5 Tips for High-Heel Lovers This Fall

Fall fashion has made its way from the runway to the streets. Sky-high heels that were part of Fashion Week are now trending as today’s look. There is no doubt that heels can complete an outfit, but what about the pain? There is an old adage that without pain one cannot achieve beauty. I think our feet may disagree on this one.

Whether it is to complete work attire or for fashion, heels make legs look longer and leaner and boost a woman’s height. High heels change standing posture by causing an increased arch of the back, pushing the pelvis forward. This causes the calf muscles to tighten and shorten. Some of the catwalk movements are actually the body trying to compensate for the changes in gait your body needs to make during the walking cycle.

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, wearing heels three inches or above on a regular basis can contribute to shortening of the Achilles tendon, the tendon in the back of the leg, causing tightness and chronic pain in the calves. Other issues such as neuromas, hammertoes and bunions can also result from long-term wear. Gait changes may also lead to knee, hip, and back pain and can even accelerate arthritis in these joints. With that knowledge, still some cannot ditch the heels, so what can be done?

1. Choose the right size shoe. As simple as it sounds, the shoe needs to fit. Make sure there’s some space from the longest toe and the shoe. When shoe shopping, buy at the end of the day when your feet are already swollen. Also, look at your width of your feet. I see too many women with wide feet cramming into a narrow shoe. This will help avoid bony changes and damage that can lead to bunions, neuromas and hammertoes.

2. Break them in. Wear socks at home while wearing shoes for a few hours, or use shoe stretchers. Wear shoes that give, that are made of leather rather than synthetic, so they can stretch.

3. Cushion inside the shoe. A gel cushion in ball of the foot (also known as metatarsal padding) can do wonders! Moleskin can also be used on bony areas of the foot to protect from friction. Unfortunately, this discomfort won’t do anything to alleviate the calf, knee, or back pain that results from posture changes caused by wearing heels.

4. Switch it up. Change your shoes throughout the day. Wear heels only for periods of time and give your feet a break.

5. Wear a platform and find shoes with a thin rubber sole. Choose wedges over stilettos, a lower heel over sky-high, and one that encompasses the ankle, allowing for more support.

For the time, heels are here to stay. The good news for women is that the physics of high heels are now being more closely studied. Biomechanics as well as gait changes are finally being considered in shoe development. Let’s hope this will lead to a shoe that looks killer on the runway, but that does not kill our feet!

How to Repair High Heel Shoes at Home

There is no need to visit a shoe repair shop the next time the heel breaks on one of your pairs of stylish pumps. And there's no need to prematurely toss your high heels into the dustbin either! Most broken heels can be satisfactorily repaired in the comfort of your own home with just a few simple tools at hand.

The first step is to gather your materials. You will need glue and some shoe nails. Make sure to use one of the following types of glue: Krazy Glue, Super Glue, shoe glue (Shoe Goo is a well-known brand) or Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue. Super Glue is great for a quick fix because it dries so quickly; but glue specifically for shoes will give you the best long-term results. Shoe nails can be purchased at a shoe repair shop and may also be carried by shoe and hardware stores. Often you can reuse the nails that were originally used to hold the heel in place.

Broken heels can be classified into two categories: heels that have broken completely off the shoe and heels that have broken into two pieces. If a heel has completely broken off the shoe, the first thing you will need to do is glue the heel back in place. Nails alone are not sufficient to securely anchor the heel. Coat the sole of the shoe with one of the above mentioned glues.

After carefully aligning the detached heel, press the detached heel to the sole of the shoe and hold it there. Allow the glue to dry. (The amount of time necessary will depend on the type of glue you use, so be sure to read the glue's instructions.) Once the glue is dry, carefully tap the nails back into their original holes. It is important to coat the nails with glue before hammering them in place. This will ensure that the nails stay put. You may want to insert a few additional nails for added stability.

If a heel has broken into two pieces, use one of the above mentioned glues to rejoin the broken pieces together. You should carefully hammer in a few additional nails in order to reinforce the heel at its breaking point. Remember: never insert the nails until the glue is fully dry.

Most of the time glues and shoe nails do the trick! If the heel breaks again it may be a sign that you do in fact need to visit the shoe repairman (or invest in a new pair of shoes)!

These Nike Sneakers Let You Doodle and Stencil Them at Home

What's better than a fresh pair of sneakers? A pair of sneakers you can DIY. Now Nike is hopping on the DIY train and offering a sneaker that has swoosh stencils so you can customize your kicks. The DIY Nike Gakou Flyknit drops on August 24. According to Nike, "Indecision about how the swoosh would appear on the shoe led to the creation of rubber stencils, allowing consumers to personalize the shoe on their own." Is this the best DIY project ever? Any sneakerhead would argue yes, and, frankly, I do too.

