Opinion: End the tyranny of high heel culture, says doctor

It’s a well-established fact that wearing heels increases the risk of serious and painful health issues.

High heels force a woman’s weight forward onto the ball of her foot. As a result, she has to alter her posture to compensate. This has negative impacts on her entire body.

Let’s start with her feet. It can cause anything from mild pain to more serious problems such as Morton’s neuroma and possibly bunions. These conditions aren’t just painful, they usually require medical intervention.

It doesn’t stop there. In her calves, the muscles and tendons are forced to shorten, causing abnormal thickening and shortening of the tendons. This can lead to long-term problems in the ankles and knees.

Heels also force her lower back forward, erasing the normal curves in the spine, leading to back injuries.

Beyond the immediate physical problems, women who have to wear heels are at greater risk for injuries caused by tripping and falling. When a worker is on her feet for hours, carrying heavy items, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

The diagnosis is simple: it’s irresponsible and dangerous for restaurants to force employees to work in heels.

Alberta has high safety standards for workers in other sectors. Why don’t the same concerns apply to restaurants and retail? We wouldn’t expect a welder to forgo his welding helmet so we could see his beautiful eyes. We wouldn’t expect construction workers to toss their helmets so we can admire their hair. Come to think of it, we wouldn’t expect them to wear heels either.

It comes down to whether we value the health and safety of female employees, particularly when they have physically demanding jobs. Why is the visual effect of a woman in heels more important than her safety and comfort? The answer is obvious. These women are visual props for managers and owners hopeful for longer bar tabs and bigger tips.

But it’s not the owners and managers who will pay with years of pain. It’s young women who may well be afraid of losing tips, of being stuck on less lucrative shifts, or of the possibility that their jobs may be on the line.

Some restaurants have eased their rules in recent years, but that won’t be enough to solve the problem. Even if it’s not part of a dress code, only part of the workplace culture, it’s still a problem.

Some people think it’s attractive. I find it painful to watch. I was recently in a restaurant and was dismayed to see that every single server was wearing high heels. They were constantly on their feet, walking quickly and carrying heavy trays. It’s possible that they all freely chose to wear stilettos, but I think it’s highly unlikely.

I wondered how many of them would wear more comfortable shoes if they weren’t afraid to lose their jobs. I imagine few of them would. Without a legal right to reasonable and comfortable footwear, they don’t have a leg to stand on.

Heel culture is clearly problematic. It’s obviously unhealthy. And even if you’re not concerned about young women in the restaurant industry, it’s a medical issue that costs all Albertan taxpayers their hard-earned money.

As a family doctor, I regularly see patients with chronic foot pain or back pain caused by heels. I refer them to specialists. Some will go under the knife, costings thousands of dollars even without the recovery time.

I sincerely hope our government is able to pass a law that allows women to decide against heels in the workplace. It’s 2018. It’s long overdue.

This isn’t brain surgery. These are feet. We should start paying attention to what they’re telling us.

Monica Skrukwa, BMS, MD, CCFP, is a family physician in Calgary.

Most Women Love High Heels, But Doctors Warn They ‘Can Really Damage Feet’

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Most women know and love a good pair of high heels. Often, the higher the better. However, doctors warn high heels can really damage your feet, causing a lot of pain.

It is informally called “Big Toe Arthritis.” A new implant made out of contact lens material may provide you some relief.

Patient Elizabeth Carbonell explains, “I knew that I needed surgery to the point that I was limping.”

Carbonell has suffered from foot pain for years. She blames her love of high heels her entire adult life.

“I guess I was very vain when I was younger and I was always in high heels, to the point I would go to school in high heels, go to university in high heels, go to work in high heels,” she says.

However, a few years ago, the pain in Carbonell’s feet and the rest of her body became unbearable.

“That type of walking hinders you in other ways because it causes lower back problems,” Carbonell says, wincing at the memory of her pain. “That’s one of the biggest red flags in my case when you realize that you have such terrible pain in your lower back. And it’s all due to your feet and the way you’re walking.”

Carbonell ended up opting for surgery on her left big toe. But it only led to more problems and three surgeries. Even now, years later, she says it is painful. Her ability to move the toe is compromised.

“It was a complete disaster.”

Still in pain, limping and somewhat traumatized by how wrong things went in that last surgery where her toe joint fused and was made unmovable, Carbonell waited for just the right option for her other foot.

