Stiletto Heels, Platforms and Backpain
This article was grabbed from a website (think it was the BBC)
and is a transcript from a radio interview. I found it quite
interesting reading.
It had the following tagline;
Alan Neal
trends columnist
INTRO:
It's almost impossible to flip open a magazine or newspaper these
days without seeing a model posed glamorously... if precariously... a
top four or five inch heels.
Yes, it seems that the stiletto heel, along with the platform shoe,
has made a comeback in the world of high fashion. And well, if it's a
trend, even in ladies' footwear, our trends columnist Alan Neal is
willing to investigate it... and find out how the shoe feels on the
other foot, so to speak.
Good morning Alan.
TAPE> . 00:00:00
Details (ie. DCart#): Stereo?
IN: "Good morning.."
RUNS: 00:07:48
OUT: "...thank you."
EXTRO.
Alan Neal is our trends columnist here on CBO-Morning. If you have a
trend you think Alan should be looking into, call in your suggestion
to 562-8666, which is also our listener question line.
Oh, and last week Alan did the piece on Boyfriend In A Box... and
apparently people have been bombarding The Papery stores trying to
get a hold of the virtual boyfriends, saying they heard the piece.
Just a reminder that it's only the location in the market that sells
them, not the location in the Glebe... and that since Alan's piece,
they've already sold out of all of the boyfriends except Musical
Miles and Athletic Al.
background script & clips:
Well, yes, John... depending who you talk to,
these shoes are either
the sandal of Satan or the key to unlocking a
woman's sexuality... but according to those in
the know who control of the runways... big heels
are back in, no matter how impractical.
For anyone who doesn't know, of course, we're
talking about the high-heeled shoes that women
can get that are usually 4 or 5 inches off the
ground and frequently narrowing down into a sort
of sadomasochistic point. I don't know why it
makes women look attractive, but I have to admit
it does the trick. Maybe it's just a left-over
crush that I used to have on Lynda Carter as
Wonder Woman, but there's something about the
woman in these ridiculous shoes that just does
look great.
I mean, it's not the first time in shoe history
that some preposterous design has been declared
all the rage... In medieval time there's the
cracowes with long tapering points that made
walking impossible... in the 16th and 17th
century, there were the duckbill shoes that were
so wide and flat that you couldn't move in them.
Early in the Renaissance, the predecessors of the
platform had high-born people a good foot and a
half above the swill of the streets... have fun
walking in those. And for any woman who thinks
the stiletto is painful...
From 10th century until 1911, women of high-born
families in China had their feet bound so that
they would
fit in lotus shoes that were three inches long,
because women with big ugly feet just couldn't be
married. Mind you, women with tiny feet also
can't move, but this is the cost of glamour.
But as for the stiletto and the platform and the
whole attitude and debate that goes with them is
nothing new. A few decades ago, women were first
destroying their feet and floors around them with
these impractical shoes... and I wanted to hear
from someone who'd survived that last wave of
footwear fashion. And I don't know anyone more
qualified than local artist Anna
Moffat-Kensler, who's dabbled in the fashion
world since the early 50's. Anna still does, among
other
things, these amazing fantasy shoe art, where she
decorates heeled shoes and plays with the
concept of shoes as impractical fantastic
bits of whimsy. She's preparing for a showing
of her work this weekend, but took a little
time out to ponder the return of the platform
and stiletto.
TAPE> stupid being a slave to fashion . 00:00:00
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IN: "Well, being a stiletto.."
RUNS: 00:00:19
OUT: "..beats the hell out of me."
Anna had some wonderfully painful memories from
decades ago of wearing the precarious heels no
matter where she was
going... across railroad tracks, on gravel
roads... determined to look as glamorous as Liz
Taylor in Butterfield 8 (where there's that
wonderful scene where she's grinding a man with
her stiletto). But Anna says she now suffers from
serious back pains because of her time on the
shoes... but there were those around her that
were willing to make even bigger sacrifices.
TAPE> chop off toe to fit shoes . 00:00:00
Details (ie. DCart#): Stereo?
IN: "My sister in law.."
RUNS: 00:00:16
OUT: "...point more."
JOHN
Lopping off her toes? Isn't that something in
Grimm's Fairy Tale?
ALAN
Yes, that's right... I believe in the original
Cinderella, the stpesisters chop off their toes
to try and fit in the glass slipper so the prince
will love them. All wonderfully symbolic.
But even if you don't decide to hack off your
baby toes, you can still do yourself some serious
damage in these shoes.
Dr. Susanne Gorkin is a chirpractor with Ottawa
South And she says the wrath of stilettos
and platforms are pretty serious.
