerable. The real power lies in my flats, when I know I can jump, skip, hop, run with all the confidence in the world.

That's not to say I'm not going to stagger by in heels on occasion (hello wedges, my best friend) but you get my drift.

(PS - I know a lot of people won't relate to this post because they can walk with assurance and ease in high heels and I admit I am jealous of that. You can't even give me any tips since this is just the body/legs/feet I have been dealt. Boo-urns.)

ANYHOO! As I had said before, I was cleaning out my closet and found a few pairs of shoes I am giving away. That's right GIVING away for one reason or another. All you need to pay is $20USD for shipping per item within North America (via Paypal) and they are yours! Just shoot me an email or leave me a comment :)

FREE SHOES! FREE SHOES!




Payless grey faux patent leather wedges. 2 1/2 inch heel, size 5 - true fit


Brand New - Steve Madden patent leather heels. Size 6 1/2. 10 inch insole.

Vintage from the 80's, red leather heels. One heel lift is missing. Size 51/2, could fit size 6, 9 and a bit inch insole.

Brand New, never worn: Bandolino patent reptile print leather heels. 2 inch high stiletto heel, size 5 and 1/2, would fit size 6 (insole: 10 in, 3 inch widest part).

Please take these shoes off my hands and free up some closet space and no, this is not an April Fool's Day joke - though I am curious to see if this post will even make it to the blogersphere, considering that conficker virus and all (wrote this post yesterday!).

Oh and PUHLEEZE tell your friends/fellow bloggers about this giveaway, anyone who has tiny feet and a need/lust for shoes:)

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey hun!
I loved the whole post.
although I can walk in the highest heels for days (I call it the barbie foot syndrome as I feel awkward inflats now) but I think there's nothing to wearing killer heels and looking good.
the real feat I guess is making an outfit look special and stylish that doesn´t include a pair of studded 5 inch heels, which I think you have got down pat.
you always look amazing and fashionable so kudos to you!

xxx
I

Kass said...

I can't wear heels either, but that's more about my incompetence than it is about anything else.

I get jealous of people with gorgeous boots that I'll never be able to fit, thanks to my fatty fat fat calves :( Even if I lost weight, they wouldn't shrink enough for me to wear cute boots :(

That makes me very, very sad.

Wanderlusting said...

Isa - thanks, you raise a good point, makes me feel a LOT better about this little problem o' mine :)

Kass - oh stop. They are not fatty fatty fat fat (though I always laugh when I hear/read that cuz it reminds me of The Simpsons) - but hey, Forever 21 and their plus size line (ugh hate that term - what does that even mean, you're above sizing?) will have boots, I'm pretty sure. In the meantime, check out http://www.duoboots.com/
or http://www.widewidths.com/ both ship to NZ. So maybe you can get someone to use their credit card for you and...

MizzJ said...

Ooh ooh ooh!! Can I get the grey patent ones??? What sort of condition are they in, and do they fit narrow or wide? Msg me back on Facebook since we live close to each other then we don't have to ship anything either - woo!

Unknown said...

I totally feel your pain about heels... would probably feel the same way. On the other hand, you have the cutest and most complete flat collection.

I do love those wedges too.
And that Missoni dress....WONDERFUL.
I love that it is so colorful. Missoni just seems perfect for spring and summer.

I'm totally jealous about Robert...as you already know. I kinda feel like a 13 years old girl when I think about him....lol. I should be ashamed.

Take care gorgeous.
xoxo
Stephanie
pS: you totally remind me of Reese

FASHION CHALET said...

And here I was thinking that you guys were beginning to think I was a nut job for the "ever changing blog headers" I can never sit on one for too long, and since Photoshop is always at my fingertips.. and boredom never suits me well... I guess you can see where that all stems from!! HAHA :] thank you!!

Can I say how much I like your shoes. Very fun!!! Sexy little dress too. ;]

xx

Odette said...

OOOhhh you looked hot in those sandals and I am not just saying that because I want your giveaway shoes. lol. Love love love that dress (what we saw of it anyway) on you!

(P.S. Really love those last shoes, I would happily take them off your hands in two weeks when I am in town lol...)

Memphis said...

I wish I could heal your ankles and empower you to walk in heels, but I can't. So let me just say hurray for the photo of your lower half which can be clicked and greatly enlarged so that we may admire your bum! :)

I'm afraid your shoes won't fit me, though. :(

J. said...

I don't walk well in heels, but I think you work your flats so well! I admit, the wedges do make your legs look lovely, but I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. Wish I was your shoe size, those grey wedges are too beautiful.

Eyeliah said...

You I agree about the heels, also b/c of feel issues. If I see that small footed gal soon, I'll let her know to check out your blog (will def see her in yoga on Monday).

Kass said...

But they are! I have fatty fatty fat fat calves, and skinny ankles! So any boots I do get, that I manage to fit, have ankle bunching! lol. Stupid boots. I think I must have to have custom made ones, which wouldn't be bad, but would cost a lot of moneys :(

But I will check out those sites..Sweet boots :)

Kass said...

