None of the above. They were trying to negotiate the catwalk at Prada during this week’s Milan fashion shows in shoes that were virtually impossible to walk in.

At least two models tripped and fell on to the concrete floor; others wobbled and stumbled, clearly in agony, and all the while their minds were fixated on just one thing: reaching the sanctuary and safety of the backstage area without suffering a similar fate.

The platforms had heels that were at least five inches high, balanced platform soles that were almost as tall, and were often kept on the feet with the flimsiest of straps.

The designer, Miuccia Prada, meanwhile, greeted well-wishers and foreign press after the show wearing a comfortable pair of flat shoes that were as practical as the simple green sweater and white shirt she wore.

Athletes would not be sent out on the track with running shoes that were not perfectly suitable for the task. So why expect professional models – some of whom are barely out of their teens and with little experience of walking on a catwalk – to perform in shoes that would make the average girl in the street run a mile?

Throughout the day, the “Prada takes a tumble” factor – was the talk of the front rows.

Several fashion experts admitted they had found it difficult to concentrate on the clothes because of a grim fascination with the faltering footsteps in the gravity-defying shoes.

Back on the street and in everyday life, of course, we look for more practical style. Shoes that look sexy but don’t kill our feet and twist our ankles. These shoes are available for us – just don’t look on the catwalks for them.

Try this site for ideas: Most Comfortable Shoes

The European comfort brand, Mephisto, is well-known for its attention to ergonomic shoe design. I thought I’d try out a pair of their walking shoes on a summer trip to Italy. Mephisto Allrounders - a cute mix between a sneaker and a mary-jane. These were just splendidly comfortable walking shoes that carried me with pleasure through 6 hour days on my feet in museums, cobblestone streets and alleyways. They were also dressy-casual enough to wear out in the evenings to restaurants and bars.

These comfortable walking shoes have a sumptiously cushioned footbed and come in an assortment of cute colors. Comfort and style personified!

Click here to see the full range of colors!

It’s very rare that one finds a shoe in which all good things come together – elegance, sexiness and comfort. My recent discovery of the Cole Haan Fiona Air Sling has been a beautiful experience. Comfortable shoes too often mean dowdy and sad. Comfortable heels are often an oxymoron rather than a reality.
Cole Haan have teamed with Nike to use their patented Air Technology - the same system that makes their sneakers so cushioned and comfortable. But no, I know what your thinking…it’s not a high heel sneaker.
When I wear these shoes I feel sexy and elegant and can walk six blocks without feeling crippled and injured. These shoes exemplify what I need and want in comfortable shoes. They exemplify what women’s shoes manufacturers too often do not deliver. My hat is tipped to Cole Haan for creating these sexy comfortable heels. They feature fine calf leather uppers and lining, an adjustable heel strap, 2 3/4 inch heels and concealed air cushioning.
Angelina Jolie, walking the red carpet in Cannes pregnant with twins, asked if she was comfortable, was heard to have said: ”I’ll let you in on a secret… Cole Haan makes a shoe with a Nike sole,” Jolie said. “So I have a low heel with a Nike sole and I’m feeling great.”

To see these shoes up close Go Here:
Cole Haan Fiona Air Sling

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Pamela did you really say: “if a shoe doesn’t hurt, it can’t be beautiful!”
This is just wrong, yet so true of what women have become conditioned to put up with
in an eternal quest to look fashionable.

The Shoemakers at Eneslow Comfort Shoe Store in NYC (I wonder who put this video on YouTube!) ,
do a pretty amazing job of fitting these 5 inch heels to the reporters actual feet.

Now only if designers started with the actual shape of our feet and went from there…!!!
see  a great site called:  Most Comfortable Shoes

During her orthopedic surgery residency, Taryn Rose searched fruitlessly for stylish shoes that wouldn’t destroy her feet. The podiatrist turned shoe designer found that her own quandary was shared daily by all types of women. Her quest for comfortable stylish shoes presented a unique opportunity.

Rose turned first to a favorite salesclerk at Barneys who had friends in the shoe industry in Italy. She then applied for, and got, a $200,000 Small Business Administration loan in 1998. Rose used the loan and the industry connection to produce her first line of foot-friendly, comfortable high-fashion shoes.