“The whole idea of having to re-do something like that again was just horrible in my mind,” she says.

“When we talk about big toe arthritis, we’re talking about this area here,” says Carbonell’s orthopedic surgeon says as he points to the bone of the big toe on a skeletal model.

Doctor Amiethab Aiyer with the University of Miami’s Health System is using the new Cartiva implant in surgeries for big toe arthritis.

Still pointing at the first joint of the big toe, Doctor Aiyer explains, “It’s this area here where my finger is that is particularly affected by this. That’s when we really start talking to the patients about adjusting shoe wear.”

If that fails, the talks switch to surgery.

About two million people across the U.S. have ‘big toe arthritis”, most of them women. Dr. Aiyer says you get big toe arthritis a couple of different ways, with varying degrees of severity and pain.

Inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis, gout, a fracture or broken bone are all often to blame. And of course, high heels.

“Loading of the joint in that particular fashion as the toe is sort of brought up with the high heel definitely causes more force and more stress on the joints in that area and definitely may be a reason why we see when patients come in with BTA early on big bone spurs that have formed in that particular spot.”

Doctor Aiyer continues, “Depending on the stage of the disease has really sort of dictated how we treat this. With lower stages or earlier grades, predominantly when there is a big bone spur on the top, you can make an incision on to the top of the big toe and remove the bone spur all the way to actually gluing the joint shut and fusing the toe when it’s really bad arthritis.”

“He recommended I do this joint fusion and the technology is nowhere,” Carbonell says.

The Cartiva implant is made with the same material used in contact lenses. It is durable and slippery, acting much like cartilage.

“Interestingly a lot of people still use metallic joint replacements that do involve some degree of screwed mechanics or some degree of screw material,” says the doctor. “The advantage with the Cartiva is the pain relief lasts for close to five years. In addition, people get between five and seven degrees more motion at the end of the surgery. You still have to make that dorsal incision, that incision on the top of the big toe to get down to the joint. The operative time is about 40% shorter. On average, a fusion can be done in about an hour whereas on average this takes anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes to complete.”

In contrast to the surgery on her left foot, three months after this procedure putting Cartiva in her right foot, Carbonell was quickly out of bed and off the crutches.

“I’m very pleased. The recuperation time has been wonderful,” she says happily. “Within six weeks. I was walking and doing therapy.”

Her right toe is still swollen. However, Carbonell’s wearing flat shoes and does so all the time now. And when she can, she tries to pass along some advice informed by her own many years in pain.

“I see these beautiful young women destroying their feet. I wouldn’t want other women to suffer the way I have. The issues that come along later in life aren’t worth it, it’s really not worth it.”

High-heel wearing should not be forced, study says

More needs to be done to stop women being forced to wear high heels at work, Aberdeen researchers have said.

Calls to introduce a law banning companies from telling women to wear high heels at work were rejected by the government in April.

The issue was debated after one woman who was sent home for wearing flat shoes set up a petition.

The University of Aberdeen researchers recommended further investigation into the issue.

The review examined research into the physical damage and injury that can be caused, as well as the social and cultural aspects surrounding the wearing of high heels.

It found large amounts of studies showed a link between wearing high heels and an increased risk of bunions, pain and injury.

However, it found a lack of clear evidence of an association between high heel wear and osteoarthritis.
Risks and benefits

The authors drew a distinction between the UK – where the government has pledged to develop guidelines and raise awareness that female workers should not be forced to wear high heels without introducing new legislation – and the Canadian province of British Columbia, which has amended legislation to now prohibit employers from requiring staff to wear high heels.

Dr Max Barnish, who led the research, said: “From our review it is clear that despite the huge amount of evidence showing heels are bad for individuals’ health, there are complex social and cultural reasons that make high-heel wearing attractive.”

Dr Heather Morgan, a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, added: “Of course we are not trying to tell anyone that they should or shouldn’t wear high heels but we hope this review will inform wearers to help them weigh up the health risks with social benefits.”

She added that it was hoped the review would “put pressure on law makers to toughen up legislation so that no-one is forced against their will to wear them in the workplace or in licensed public social venues”.

