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This Friday’s shoes are of the kind that you can actually acquire–if you are a size 6, and possess $200:
Vintage Art Deco black silk and gold metallic lame shoes dating back to 1920s–2 1/2 inch heels, and ribbon ties. I’d say, they look quite modern!
So far I’ve always thought that women on the force wear high heels only in Hollywould movies. Right? I mean, how can you chase the bad guys perched atop 3-inch and higher pumps? And why would you do that? Yet, that’s exactly what they did. In the 90s, when I was still a firm believer in (and wearer of) pumps, I remember being intrigued, at the very least, that Scully in X-Files would run around catching alien monsters in impossibly high heels:
Yes, it makes for quite shapely legs, but wasn’t she caught by aliens who performed experiments on her? Huh, huh? Wouldn’t she have had a better chance to escape them had she been wearing sneakers, or at the very least, flats?
Apparently, that wasn’t enough of a cautionary tale for the women on the Italian police force. For some reason, they (who, exactly, I wonder?) thought it was a good idea to update the look of their uniforms with high heels, and thus we get this improbable headline from Spiegel Online: A Sole-Destroying Mistake: Italian Policewomen Get High Heels — In the Wrong Size. Oh, the humanity!
Apparently, the Italian police ordered high heeled-shoes for its 14,750 female police officers, who wanted to give their uniform a younger and sexier look (because, as everybody knows, a police officer who is not sexy is a pathetic excuse for a law-enforcer). The government commissioned the shoes cheaply in Romania. The shoes arrived–they were elegant, for sure–but the sizes were way too small. The result? A lot of pain and unusuable shoes left over, whose cost will be swallowed by the ministry.
Me? I’m almost surprised they didn’t force the women to wear them anyway–after all, it’s already painful to wear high heels on the job, all the time (on cobblestones, no less, people!)–what’s a little more pain added to that?
The Manolo would say Ayyyyyy! We should all say AYYYYYY!
Nike has just released a new shoe. The Air Native N7. It’s targeted to (and will be made available only to) the Native American population in the USA, in an attempt to help fight the obesity that is prevalent in that community. The shoes are specially designed with a shape and footbed that are apparently more in line with Native American feet, and the shoes will be made available to American Indians at wholesale prices through schools and wellness centers.
Profits will be turned back around and given to the tribal communities to help them even further.
The shoes mostly look like regular Nikes, but have some adornments that reference American Indian culture (sunset and sunrise tags on the tongue, feathers and stars on the insole, etc).
What do you all think about this?
Personally, I’m of two minds. On one hand, I think it’s great that such a major company is recognizing and taking steps to help a problem in a specific community. However, on the other hand, this whole thing comes off a bit as a patronizing publicity stunt for Nike.
What say you, shoe lovers?
Our friends from Tsubo sent us three different pairs of Tsubos to try out. Of course, we were happy to oblige. Our reviews on the Tsubo Pinger, Zerine, and Vosa shoes are listed below.
Jitterbugbaby - I opted for the Pinger in white perforated leather. I wanted a summer shoe that was casual, but still with style, and man did I get that and more. As Shoesense and Shomore can attest, I wore these shoes during our VERY LONG day at the WSA Show in Las Vegas at the end of July, and was giddily pleased with the resulting comfort and funky style. I ordered them a size larger than I normally wear (a 9 instead of an 8), hoping to be able to put my orthotics in them. And when I got them? Success! The orthotics fit in them easily and comfortably. There are some TSUBO styles with removable footbeds, which would make this even easier, but this style didn’t happen to be one of them.
Anyway, I like to think that I put these shoes through a Trial By Fire (on my feet in them for a good 10 hours, without ever having worn them before) and they passed with flying colors. I also got several questions about where my shoes came from throughout the day, both from other exhibitors in the shoe industry and from buyers there to choose shoes for their spring/summer inventory. I take this as a high compliment, since the whole focus of the place was on shoes, and mine received admiring interest.