TAPE> description of body angles and pain . 00:00:00
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IN: "What happens..."
RUNS: 00:00:47
OUT: "..on these shoes."
JOHN
So it doesn't sound like there's anything that
would make it worth the experience.
ALAN
Well... not true. Anna Moffat-Kensler remembers
very vividly that
while she was suffering, er, the agony of "de
feet" on heels.. she also experienced the ecstacy.
TAPE> powerful being tall . 00:00:00
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IN: "It was a wonderful..."
RUNS: 00:00:32
OUT: "...it was wonderful."
JOHN
But she said it herself, that was when women had
very little power. I hope that isn't what women
of the next generation find attractive about the
shoe.
ALAN
Well, one of the women that I found explained it
best to me was Jennifer Cheesman. She's assistant
manager at Holt Renfrew's shoe boutique at 240
Sparks... and I went to meet her and the other
assistant manager Joan Marie Pottinger at the
store. And I think, John, the truth of the matter
is, this shoe phenomenon has very little to do
with what we as men think of the women when
they're in these shoes... it's what they suddenly
feel about themselves. If you listen here,
Jennifer explains all the things that happen to
your body that Dr. Gorkin already described...
but in an incredibly appealing way.
TAPE> sex appeal with heels . 00:00:00
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IN: "Your hips..."
RUNS: 00:00:23
OUT: "..like you're being looked at."
JOHN
I guess it's something that most men will never
really know what it's like.
ALAN
Well... maybe most men. But I had only been in
the store a few minute before Joan Marie
Pottinger told me there was only one way I'd ever
understand.
TAPE> why don't men try it? . 00:00:00
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IN: "Whenever any gentleman..."
RUNS: 00:00:09
OUT: "...okay?"
JOHN
So... you had the invitation to try on the
stiletto... what'd you do?
ALAN
Well, keep in mind, I had my reputation as a
trends columnist at stake. There was really only
one thing I could do... rip off my little Boss
socks, slip on the ready-supplied nylon and
squeeze into the stiletto.
At this point, I have to say that I think the
most trouble I've had before with footwear has
maybe been lacing up skates... but here I felt
like I was trying to squeeze a
TAPE> Trying to walk in them myself . 00:00:00
Details (ie. DCart#): fade under after "baby steps" Stereo?
IN: "Now walk towards...
RUNS: 00:00:10
OUT: "in stilettos?"
Well, John, even with practically every woman in
the store guiding and cheering me on, I
don't think I gave Ginger Rogers or even RuPaul
a run for their money but I did stay on my feet.
And I do have to admit I don't think I'd last
longer than, oh, twelve minutes in these shoes.
But as I sashayed around in the 3" heels... I
totally understand that empowerment feeling the
women are describing. First of all, for a guy who
is a little... shall we say... vertically
challenged... these shoes made me feel like I
could take on any 6 foot opponent. Okay, so probably
if I showed up to take him on in platform shoes,
the image wouldn't be everything desired...
But you really do feel a certain sense of power
walking down on the toe, which is the important
thing.. you're not walking heel to toe in these
suckers, and you can't pivot... you're coming
right down on the ball of your feet and in the
process you end up kind of
Now keep in mind, if anyone out there is thinking
of grabbing a pair of these, there are certain
steps that amateurs should keep in mind. Here's
Jennifer Cheesman again.
TAPE> heel advice . 00:00:00
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IN: "Don't walk on grates..."
RUNS: 00:00:12
OUT: " have to be good at these things."
Because remember John you have to walk on the
fronts of your shoes the whole time... which can,
according to Dr. Gorkin, have a serious effect on
your feet...
TAPE> bad effects on your feet . 00:00:00
Details (ie. DCart#): Stereo?
IN: "You're literally..."
RUNS: 00:00:24
OUT: "...in a flat shoe."
But the question that remains here,
Alan, is this an actual trend here in Ottawa?
ALAN
Well, this is where I think there's a lot of hype
over something that's really only happening on
runways and at awards ceremonies. It's embraced
as a kitschy model thing to do and you aren't
going to see women parading around the streets in
ridiculous shoes.
Well... although I did run into one woman at
Phase Two who was decked out in leather and
killer shoes... who gave me an indication of
where the shoes might be appropriate.
TAPE> heels for 'dancers' . 00:00:00
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IN: "They're actually very.."
RUNS: 00:00:09
OUT: "I'm in entertainment."
JOHN
Ah, yes, entertainment.
ALAN
I realized afterwards she was actually buying
little plastic whips from their Hallowe'en
display. But there you go, the right shoe can be
just the right stepping stone to a new career.