Source: BBC

Everlane’s New High Heels Might Just Be the Most Comfortable Heals Ever

We get it, it can be hard to feel comfortable in pumps. The shoe is designed to give you height and add lift, not necessarily feel good after a busy day of commuting, meetings and happy hour. With this in mind, we went in search of new heels for work, and something tell us you might like our fabulous pick.
Check Out the Absurdly Comfy Everlane Bra You’ll Never Want to Take Off

The Everlane Day High Heel is based off the immensely popular Day Glove flat, which Everlane shoppers and Shop With Us readers couldn’t get enough of. It has a higher stacked heel than the original Day Heels, but has the beloved ballet-inspired shape reviewers adore. The 100 percent leather style was made in Montopoli in Val D’Arno, Italy and has an elasticated back, so you can literally pull these on and go.

The shoes comes in four shades: black, white, pecan and an ivy green. The style is only $165, which is significantly less stressful on your wallet than some comparable designer finds.

Don’t let the lack of reviews deter you. According to Insider, the Day Heel had a 28,000-person waitlist. The original shoes also have over 2,500 reviews and ratings, with many shoppers declaring them the most walkable shoes they own.

See it! Shop the Everlane Day High Heel for just $165!

This post is brought to you by Us Weekly’s Shop With Us team. The Shop With Us team aims to highlight products and services our readers might find interesting and useful. Product and service selection is in no way intended to constitute an endorsement by either Us Weekly or of any celebrity mentioned in the post.

The Shop With Us team may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product or service is featured or recommended. Shop With Us operates independently from advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback

Hailey Baldwin Can Single-Handedly Change Your Definition of "Sexy High Heels"

On casual days (i.e. for outings with Justin Bieber), Hailey Baldwin is a sneaker gal. But when she's not rockin' her Adidas, Hailey's in the tallest platforms on the street or at the red carpet event. The supermodel, who can wear a minidress like it's nobody's business, works with stylist Maeve Reilly to maintain every element of surprise you can imagine when it comes to her wardrobe. We think, after scrolling through these photos, you'll agree that it's Hailey's sexy shoes that usually bring the wow factor to the table — or the pavement, we should say. Ahead, take a gander at Hailey's insane lineup, then shop some similar picks.

Nike’s lightning shoes hint at power of technology to skew elite competition

Do you know the most remarkable thing about Nike’s £200 Vaporfly Elite trainers? They actually live up to the hype. When the shoe was launched last year, Nike insisted it improved running economy by an average of 4% – a claim so astounding that it caused many sports scientists’ eyebrows to rise in scepticism, loosely aping the company’s swoosh logo.

However last week, the New York Times, having analysed 495,000 marathon and half-marathon times since 2014 using data from Strava, reached a similar conclusion. Runners who wore Vaporflys, which have a controversial carbon-fibre plate in their soles, did indeed run 3-4% quicker on average than similar runners wearing other shoes, and around 1% faster than those using the next speediest shoe.

Your first instinct might be to rush out and buy a pair – especially as a separate study in the journal Sports Medicine on elite athletes estimated that the shoes could take six minutes off a three-hour marathoner’s time. Good luck with that. The shoes appear to be almost permanently sold out, and often go for double their retail price on eBay.

A more pressing task is to ask whether the shoes – and other forms of cutting-edge technology – go too far. Do they, in effect, turn what is supposed to be a level playing field in one that more resembles the slope of the Eiger?

A case can be made that the Vaporflys have already created at least one major sliding-doors moment in elite sport. Roger Pielke Jnr, the director of the sports governance centre at the University of Colorado Boulder, notes that in the 2016 US Olympic marathon trials, Kara Goucher finished in fourth – missing out on the plane to Rio by just one place. Yet the winner, Amy Cragg, along with the third-placed runner, Shalane Flanagan, were both wearing early prototypes of the Vaporflys, which he believes could have made all the difference to the result.

“It is highly likely that Goucher is the first known athlete to miss the Olympics due to shoe technology,” says Pielke. “The mean improvement of Nike Vaporfly for women and fastest runners is around 2%. Put Goucher into Vaporflys in the 2016 US marathon trials, and she gets a spot if they improve her performance by only 0.7%.”

The kicker? If Goucher had not left the Nike Oregon Project after raising concerns about its use of TUEs and thyroid medication, she may indeed have been wearing those shoes.
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So where should we draw the line? On the one hand you cannot blame companies for striving to break new ground. They have profits to chase, consumers to satisfy, competitors breathing down their neck. We want these products, too. Only the most masochistic of runners attempts marathons in bare feet or old‑school trainers.

