SKETCH Must Love Shoes

Pin Ups en pointe

It's kind of weird how many vintage pin up pictures show women en pointe.  I guess once you have dressed up as a "sexy pilgrim" any chance of the image making sense has pretty much gone out the window.  So... armed pilgrim turkey ballet. Why not?

I can only assume that:

1) Quite a few of the nice looking pin up models had ballet training, and

2) Once 5-8 inch heels are a common prop that only really leaves one more place to go.

Men in Heels

Photo: Tim Evanson

Fashion that crosses, blurs, or ignored gender lines is currently very hip.  But, as many commentators have noted, this general means both genders dressing more-or-less masculine.  The taboo against men dressing in traditionally female ways is far, far stronger than vice versa.

And in modern times the idea of what is suitable for men is much narrower than many other times in history.  Take high heels for example.  Throughout history you can find examples of men wearing heels.

These days men in heels are generally cross-dressing, making a statement about a women's issue, or ritually self-humiliating for charity. But men have been wearing heels sporadically clubs over the last few years for simple reasons of fashion,

I rarely wear heels myself but will admit to thinking they are super-hot on men, so I hope this is a trend with, as they say, some legs.

Pee Wee's What?

PeeWee Pumps makes high heels for babies. For $50 a pop.

Yeah, I got nothin'.

Handbags are Shoes?

k4dordy / Foter.com / CC BY

How is it that on retail websites like Amazon handbags are a sub-category of shoes?  Do most women really know that you have to click on "shoes" to even find bags?  Really? Is it time I surrendered my girl card? Because is so, why am I shopping for handbags in the first place?

Aerosoles Review

My review: I found these shoes ran very small.  The memory foam insole was kind of crunchy and fell apart. Also I only received one, and not a pair. One day I came home from work and found most of it had vanished.  That night the dog was very flatulent.  I have no idea why.

P.S.: as of July 15th Amazon no longer allows customers to upload images of products.  Good forbid one of us try and load a picture that is actually of a shoe.

Beyond Twiggy

I am sure the thought process behind the pinup calender Eizo (a medical imaging company) released last June was no more advanced than, hey--let's do a pin up calander with X-rays. But it does make me wonder...

• Why release a calendar in June?
• Would anyone actually put this on their wall?
• Why only use one model?
• Why do pinup models always wear high heels?

I bet that somewhere out there in the wide, wild world of the internet, someone was turned on by this.

Batwoman's Shoes

Why are the news media acting like she is a new character when she has been around for a few years now? (Since 1956 by name, and 2006 as lesbian). And who told them her name is Kitty. I mean, Kitty Kane? (Sounds like a stripper name). I hope Kate isn't actually getting all kitten-y.

I assume it is a combination of the announcement of her new series to star in as announced at the recent NY Comic Con, and someone with bad handwriting.... (I hope). Comparing this character in her debut with a sneak preview of her new book, it is nice to see a superhero female finally wearing sensible shoes, isn't that dangerously close to a stereotype? ;) Although she is still clearly a fashion conscious character with that lipstick (Um, isn't that a stereotype too? LOL).

Then again, based on this concept sketch it seems like the crucial issue of shoes isn't really nailed down. Maybe that is even the source of the confusion, eh? (They look a bit like "kitten" heels....)

Feetish

The original medical definition of a fetish tended to be something like this, from Merriam-Webster: "an object or bodily part whose real or fantasized presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification and that is an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression." These days we tend to recognise that a fetish is not normally absolutely necessary or disruptive, in fact most people have certain things that they think are sexy--but which are not innately/biologically connected to sexual acts. (Ain't Pavlov grand?).

I think one thing to realise is that a rare fetish is not more "kinky" than a common one. What makes a fetish more intense is the response, whether the person can be aroused without it, and perhaps whether the use if it is in any way harmful to themselves of others. There are certainly fetishes that blend in because they are currently very common, even though they are quite clearly fetishistic. It's the old "I'm sexy, your kinky, she's a pervert" effect.

Shoes. Seriously. Women's shoes. It's insane.

I spent most of my childhood running around with the bare minimum of shoe-age. In summer I had soles like tanned leather; I could walk glass. Actually, as a graduate student living in a city I sometimes did (firewalkers don't impress me). Once I moved to the US things changed a bit. Legal liability issues meant my first trip to a US supermarket was a complete failure--they wouldn't let me in barefoot and I wasn't carrying any footwear (mutual incomprehension ensued).

Recently I had to start engaging in the wearing of 'office clothing'. And while I am a habitual cultural skeptic I do know what is expected of me and sometimes I even do it (if paid well and asked nicely). But high heeled shoes turned out to be a bigger ask than I expected. I had worn them maybe a dozen times in my life and my average-sized feet come in barefoot proportions---that is to say my toes spread out and don't like to point in at the best of times, let alone when propelled downwards by 'heeled' heels.

I asked for advice and various women pointed me to their favorites shoes. Shoes that were all fascinating shapes, lovely colors and textures, expensive as all hell and clearly not only fetishistic sexual objects but an expression of masochistic tendencies to boot (literally). I don't do paid posts on this blog (there are ads on the side columns, but not so much as an affiliate link in any post) so you can believe me when I say: thank you Aerosole. They are literally the only heels I can wear.

But on the whole, I'd rather be bare.