# High heels **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 5, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903 "2013-04-05T07:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/41 "2013-04-09T13:40:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The purpose of the swimsuits is to show off T&A, too. If you prefer, just think of it as lingerie. Lingerie doesn’t really go with high heels either. =) Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/42 "2013-04-09T18:00:12Z")
Lingerie and high heels are like peanut butter and jelly. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/43 "2013-04-09T18:19:05Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Lingerie and high heels are like peanut butter and jelly. They go well on beautiful women? No, that’s not right. They taste good together? Um, ew. ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/44 "2013-04-09T23:18:40Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > That won’t work - note what Una and Fierra found about the differences in where they put their weight on their feet. The person is a very important factor and differences in forefoot vs. heel wear occurs in _all_ types of shoes. As a cobbler I see this every day - I’ve got one lady who puts _so_ much of her weight on the ball of her feet that her heels _never_ wear down and I’m always rebuilding the front of her shoes. That’s an extreme end of the spectrum but wear patterns on shoes can be very distinctive. Whether heels or flats, female or male, different people are “toe walkers” or “heel walkers”. (I can also tell if someone is coming down harder on one foot or the other, and often if someone drives a manual transmission vs. automatic due to wear patterns on their heels) > > This likely accounts for why some people find high heels (or any other type of shoe) more comfortable than someone else would, or at least is part of the reason. > > Now, there might be great utility in discovering which shoe types/styles are more suited to toe walkers or heel walkers. You could find out which someone was, then steer them to shoes that are more comfortable for their walking style and/or less likely to cause damage. I can attest to this. I have extremely small feet, even as a 45 year old woman In european sizes I wear childrens sizes, since american sizes depend on manufacturers bullshit I tend to run from a size 4 to a size 6, sometimes 7 in boots for some reason. My feet feet are also fairly wide, I could NEVER cram my feet into a shoe with pointed toes, I have to buy basically box toed toes or very wide rounded shoes. I also tend to walk on the outsides of my feet, the exteriour sections of my shoes are always worn down and the interior look brand new. Since you pretty much can’t find heels in childrens shoes and I’ve never really give a shit about fashion anyway, I have pretty healthy feet. I will add one odditity though I have less back trouble if I wear something with a heel between 1 and 1 and a 1/2 inch ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/45 "2013-04-10T09:15:29Z")
I just have to say this: \*\* Broomstick,\*\* you sound like the best cobbler ever in life. Seriously, around here it is difficult to find a cobbler _ **at all** _ anymore, let alone one with your level of professional skills, and powers of observation. I wish you were in California. Tell me, just out of curiosity – is there anything at all that can be done about the kind of walk that wears one’s shoes down exclusively on the outside of the heel? Can a person re-learn their walk? (apart from catastrophic circumstances, I mean.) Or is it more the result of skeletal things that one can’t change? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/46 "2013-04-10T10:01:34Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Tell me, just out of curiosity – is there anything at all that can be done about the kind of walk that wears one’s shoes down exclusively on the outside of the heel? Can a person re-learn their walk? (apart from catastrophic circumstances, I mean.) Or is it more the result of skeletal things that one can’t change? [Previous thread I started on that topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=595726) Basically pronation is normal; most people walk such that the outside heel strikes first then they roll across the foot and push off largely using the big toe. Some people over-pronate particularly those who are flat-footed. You can get running shoes that try to limit how much you pronate and/or help to restore a better arch (IME these also are sturdier on the heel so they don’t wear down so fast). For other kinds of shoes a cobbler can attach something (can’t remember what they’re called) to a worn outer heel to extend the life of the shoe. ---
**Author:** ![StJoan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@StJoan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StJoan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/47 "2013-04-10T12:16:16Z")
> [@Ducklady](#): > > I totally agree. When I see a woman in high heels all I can think of is how stupid she looks. You may as well hang a sign around your neck saying “I’m so shallow and gullible I’ve bought into the notion my looks are more important than my well being.” I simply cannot take a woman in heels seriously. This is as shallow as saying that a woman who wears flats or comfortable but ugly shoes is too lazy to take care of herself, or that she is too clumsy, and has no sense of balance, aesthetics or any physical grace. And who could take such a lady seriously? Why not just accept that some women love high heels and other don’t? Some of us can prowl catlike on 6" heels, while other stumble in anything higher than a completely flat sole. We don’t all dress up for others, we do it for ourselves. Find a better reason to be prejudiced against us than our clothing (however scanty) or shoes (however vertiginous), You never know – that “gullible woman who thinks her looks are more important than her well being” might well be your intellectual superior by many orders of magnitude, and you do not take her seriously at your own peril. ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/48 "2013-04-12T17:25:36Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Lingerie and high heels are like peanut butter and jelly. Nonsense. Lingerie is designed for the bedroom; high heels designed for social events outside the home. Their domains were never meant to intersect. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/49 "2013-04-12T17:30:46Z")
> [@StJoan](#): > > You never know – that “gullible woman who thinks her looks are more important than her well being” might well be your intellectual superior by many orders of magnitude, and you do not take her seriously at your own peril. Many orders of magnitude? I don’t think that phrase means what you think it means. Anyway, if she’s so smart, why is she actively damaging her podiatric health in service to simple aesthetics? Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/50 "2013-04-12T18:42:50Z")
> [@Powers](#): > > Many orders of magnitude? I don’t think that phrase means what you think it means. “Bless you, it all depends.” > [@Powers](#): > > Anyway, if she’s so smart, why is she actively damaging her podiatric health in service to simple aesthetics? That’s the most cogent defense I have ever seen of wearing high heels. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/51 "2013-04-12T19:13:47Z")
> [@Powers](#): > > Anyway, if she’s so smart, why is she actively damaging her podiatric health in service to simple aesthetics? Why do smart people drive sports cars, go skiing, get tattoos, wear make up, wear ties, eat double-bacon cheesburgers….? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/52 "2013-04-12T19:20:05Z")
> [@Powers](#): > > Nonsense. Lingerie is designed for the bedroom; high heels designed for social events outside the home. Their domains were never meant to intersect. What about stripclubs? ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/53 "2013-04-12T23:40:18Z")
One thing I will say for high-heel wearers is this: they look like they’d be both easy and hilarious to push over and run away cackling. Not that I would ever, of course. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903/54 "2013-04-13T00:10:20Z")
> [@Powers](#): > > Nonsense. Lingerie is designed for the bedroom; high heels designed for social events outside the home. Their domains were never meant to intersect. This is the least sexy comment I’ve ever read, so I’m not surprised you don’t get it. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-heels/654903.md?page=2)