The International Association of Athletics Federations, the world governing body, also insists that Nike’s game-changing shoe meets all its requirements and “does not require any special inspection or approval”. Yet elite competition also requires a semblance of fairness. At some point the IAAF will have to rule on the permissible amount of energy return allowed from cushioning materials and whether carbon‑fibre devices in midsoles should be banned.

Such discussions stretch beyond track and field. In 2009, the sports governing body of swimming, Fina, banned the LZR Racer swimsuit because it was said to reduce skin friction drag by 24%. Yet in other sports the rules appear a little looser. Take British Cycling’s skinsuits, which they have used at Olympic Games since 2008 and are said to improve performance by up to 7%. That is a colossal advantage – yet the UCI has ruled they are legal.

Some inside the system concede that it would take other nations vast sums to replicate such technology. Elite competition is about winning, they point out, and if the rules permit the skinsuits what is the problem? Similar technology was also used to help Team GB win three skeleton medals in Pyeongchang – much to the delight of the nation.

Yet it is only natural to also feel a bit queasy about this, because it means that a cyclist from a smaller nation has almost no chance of an Olympic medal in a track sprint. While they will wear an off-the-peg skinsuit, British cyclists will have been 3D-laser scanned before being provided with suits made with cutting-edge materials, including polyurethane derivatives.

Those suits will, crucially, contain near-invisible “trips” that disrupt the flow of air and create a turbulence effect that reduces the amount of wind resistance acting on the body.

All this can get very thorny. At London 2012, most supported the Paralympian Oscar Pistorius being allowed to race wearing carbon fibre limbs – even though respected sports scientists, such as Ross Tucker, were pointing out that it enabled him to use 20% less force than able-bodied athletes to run at the same speeds.

When I spoke to someone who uses the Vaporfly Elites they raved about them providing more “bounce and forward momentum” and said they also helped them go faster for longer. “Oddly you feel them most when standing still or walking in them,” they said. “They tip you forward slightly so it’s like you are always just about to ‘take off’ at speed.”

But now we know how well the shoes work, is it time to power down their afterburners?

Should you take your shoes off inside the house?

My brother is a fastidious shoes-off-er. I visited him recently and, within a couple of minutes, he gestured at my feet in horror. “What are those?” he asked. “These?” I replied, pointing to my trainers. “I bought them onli–” “No!” he yelled. “What are they doing on in my house?”

This is the best way to divide people. There are those who despise the thought of rubber on carpet, who lie awake panicking because wearing outdoors shoes indoors upsets the natural order of things. Then there are normal people like me, who don’t really care because they understand the purpose of doormats.

However, as much as I hate to admit it, the shoes-off-ers might be on to something. A recent study led by researchers at the University of Houston has shown that 26.4% of shoes carry Clostridium difficile, while a 2015 study claimed that 40% of shoes carry Listeria monocytogenes. Work on a farm? A 2014 study concluded that your boots are almost certainly covered in E coli. These are not the things that should be traipsed through living rooms.

But I’m not going out without a fight. Sure, it might be more hygienic to remove your shoes at the door, but only infinitesimally so. By all accounts, you’re unlikely to get ill just because someone is wearing shoes in your living room. And if you have got young kids, who bolt in and out of the house without warning at the first sign of sun, it’s much more practical to keep your shoes on. Not to mention dignified; fewer things inspire more pity than the sight of adults flamingoing themselves into knots as they attempt to do up their shoelaces in a narrow hallway at the end of a night.

True, the answer to both of these problems is loafers. But given the choice of loafers or E Coli, I’ll take the latter every time.

Man wears high-heels to work because they make him feel empowered

Ashley Maxwell-Lam, a project manager for a major bank in Sydney, Australia, has been wearing six-inch stilettos to work for about a year and claims they make him feel empowered.

30-year-old Ashley has always loved women in high-heels and the power they exude, so he decided to adopt the same footwear in order to feel empowered as well.

The trick worked, and now he wears one of his nine pairs of six-inch stilettos to his financial services job in Sydney’s CBD several times a week, especially when meeting with new clients. Apparently, the combination of dapper suit, tie and high-heel shoes makes for a great ice-breaker.

The idea of wearing women’s high-heel shoes to work came about last year, right after Ashley moved from Queensland to Sydney.

One day, he watched a video of Yanis Marshall, Arnaud and Mehdi, a French trio of male dancers in high heels, on TV, and it got him thinking.

Then there was this female executive at his bank who seemed to tower over every room she walked in, and who claimed it was all in the shoes.