During the first year, Rose wore out a lot of her own shoe leather. She personally called on high-end independent shoe stores as well as a buyer at a Nordstrom store in Costa Mesa, California, to sell her wares. “Nordstrom was not as centralized as they are now, so the local buyer could say, ‘Sure, I’ll try it,’ ” Rose says. In 2001, she says, Neiman Marcus agreed to carry her shoes in five of its stores, requesting she meet certain sell-through rates and margins. Rose’s shoes (typical price: $400 per pair) blew through those targets, and she’s now in 36 Neiman Marcus locations.

To drive sales, Rose pumped up her publicity efforts, landing her shoes in the 2004 Oscar presenters’ swag bags and scoring the ultimate media coup: an interview on Oprah. This year, Rose, who has added a men’s line, persuaded Oscar winner Jamie Foxx to wear her shoes to the Academy Awards. Though she has a unique story–how many ex-surgeon fashionistas are there?–Rose puts a lot of faith in persistence, too. “It took us three years of campaigning during Oscar week to place shoes with some A-list stars,” she says. That persistence is paying off. The Taryn Rose collection, offering comfortable shoes for both men and women is now widely available and a sought out brand for comfort shoe seekers.

Click here to see the Taryn Rose Collection for men and women.

Ouch! Women’s feet are hurting!

According to recent data from the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society:

Women account for 90% of foot surgeries in the U.S. at an estimated cost of 2 billion dollars.
82% of women reported having foot pain. 72% reported one or more foot deformities.

86% of women wore shoes one or two width sizes too small (an average of 1.2 cm smaller)

In the 20% of women who reported no foot pain, there was only an average of 0.56 cm discrepancy between the width of their shoe and their foot.

20% of women had pain in the ball of the foot and 58% in the toes.

75% of women had neglected to have their foot measured in more than 5 years.

60% noted that their shoe size has increased.

Women with size 8 or larger had more pain and deformities than others.

50% of women were dissatisfied with their ability to find dress shoes that are fashionable and comfortable, despite the fact that 60% said they paid between $50 and $200 for shoes.

This is a clear case for seeking out knowledge on comfortable shoes that offer support as well style. We don’t have to suffer for our style!

see the post on Taryn Rose, podiatrist turned shoe designer:

http://comfortableshoes.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/a-podiatrist-turned-shoe-designer-offers-high-fashion-comfort-shoes/

Cole Haan, the high end, artisan crafted shoe brand has been owned by the Nike company for about 10 years. So it was only a matter of time before the two divisions merged their shoe lines and came up with “Cole Haan Nike Air Technology,” or comfortable high heel shoes using Air technology.

Cole Haan Creative Director, Gordon Thompson III, recently  gave the background on this experiment… “As most women know, it’s quite a bit of work to walk around in a high heel. Testing showed that the weight transfer onto your foot in a heel is significant. In fact, walking in heels causes you to exert almost the same amount of pressure under the ball of your foot as if you were running! Your body weight is actually coming down with the same force as it would if you were running. It sounds crazy, but it’s true.

Research shows that cushioning in a high heel could counter balance the body’s weight enough to make a significant improvement, just as it does with running shoes. Specifically, to counterbalance the pressure while walking requires cushioning under the ball of your foot, while counterbalancing the pressure while standing requires cushioning under your heel. “

While this innovation gives hope to women who yearn to look sexy all day long wearing heels without the associated pain, the unforeseen end result may be more instances of this recent event in Berlin: The Glamour High Heel Race.

Click here to see Cole Haan Nike Air shoes now

The quest is long and arduous. Yes, I’ve taken on the task. I will not stop wandering, and yet continous wandering is the thing that causes me pain. For it is my feet that require attention, to be lovingly surrounded with support, softly clad and fashionably rendered, so that I may wander some more. Comfortable shoes are both my immediate object of desire and my ultimate destination. If you come along with me you may, without having to tread the miles yourself, just happen upon some recommendations for comfortable shoes… in all their various permutations, styles, widths, materials and designs. Shall we venture forth?