These are now a staple of my summer shoe wardrobe, and I’ll most definitely be keeping an eye on what TSUBO comes out with in the future. I know for a fact that some of there upcoming styles are great looking, and I can’t wait to see what makes it into stores.
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Shomore - I keep hearing from Shoesense that good shoes don’t need any breaking in. Well, I’m happy to report that I have finally found a pair of shoes where this holds true. I first wore the Tsubo Zerine shoes out grocery shopping and after casing practically every single aisle, I was pleasantly surprised to arrive home battle free - no blisters or foot pain. Yay! These shoes go well with my capris and the adjustable velcro strap allow me to snuggly secure my feet in place. The footbed is nice and thick - very cushy. The weird bubble designs on the soles? Well apparently they aren’t just for artistic value. They really do help absorb shock and prevent skidding. My sole complaint is that these shoes don’t breathe as well as I had hoped. Some people can wear flats without socks, but I find that my feet get sweaty easily in these shoes unless I wear my low rising loafer socks.
Overall, I was so pleased with Tsubo (plus their rep Courtney is such a sweetie) that I went online and purchased two more pairs for my significant other and my brother. Granted Amazon was having a closeout sell on many shoes so I got them at a bargain price, but the Tsubo Bombny model that I purchased was well appreciated by both men.
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Shoesense: I opted for this model in hopes it will become my next great pair of dog park shoes (replacing my defunct Merrells)–and (spoiler alert) come fall, you can betcha it will! Now, I’ve always had a problem with wearing shoes barefoot–perhaps my foot is just a tad wider than it should be, or filled out in all the wrong places, or God knows what; the point is, it is the rare closed shoe that I can wear without a sock and that will not cause me some kind of discomfort–blisters, rubbing, rawness, pain, you name it. To this day, I think that only my pair of Thierry Rabotin peep-toes qualifies for that kind of wear. You can see where this is going, right? While this hip and very forgiving Tsubo model feels heavenly at first, after about 10 minutes of walking it started rubbing at my heels. Now, the rubbing was far less severe than, say, a fashion flat could have done, but nevertheless, enough to make me reconsider wearing them without socks. I wore them with socks, however, and they felt heavenly, as they rightly should!
One bonus point for these: they work great for people with bunions or an extra-wide foot because the material on top is very stretchy and can accommodate more generous sizes. I imagine I’ll wear them every single day come September, to walk my adorable dog to the park. Oh, and I got a pair for my mom, who loves them. Now, that’s love!
Update: For our readers, Tsubo.com has a special promotional/coupon code. Use code shoebloglove to save 25% off your order by Tsubo.com. This offer expires on 9/7/07.
The New York Times reported that the FitFlops generated a virtual craze in England, where 18,000 pairs sold out within three days of their May release, and two women actually got into a brawl over the last pair of size 7s at the London store Running Bare.
What is so remarkable about these flip flops? Well, in a way reminiscent of Masai Barefoot Technology, which have also enjoyed tremendous international success, the FitFlops claim to be designed in such a way as to sculpt your calf, thigh, and buttock muscles as you walk. You may be able to tone and trim your legs, burn more calories, absorb shock and improve posture with their patented "microwobbleboard" sole. Marcia Kilgore, the creator of FitFlops and a former personal trainer, explains that the shoe ‘makes you step more naturally and it activates the slow-twitch muscle fibres in the legs [the fat burners].’
Do they work? Only time and wear will tell, I guess. As for me, I am definitely intrigued. There is a 15,000 and growing waiting list in the UK, and one can only expect things to pick up here in the US. Both and Body Works, one of the few online retailers of FitFlops, are already running out of sizes and are currently restocking. The price is reasonable: $39.95. You can also preorder them for $45 at Bliss Spa. The FitFlop website promises to keep us updated as other stores start carrying this product.
Would you try them?
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