I cannot validate this 'shoe obsession' unless I can see how much $$$ was dropped on these bad boys. Every full fledged shoe addict knows this.

I feel hopelessly inept when it comes to walking in heels. To me, seeing a woman in sky-high stilettos is akin to seeing someone doing a backflip or the splits. It astounds me.

I like wearing heels (when I do, which is not that often these days) because they make me feel badass. As in, "Yep, I can do all this AND wear heels. Fear me! Also, fuck me."

I think its sad to have to justify wearing heels. Not all heels are uncomfortable nor does it mean that you are giving into the patriarchy or whatever such nonsense.

But they're good for sexin!

Cool. Now the fiance' has one more reason to ask me to put on the heels. I generally agree unless we're going somewhere where I might need to anything vigorous. Like standing up.

@ThaKadinskyPapers: If I did that, I'd have to bury my head somewhere. I'd be too ashamed.

@ThaKadinskyPapers: That's a good point. I'm obsessed exclusively with cheap shoes. DSW and Payless are my temples. So I probably don't count. Because if they're cheap, I don't have to feel bad about not wearing them that often.

Oh, god, high heels are the fucking BANE of my existence! I hate them, they hurt my feet, my hips, and my back. I hate them. Unfortunately for me, boyfriend thinks they are the sexiest thing ever. Unfortunately for him, I rarely care.

I can wear heels, and I should, because I am only 5'3". But I can't justify spending money on something I am only going to wear once a month, at best. I need more fabulous parties to go to.

I'm not short and I still love my high heels. I like towering over everyone and they make my legs look awesome. I know they're fucking my feet up, but I don't really care.

Fear of hobbling in my old age has pushed me to buy walking shoes. Sad.

It's freed up a whole lot of money for booze, though!

I love wearing heels. Unfortunately they are not so practical most of the time as I have to walk lots outside/take the bus and there's tons of snow and ice and it's about -20 or lower (Celsius) for most of the time.

Horray for female-centered studies?

I'm an either/or girl. Ballet flats or 4-inches. Anything in-between is ass.

I validate my shoe obsession by telling people "I love high heels and don't care if they make me 6'1". Go fuck yourself.*"

*last sentence said solely in my head.

@ineffable.me: I like women who wear heels; for some reason I find them sexy. I know in my head though that any woman wearing them is trading long-term comfort for short-term sex appeal. Unless they are smart about it -- got figure if you do not wear them every day, you're probably doing your feet a favor, and I've never expected a woman to prance around in them day-in and day-out.

Yes, and this is one of the reasons why foot-binding was so fetishized in China.

Not that I don't wear high heels. My ass looks fucking awesome with them on.

Well, however you may view Dr. Cerruto's work, I think it proves that almost anyone can get money to study anything.

@TruculentandUnreliable: Also, since I have flat feet, they actually feel better for me (most of them time) than flats, which hardly ever have arch support. I have no problem with my arches when I wear a heel over an inch or so.

@n/a: {trying to count in head how many times she fell and busted her ass in Chicago last week, but surely me and my 4in heels looked amazing on the way down?}

@kataroo_kangaroo: Good for you. I love it when my tall friends rock heels.

Growing up in New Orleans you learn not to form too close a bond with your shoes. They'll just be ruined by bar funk/beer/vomit/piss/ancient fryer grease/bovie runoff/horse poopy/misc. bodily fluids/crab boil/etc.
So I buy cheap and I buy often.

@kataroo_kangaroo: I'm 6' 2", and I don't mind when heels can bring a woman more up to my eye level.

I'm 5'0". Heels are practically required for me. And I absolutely love them.

@NefariousNewt: Well, high-heels generally make women look more appealing. They make your legs look longer, for one thing, and science has recently proven that people with legs that are fifteen percent longer than average have the most attractive legs.

And they also serve to narrow the muscles around the ankle, and help give a little more shape to the calf.

Also, they make TruculentandUnreliable's ass look great, so that's a plus.

All I mean is, if you accept that, at some level, there are objective features that human beings in general find sexually arousing, high heels actually help.