Proof that fitness can help you find love: this amazing 94-year-old bride, who just married her 98-year-old groom. They met at the gym, naturally.

Is this story better than The Notebook or what? The couple, who wed on August 5, met at the gym and still go to the same gym together twice weekly. If those aren't #fitcouplegoals, then literally none in the world exist. Check out the full story in The New York Times.

You can now cut down on your amount of food waste by, like, 50 percent. Which translates to a lot of dollars.

Food waste is a real problem. The National Resources Defense Council reports that Americans aren’t eating about 40 percent of the food they buy, which not only hurts the environment but also burns a hole in your wallet. (Think about all that kale gone bad.…) There are a slew of easy ways to cut down on it, but this smart new gadget is changing the game. Meet the FridgeCam, a new device out of Britain that monitors the status of your fridge, alerts you to its contents, snaps pictures of its insides, and tracks the expiration dates of all your perishables, as reported by Food52.

In addition, the camera and corresponding app monitor expiration dates, will alert you as they approach, and will suggest recipes for you to make based on what you've got left in your fridge. Incredible, right? The FridgeCam promises up to 50 percent less food waste per year. You can pre-order now—or wait until it officially launches next month—for roughly $130. That might seem pricey to some, but if it helps you waste less food (and therefore buy less food), there could be serious return on investment here.

Say hello to the fly AF Adidas Tennis Collection by Pharrell Williams below, which references iconic players from the ‘70s with modern-day performance fabrics. Look for polos, cable knits, track tops, and more in primary color-block and off-white pinstripe motifs for both men and women. The collection launches on August 31—just three days after the U.S. Open technically kicks off.

The tennis player, who hasn't been on the court since she tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance meldonium at the Australian Open in 2016, has been selected by the USTA as one of eight invitees (all of whom are unseeded) to play in the 2017 U.S. Open, as reported by NBC Sports. Think it's time for her to be back on the court?

Ever wanted to know the science behind delicious desserts you (I mean I) so desperately love? Now you can with this new baking book.

I love cake. Come at me. (You guys know the drill: It's all about balance.) One chef and newly minted author, Stella Parks, wanted to learn what's really behind our favorite bakery delights, which she does in her book (and same-named blog), BraveTart. It's science meets history meets sweets, as Grubstreet discovered, and now I'm hungry for cake.

I'm obsessed with any new sports-bra technology. But a sports bra made out of coffee grounds?

When it comes to sports bras, I'm very serious about my picks, thanks to my large cup size and smaller band. They're hard as hell to fit, and it's even harder to keep them in place without any chafing. I have to say, though, I'm curious about this new sports bra and workout line, RUMI X, supposedly made from—wait for it—coffee grounds. According to the brand, "Recycled coffee grounds are embedded into a fiber, to create a unique fabric with odor controlling, dry­fast, UV protection, and breathability properties." Think it's legit? Should I try it? Most important, will it energize me?! So many questions.

Nike Dunks - Your Shoes With Comfort and Fashion

Nike Dunks shoes can be best described as "comfort and fashion" shoes which have gained a lot of popularity. With a long history of marketing, Nike Company has released a series of new stylish shoes like, Nike Basketball shoes, Nike air Max shoes, Nike Air Force one shoes and so on. Among these various styles of shoes, Nike Dunks combine glamour and comfort. This classy and elite footwear came into market in early eighties. Initially it was designed to cater the needs of basketball players. You can't stop yourself from talking about Michel Jordon when you talk about basketball. Nike gained much promotion with this name. The sole was given a very low profile so as to come up with a design which is light in weight and stays closer to ground

A major criterion of shoe lovers is to get the shoes for them which are very comfortable and look attractive. Comfort and style have given ample importance in designing of Dunks by Nike. Nike Dunk has become a huge hit among sneaker lovers for its vibrant colors and innovative technology. They have become popular as comfortable, spunky and good looking shoes. Although women rarely wear sports shoes, Nike Dunks shoes for women introduced for women by Nike are getting fame as well.

Design of Nike Dunks has undergone changes for 21 times since its first launch. The Nike Dunks SB which was introduced in 2005 by Nike is a result of such changes. Basically it was launched for the players of skateboarding but similarity of the both games made it comfortable for both of them. Both games require strong board grip and swift feet movements which are easily achievable with use of Nike Dunks SB shoes. The double stitched outline makes the shoes classy and stylish. The shoes are available in 65 different color combination and verities and worn by players in basketball court as well as by in nightclubs as a fashion symbol.

The Nike Duke is available worldwide at about every well known store. Its price is reasonable and consumers feel satisfied. $65 to $99 is the average price of this pair of this elegant brand. Possibility of online purchase of this brand has made Nike Duke very popular and its demand has increased tremendously.

The next time when you are out to purchase shoes for your sports activity, buy Nike Duke for you. You will feel yourself that what a comfort and style is provided in these sports shoes.