Feet are NOT the new face.

I think, it was two Fridays ago, when I sat down to watch "What Not to Wear" and got "Fashion Fanatic with Stacy London." I was a bit disappointed but it had some interesting stuff. The episode was all about shoes and handbags. Stacy talked with several shoe designers and went to a shoe factory (I think it was a Ferragamo factory) and made a shoe. Well, actually she cut the upper, sewed the liner, and put a heel on but they couldn't have all be the same shoe because there some glue curing days in between.

There was some good info on why expensive shoes can be better for your feet. (note: Not all expensive shoes are well made but most well made shoe are expensive.) It was depressing to hear the "woman on the street" clips of all these women saying things like "well they make my feet hurt but aren't the fabulous?" It isn't just your feet that are hurt by bad shoes, your knees, hips, and lower back are also. No one needs 4" heels.

Stacy went to an exercise class that is designed to help woman walk properly in high heels, to avoid excess strain on the body. And hopefully make them stop doing that stilted step with the-toe-first-I-don't-know-how-to-balance walk. Girls, they don't make you look sexy if you can't walk in them!

The last bit of the shoe half (or 2/3) of the show was off to a podiatrist. Amongst the cautions about the beginnings of bunions, descriptions of expensive gel-pillow injections to prevent toe joint pain, there was the acid treatment for the souls of one's feet. The acid is just like what's used for an acid peel for ones face, only stronger. It removes callouses from the bottom of your feet and makes them prettier. Yes, apparently feet are the new face.

I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused. I thought callouses formed due to repeated rubbing of the skin, either after repeated blistering or where lesser rubbing occurs but frequently. As in, they serve a purpose - protecting the lower levels of the skin. I, also, thought that part of the reason the bottoms of our feet are rough is to provide traction. That's why our skin is in little ridges on our hands and feet. I've even read horror stories of women who got a little too carried away with the callous remover during a pedicure and slipped in the shower the next day (no serious injuries were reported). So no thank you, I'll keep my tough rough feet if it means I can walk across the floor and not slip. (I can also step on medium sized thorns and not feel it but I go barefoot a lot.)

I'm also not real impressed with a doctor (fairly sure it was a D.P.M. and not an orthopedist, but not positive) who is willing to treat women so that they can wear bad shoes with less pain as much as they want. How about counselling woman to not wear the bad shoes so much? Pain is a warning signal.

My advise to all of you out there looking for shoes:

• If it isn't comfortable when you try it on, it won't be after wearing it for 8 hours.
• If you are going to wear the shoes for very long or very often, buy real leather and don't buy the cheapest shoes; leather lasts longer and will conform to the shape of your foot and you do get what you pay for.
• However, remember that expensive shoes are not always better, sometimes you are paying for the designer's name and not much else.
• If you find a shoe that fits well, remember the brand; shoe makers often use the same last to make all, or many, of their shoes styles. If one fits well, there is a good chance you can order another style and it will fit, too.
• By the same token, if a shoe hurts your foot be wary of buying other shoes by the same maker. And don't wear the painful shoes for long period of time or if you have to stand a lot.
• Last but not least, avoid wearing the same pair of shoes everyday. Shoes last longer if give time to rest (mainly dry out); if you wear the same shoes everyday get two pair they will last more than twice as long.