“I asked her how could an object make you feel powerful? So she said, ‘try them on and see’,” Maxwell-Lam told News.com.au. “I did and exactly what she said rang true. I’ve never felt more empowered then putting on a pair of stilettos and walking through a marble lobby.”

So Ashley, who is openly gay, has been wearing high-heels to work ever since. He doesn’t wear them day in, day out, as he admits they can get quite uncomfortable after a while, but he’ll always put them on when meeting with new clients.

His manager didn’t really know what to say when the 30-year-old told her that he planned on wearing high-heels to work, but he let her know that he was very serious about it.

“When I decided to wear them at work, I told my (manager) and she said, ‘Let me just confirm that’s OK,’” Ashley recalled. “It was her making sure I wouldn’t get in trouble, but I replied, ‘This is not me asking, this is not a request, this is me telling you I’m going to be wearing heels.'”

Although the reception of his footwear has been generally positive, Ashley Maxwell-Lam admits that he occasionally gets “looks of disgust”, particularly from members of the gay community.

“The only time I’ve had bad situations is actually within my own community,” he said. “(Some) gay people have said to me, ‘Why are you wearing a heel, that’s disgusting, you’re a man? You shove it down people’s throats, no wonder gays get bashed.”

“I reply, ‘You lost the right to judge me when you preened yourself within an inch of your life. You may look like a lumberjack but your tan’s out of a bottle, your eyebrows are plucked, you go to a barber twice a week and you’ve never touched a power tool in your life’. Our emblem is a rainbow and yet they condemn others because they don’t align with their way of thinking.”

Ashley says he loves the attention he gets when he’s trotting around in his manly suit and high-heel shoes, but it’s not why he does it. He just loves the “contrast between masculinity and femininity” and the way it makes people question things.

How to Choose the Ideal Pair of Wedding Shoes

There are a few factors to take note when choosing a pair of wedding shoes. Your partner and your height, the style and colour of your wedding gown, length of your gown and how comfortable you are wearing heels.

Heels, how high?

Higher heels will make your legs look more slender and toned (keeping your calves flexed), and they'll also ensure better posture.

Shorter brides are always tempted to go for higher heels to give them height. However if you do not wear high heels regularly, you may end up with sore feet and ruin your special day. Remember the shoes will need to be comfortable enough to be worn for the whole day.

Alternatively, it would be a good idea to start training walking with high heels before your big day.

If you have a long wedding dress, you can consider wedge platform style shoes, since the shoes will be concealed under the long dress.

Ultimately, you should consider heel height which you are comfortable with.

Bridal Shoes Colour

The traditional colour for wedding is ivory and white so the obvious choice is to choose the shoe colour that matches your gown. Silver is an easy colour to match so most brides would choose silver shoes as it complements their evening gown too

Lately there is a growing trend of brides becoming more adventurous and going for bolder colours like gold, rose red and apple green just to add their own unique flavour and really stand out on their big day. Bolder colours can be worn to match the wedding theme or bring out the subtle colour on the gown.

If possible bring a along fabric swatches of your gown. If you need to take a photo, be sure to take it under white or natural lights. Most bridal studio have yellow spot lights and any colour under yellow light will turn out to be misleading.

Type of gown

If your gown has elaborate details such as embroidery or beading, go for simple looking bridal shoes. The focus should be on your gown and you do not want the bridal shoes to take away that focus.

If you have a simple dress, more fancy looking shoes can really enhance and give the overall elegant look. Bridal shoes can be ornamented with embellishments such as crystals, rhinestone, bows, beading, and embroidery

Covered or open-toe

Covered wedding shoes give a more formal look and would be more suitable for church ceremonies or a grand wedding dinner.

Open toe wedding shoes are good for brides who want to show off their pedicure which is the rage nowadays. Open toe wedding shoes would be more suitable for hot tropical country like Singapore, especially for outdoor or garden weddings.

For those who are undecided, go for peep-toe shoes. You get the best of both worlds.

When Should You Wear High Heel Shoes?

If you are a shoe lover as much as I am, you probably have over a dozen stunning high shoes in your cupboard. However, when is it really appropriate for you to wear a pair of high heel shoes?

I've seen women wear high heels on many occasions while they sacrifice the comfort of their feet. I find that there are only certain occasions and events to which you should wear your sexy high heel shoes. There are certain places you shouldn't wear them to. Here is my list of places which are either appropriate or inappropriate.

