How to walk in heels June 30, 2009

Since I already catered to my most viewed post, I will also cater to the most searched term which seems to bring people to my site. 

“How to walk in heels”

There is actually a book called “How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything” by Camilla Morton. It should come as no surpise that I actually own this book.  I have to say that it’s a delightful read, for the most part.  The beginning of the book really does with imparting the wisdom of walking in heels but then the book truly does become a guide to everything.  Not only does it give nice guidelines for dress but it also has explanations of art, technology, decor, poker, chess and gardening.  So, as the title suggests, it’s quite handy to be a girl’s guide to everything or, at the very least, a little bit of everything. 

(This isn’t my go-to guide for style, however. 

That honor goes to “The Bombshell Manual of Style” by Lauren Stover. ) 

But I love wearing heels.  Its not an easy love.  There is a certain level of masochism and determination to be able to withstand it for prolonged periods of time.  Yet, the beauty of a gorgeous heel and the definition created in the shape of leg, the sudden elongation of the firm, the lifting of the bottom… it is almost enough for one to forget the little pains one has to endure in order to get the look. 

ALMOST…

With that said, I shall now impart advice, both from my own practices and from my style guides:

1. Never shop for shoes in the morning. Your feet will not have expanded as much as your usual size and things that you buy will not be the right size for you.
2. Always dress for the occasion.  Every venue and terrain requires a different heel height and width for ease of walking across the surface.  Some shoes need traction to keep from slipping.  You can buy rubber stickies to place on shoes or you can scratch the bottoms with coarse sandpaper or even the side of the sidewalk curb.
3. Always do a trial walk/wear with new shoes.  NEVER, and I mean NEVER, leave shoes brand new to wear to a certain event.  Slip them on first around the house.  Find out the areas that might be trouble pressure spots.  When you feel comfortable enough to go out in them, take them for a walk through the supermarket.  (Why the supermarket? It doesn’t have to be that precise place, but the floor is wonderful to glide across and you have the assistance of a cart for balance and support.  Anywhere with similar criterias works as well.)  It will take several wears for you to learn your heels and get them fine tuned.  Never leave it for the day before because it might lead for swelling that can be rather bothersome to subject your feet to two days in a row.
4. Don’t be afraid to get inserts. Once you’ve worn your shoes, you will know which are the spots that can bother you.  There are all sorts of shapes and sizes of comfortable inserts: full insoles, cushions for the balls of the feet, strips of padding for straps or heels and even pads for toes.  I would recommend them with cloth and not with gel because if your feet sweat, the pads won’t stay in place.   
5. Know what you’re going to do in heels and for how long.  One thing I always advise people to learn is the limit of endurance for each pair of shoes.  You can approximately gauge how long you can comfortably stay standing in them or how far you can walk in them by doing the trial wears.  Not every shoe works for everything, don’t expect it to but inserts should help you get there.  Appreciate every shoe for its talent and work with it. 
6. Have a back-up plan. Something I often get joked about with is that, even though I wear heels a lot, I also always carry a pair of flipflops with me somewhere else.  You don’t need to have another pair of shoes, but it helps.  Accidents happen, heels break , nights go for longer than you meant them to or you end up having to walk far too many blocks back to your place.  Make sure your extra shoes still work well with the ensemble and even if people notice the switch, far too many people will think you incredibly smart for having the forsight. 
7. Commit to your heels. Once you slip them on, keep them on.  Sometimes it seems like a relief to slip them off for just a second but that is a big mistake.  Your feet swell and it’ll be more uncomfortable for you when you put them back on. 
8. Heels are worth the expense. Poorly crafted shoes are usually the cheapest, so know that you get what you pay for.
9. Care for your feet. Pamper your tootsies when you can.  Keep the nails neatly cut and straight; keep the skin moisturized.

 I think I covered the basics.  If you have any questions or anything to add, please feel free to leave a comment below!  

A Girl and her shoes: Part 2 June 30, 2009

Well over a year ago, I wrote a random blog post about my shoes.  There was a scattering of pictures and some descriptions of the shoes with my experience walking in them.

Can you believe that this random post is my most visited one?

Seriously! 3,044 views and more everyday!

So what could I do but snap a few pictures of the shoes that have been added to my collection?!

wrinkled floral pointy toe pump with rhinestone buckle and lace edging, 4in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bottle green round toe pump, double strap with two tone heel; 4in

 

These are my new favorites:

4 1/2 inches, with 6 different color ribbons to change out

Hot… I know.

ivory pleated pumps; 4 1/2 in with hidden front 1/2in platform

athletic inspired nude sketchers with embroidered design, criss-cross double strap

pale yellow pinstripe slingback espadrille wedge with white bow

peep-toe teal canvas cork wedges

hot pink sandals with pink emerald gem detail

I love shoes, but it seems I didn’t buy all that many.  Most of these were bought within the last six months.  Of course I love them all, but I have my favorites.  What girl doesn’t?

