Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site rayssd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!rayssd!hxe
From: hxe@rayssd.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: heels (an answer to the *original* question)
Message-ID: <717@rayssd.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Apr-85 12:53:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: rayssd.717
Posted: Mon Apr 29 12:53:11 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 1-May-85 02:24:11 EDT
References: <896@homxa.UUCP> <4160010@csd2.UUCP>
Organization: Raytheon Co., Portsmouth RI
Lines: 47

Aww, come on guys!  The poor woman asked for advice on how to
walk relatively quietly in high heels - not for our opinions
on their suitability or appropriateness (is that a word?).

While reader of mail.fem will recognize me as one who regards
"political correctness" to be a central factor of her life, I
also don't impose my own standards of health and/or attire on
others.  Herewith my answer:

Make sure that the heels you wear are low enough to allow you
the normal heel-toe walking rhythm that you would use were you
in sneakers.  When trying them on, try back-and-forth and
up-and-down ankle movement.  Much of the noise from walking in
heels comes from the heel and the toe hitting the floor simul-
taneously; this also causes a lot of back discomfort.  And the
hard rubber heel and toe pads previously mentioned really do
reduce the "click click" in the hall.

Whenever possible, try shoes on a hard surface rather than the
carpeted floor of the shoe store.  They will always tell you it
is impossible.  You will tell them you won't buy them without
walking in real conditions.  They will tell there's no such
place to walk.  You will tell them they have just lost a sale.
They will remember that their storeroom is uncarpeted.

And a quote from another reader:

>Also, I've heard that back when most running shoes were pretty
>flat, Achilles tendon and calf injuries were unusual. When
>running shoes with higher heels and lots of cushioning started
>coming out, this kind of injury became common.

Actually, it's quite the opposite.  One of the reasons that heels
were raised in women's running shoes was to reduce the calf strain
on women who wore heels most days and then put on very flat running
shoes.  The lesson is that you can't change your foot's environment
too drastically without some injury.  Remember Earth Shoes?
Remember how much they hurt?  Could you go back and forth from
those to conventional shoes without discomfort?  Most couldn't.
-- 
--Heather Emanuel {allegra, decvax!brunix, linus, ccice5} rayssd!hxe
--------------------------------------------------------------------
   I don't think my company *has* an opinion, so the ones in this
                  article are obviously my own.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ain't life a brook...
 Sometimes I feel just like a polished stone"  -Ferron