Appropriate occasions for wearing high heel shoes.

1.A Dinner Date: If you are going out on a date with a gentleman, especially if it's the first date, you can put on your sexy shoes. You will appear to him as a confident lady. This is a quality many men admire in a woman. Better yet, you'll be seated most of the time so your feet won't get hurt.

2.A Wedding: Receiving an invitation to a wedding is an honour. With wedding costs skyrocketing, couples are compelled to invite selected guests only. If you are the lucky recipient of a wedding invitation, you need to look the part. Weddings are occasions usually celebrated in style where guests are required to be dressed formally. When you choose your elegant evening dress you can certainly put on a pair of sophisticated high heel evening shoes to complement your dress.

3.Year End Functions: If you are going to a year-end function or any corporate function for that matter you need to look powerful and professional. A woman wearing a beautiful pair of high heels indicates to her colleagues that she is confident, strong and determined. Furthermore, while you are mingling and moving around, you'll find that the shoes are actually quite comfortable and manageable.

Inappropriate occasions for wearing high heel shoes.

1.The Shopping Mall: We all love to get attention but getting attention at a shopping mall is not good. Shoppers tend to gawk and criticise ladies who wear high shoes in malls. Furthermore, high heels are not made for walking long distances and you could easily walk 5km in a mall. I don't know about you but I'm not going to walk 5km in my heels. Why should I put myself through that pain?

2.Travelling: When you are travelling by plane or train, you'll have lots of luggage that you'll need to lug around. Yes, I know there are trolleys but there are some areas that you can't use them and you still have to lift your bags. The extra weight of the bags could hurt your ankles. So consider your feet the next time you travel.

I hope I have given you some insight in the world of fashion shoes. High heels are a girl's best friend but only when you wear them at the right time.

How to Choose the Perfect Shoes for Prom

You have finally found your perfect (Faviana) prom dress. After days of researching and trying on multiple styles of prom dresses, you ended your search with the most beautiful, jaw-dropping dress you have been dreaming of since middle school. Now all that is left is for you to show it off at pre-prom, right? Wrong! Now you must begin your search for the perfect prom shoes to pair with it. Before starting this search, make sure to snap a picture of your dress to bring shopping with you so you can refer back to details of the beading, color, or lace details so you can assure the perfect match.  Keep reading for tips to pick the perfect prom shoes.

Glam or Sophisticated?

Now you can start shopping! First, consider what your dress looks like. Is it super glitz and glam or simple yet elegant? That question is a huge factor when picking out your prom shoes. If you went for the glitz and glam type of dress with sparkles from your neck to your ankles, you may want to keep your shoes less elaborate to ensure you do not take away from the dress or even worse, clash with the dress. This shoe can have a single strap around your ankle and be just what your dress needs. If your dress is on the plainer side without too much sparkle, do not be afraid to choose a pair of shoes that will really pop and add some glamour. Remember, it is all about balance.  This shoe can be a fully dazzled pump, or maybe super strappy and shiny. You will still have that sophisticated, chic look you wanted but with just a dash of flash. If you feel your dress is right between glam and simple, then i would really reccommend that you pay particular attention to the color of your shoes as that can be a deal breaker if they don’t match the dress perfectly.

Choose Your Color Wisely!

The second factor that will arise will be contemplating the color choice. Personally, I would always recommend a neutral color. This will allow your dress to blend with the shoe instead of being forced to go together. In addition, you can get a lot of re-wear out of these shoes because you will not have to worry if the color will match because neutral goes with everything. Neutral colors include (but are not limited to) silver, gold, black and nude. If you are set on matching the color to the dress exactly, be sure to bring a color swatch shopping with you. Even though the shade of blue on the shoes looks identical to your dress in the picture, it does not mean they will match up in person.  Also know that if you really want to match your shoes to your dress exactly, then you can always choose a shoe what is made out of fabric and have them dyed to match it.  Many bridal stores offer this service.

Height Matters!

After finding a pair that meets all the above requirements, the last step is to make sure the size of the heel is good for you! Remember this is going to be a long day and let’s be real, your feet will probably hurt post-prom. Even if you are used to high, high heels, think about the length of time you will be on your feet. You also want to make sure you can walk and dance comfortably! Remember not to get discouraged while shopping. After you find your shoes, you are one step closer to prom night.  Next step, jewelry!