A girl going birthday shopping March 19, 2008

It’s tradition that my aunt, never quite knowing what to give her darling niece, decides just to take me shopping instead.  We hit up the mall in Ponce, Plaza del Caribe, because since I study and my aunt works in the other nearest big city with a mall, Mayaguez, we already know what there is to be offered in that mall.  Besides, the one in Ponce has Old Navy and that’s actually where I like to shop for blouses and my staple flipflops.  It’s also a rare occasion where it’s just the two of us wandering around various stores. 

Clothes Haul:

• Two tank tops (lower left hand corner; blue and green)
• Jean pencil skirt (lower right hand corner)
• Coral patterned tube top blouse (middle)
• Coral pink floral patterned tube dress (upper left hand corner)
• Two v-neck tees (upper right hand corner; blue and coral)

And these from Payless

New shoes February 17, 2008

 These are the cute new wedges I got yesterday.  They are surprisingly very comfortable, I was worried the front strap was going to give me some trouble.  I just have to remember to walk centered on the balls of my feet or else I near twist my ankle.  Something that nearly happened at first use in my grandmother’s kitchen while I was drinking water.  On the outside of the heel, there’s a very pretty butterfly etched in.  Oh, and I believe the brand is called Toscana.  Not the pricey stuff, that’s for sure.  They were on sale for like 15 bucks.  But I’ll be rocking them anyway.

The color of my nailpolish is Shining Rose from Avon’s Nailwear collection, just in case anyone was wondering.

A girl and her shoes February 9, 2008

After slaving away in that kitchen for the better part of the afternoon, and then slapping up pictures and writing for the rest of it… I decided I wanted to do something different and frivolous.  A conversation with a friend had me pondering about my shoes.  I know I have quite a few heels, some cute flats and a veritable rainbow of $3 flipflops from Old Navy.  So I did what any sane girl would do, I hunted down the right shoe for every pair I have and proceeded to photograph them.  That is… I took pictures of the ones I didn’t already have close up shots to and I wasn’t about to take pictures of my flipflops.  If you care to know what colors I have… not even I can tell you.  I change them out, wear them down and toss them when I feel inclined.  That’s the beauty of $3 footwear.  You don’t have to worry about them and you can collect them in as many colors as your girlish heart can love.

And so I begin…

   We begin with my favorite shoe; blue tweed round toe pumps.  The heels are slightly over 3 inches high. 

 These would be my second favorite; turquoise velvet wedges

 Red strappy with a top bow and a 2 inch heel 

I still haven’t learned to walk in these.  They are kind of painful.

But, darn, aren’t they pretty?

 These would probably be the ones I wear the most but they aren’t a standing shoe; black and white patent mary jane pumps with a 3 inch heel.

Probably my most beaten up pumps; round toe black with 2 inch heel

 I’d REALLY wanted to get these in turquoise, but I chickened out and got them in black.  I’m still wishing I had gotten the other pair; sparkly black slingbacks with fabric crochet flower and 2 inch heel.

My hooker shoes; clear 4 in. heels.   Hard to walk.  Made for posing 

 I bought these thinking they were black, but turns out they are navy.  I can’t remember when was the last time I wore them; navy strappy with 3 in. heel.

Gold & Pink straps, pink & orange rhinestone butterfly; 2 in. heel

 I’ve worn these twice.  Originally bought for my 9th grade prom.  I refuse to toss them though I will likely never wear them again; 3 1/2 in. heel.

 The infamous heels to the bunny outfit.

No, I didn’t try to walk in these things.

The ribbon was pink but I couldn’t find it.

And I lied, the heels are really about 5 inches, not 7.

 I’m still learning how to walk in these.  Notice these are my sole pair of pointy shoes.  They really hurt, I should have bought them a size larger but I got them online, and I wasn’t able to finally pick them up and try them on for a month after they were delivered.  And the ankle straps actually do help; 5 inch heel.

If you have noticed, I really do not like super high heels.  I keep them around 3 inches or less and I have a penchant for round toes and pumps.  Now we look at my recently acquired flats:

 Skecher’s blue flower mary jane flats.

Grey tweed mary jane ballet flats (most worn) 

 These actually have the barest fraction of a kitten heel and they are my favorites; black patent leather with matte ribbon.

Velvet flat with pleated front and satin ribbon.

 

Last, but certainly not least!

 My rain boots

Pink with green trim and tulip pattern

What?!  It rains a lot here on the island! 

You expect me to ruin my other pretty shoes?