Oh! I just realised. I've actually been to a DuoBoots store in Manchester. It had these gorgeous forest green suede thigh high boots. The kind of boots you could only wear inside, in fear of funking them up. So gorgeous.

But oh so expensive :(

I wish I had gone there when I was actually earning pounds, may not have been so bad then.

Rita said...

today i had a day inspired by you.
i just got up and thought: she gets up every day and has a different inspiration ...
and you were mine.
:)
At least in my mind... coz i don't need to get all dressed up to go to work.


On a more serious note, I love high heels but my hubby looks way shorter than me when I'm on heels. The ones I have now are like 3' and that's still too high. But I truly love my wedding shoes - even though I couldnt wear them past the ceremony.

http://myveryprivateworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html

I loved the dress! It looked very nice!

Amelia said...

I don't mind wearing flats, but I wish I could wear heels. My feet are still recovering from the foot surgery I had last summer, so they don't really bend at the angle necessary for heels yet. Admittedly, I do *a lot* of walking, so it wouldn't be that practical, but heels are so pretty and I have a perfect pair that's still unworn.

DaisyChain said...

I love this post (and your new dress!)
I can walk in heels, but it kills my knees, vanity makes me wear them although I'm tall and I think I'm going to make more of an effort to embrace flats.

Couture Carrie said...

Gorgeous espadrilles! I totally understand how you feel: heels are torture; platforms, on the other hand, can be quite comfy!!

xoxox,
CC

DaisyChain said...

I mailed your package today, I have no idea how long it'll take to get to you though, I asked for airmail, but have a feeling the lady did it Surface mail whcih takes far longer.
Let me know when it gets to you please!

Alice said...

oh my, your feet are so tiny!! :-)

while my feet aren't in quite as bad shape as yours, i do have all sorts of dumb problems (including scars from surgery! but on the foot part, not the ankle) and i SO ENVY people who can blithely wear heels. i can wear SOME heels, OCCASIONALLY, for short periods. or i can wear chunky-heeled boot type heels for a day in the office, where i'm sitting most of the time :-)

BUT, the seriously annoying part is that i ALSO can't wear cute little flats most times. i have freakishly high arches, and my orthopedic surgeon warned that if i don't wear arch supports regularly, my arches will collapse. there are some flats i can slip the inserts into, but a lot of them are too shallow. and often the top of the shoe cuts across the painful part of my foot, where the scars are.

basically, i live in sneakers and the few comfortable low boots i've found :-)

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

Those wedges are great. I do love the way my legs look in heels...if only I could walk in them too!

Zara said...

Have just stumbled across your blog and I absolutely love it! Great pictures and well-thought out posts :) Really great to read. Hello from England! Wow a shoe giveaway... I think I'm slightly too far away to claim a pair though!

How very annoying about your allergy to high heels! I find that practicing walking around your house helps sometimes- you could do that with the platform wedges?

Have added you to my blogroll :) Can't wait for more!

Z xoxo

Blicious said...

great shoes. i have bigger feet. boooo! haha

Amber said...

Hi!

Thanks for the comment! I LOVE wedges, I don't wear heels very well either, unless they are shorter than 3 inches. I wear wedges a lot though. I wish I would fit into some of those gorgeous shoes you are giving away. Unfortunately, I am a size 7.5-8.

I am running the BMO half-marathon in Vancouver on May 3!

Thanks again for stopping by my blog, I'm adding yours to my reader so I can check in more often :-)

Amber said...

PS: So, I was just browsing through your archives and I see you graduated from the journalism program at TRU! I don't know how much of my blog you've read, but I'm just finishing up my third year of the program this spring! One more year left.

Very cool :-)

karisap said...

Hey Karina...would you want to bring the black Steve Madden's with you next weekend?? I could totally take them off your hands!!!!

Wanderlusting said...

Karisa, I totally will!

Cupcake Blonde said...

I stopped wearing heels around the time I met my husband because I did not like feeling taller than him (we would actually be the same height) so now because of eyars of now wearing them when I do try to wear heels I can't walk. I don't know how women do it for hours a day!

Why are you getting rid of those red snakeskin ones (the last picture) they are adorable!

Todd said...

Wow, that dress is slammin!

T.A.E said...

I don't usually wear heels myself even though I'm 5"2. My reasons are more on the line that although my campus is insanely small. The ground is treacherous.

There are long,steep staircases that I must climb to get to the upper quad, which is where all the academic buildings are. Then our sidewalks are more brick stone/cobble stone like than just regular asphalt. The former is treacherous and can ruin many a heel if you slip through the cracks.Therefore, flats, sandals and flat boots are my best friend. :D

But I would suggest to start with smaller heels first and work your way up. Kitten heels can do more damage than good so I would suggest a 2-2 1/2 inch heel thats on the thicker side to start with. And always buy shoes with padding. With practice, you can progess to higher heels. :D