@NefariousNewt: I feel like a bajillion dollars when I wear heels, it's true. Though I really only wear heels about twice a week now that my job isnt fashion related. My gramma wears heels everyday, even to go to the store, it's no big deal. She says it's weird when she's wearing flats. And actually, last time I went home to Puerto Rico, I realized that all the women there wear heels at all times. It was awesome.

@treecut: Feh. Do, or do not. There is no "should."

That being said, I am five feet tall and loooove my high heels. I am almost never without them - even my Doc Martens have a 1 1/2 inch platform. I recently vowed never again to attempt to wear my 4-inch-heel boots to a 4-hour, standing room only, rockin Irish music concert, but otherwise they don't usually hurt my feet. I guess I'm just used to them. Plus they keep me from having to hem all my pants, as even petites are way too long. Long live heels!

@kataroo_kangaroo: hahaha, yes! I average -*6'3*- in my heels and I fucking. love. it.
Teh mens never know what to do.

After seeing my grandmothers' feet after a lifetime of wearing heels almost exclusively, I feel justified in my obsession with flats and clogs. I don't want the sight of my feet to scare small children when I'm 60.

@NefariousNewt: I love Belgian beer. Are you willing to sponsor a study so I can find out how its actually really good for me to drink it until I can't remember anything and pass out? I'll let you participate in the study!

Isn't it common knowledge that if a woman wants to look sexy, she wears heels? Does that count as science!

@Susan B.: Cheap shoes FTW! Just add Target to your list. I'd love to get nicer shoes since I wear heals all the time, but Target and Payless often are the only ones with cute shoes in my size (5W). Just 'cause I've got small fat feet, it doesn't mean I'm a grandmother!

I think this is kinda terrible but ok CONFESSION: I'm a tall girl who never wears heels. I got the most amazing pair of heels this christmas but my feet haven't broken into them yet (yes, i expect my feet, not the shoe, to adjust). So, I wear the amazing heels for my entrance and maybe another 1/2 an hour or so until my arches are SCREAMING and then discreetly slip into the cute flats I brought in my purse.

I feel kinda dumb for doing it, but its the only way I get to wear my heels. Screw Stacy & Clinton on "What Not to Wear" - heels are NOT comfortable!

@BiscuitDoughJones: remind me to tell you of the time I brought my thigh high platform leopard boots with the 5 inch heels to NOLA, thankfully they got more use indoors, but I did almost make krewe with them I think.

@braak: From my observations, I think that lower heels (2.5" or so) are the most flattering on girls with shorter legs. Sometimes short legs paired with very high heels look as if the woman is walking on stilts.

@kataroo_kangaroo: @ThaKadinskyPapers: Same here. I definitely top 6' in my heels and I love it! Especially cause they make me taller than all the men in my office.

@ineffable.me: I wear my heels everywhere that isn't the gym. I also feel weird in flats - kind of naked. Also, when I'm not wearing heels, my boyfriend says I'm "tiny and pocket-sized" (I'm 5'8" without heels).

@cuesanibelly: Common knowledge only counts as science when someone with a degree has been given a ridiculous grant to arrange some complex study that shows it.

@kataroo_kangaroo: A to the men, 'cause I'm 5'10"...no flats in my closet, thank you!

@Susan B.: I fucking LOVE DSW.

@Archetype: Interesting. There was a diminishing-returns aspect to the study that I read--if your legs were too long (in proportion to your body), it just looked weird and nobody liked you.

@ThaKadinskyPapers: Is it really a true thing that men don't like tall women? I know that I hear women say that, but it seems like a kind of an absurd hang up.

I feel no reason to justify my shoe love.

I love them. I buy them. I wear them. I'm happy.

@PinkSoxHat: Having gone to Belgium recently, I will be more than happy to fund/participate. Now all we need is a major institution to support us -- Harvard? They've got cash and there are a lot of bars in Boston.

@ThaKadinskyPapers: You can tell me over cocktails. In person. IN FOUR DAYS! Also: you never told me you were tall! It's not fair! Me & Sinnie are gonna be the only Jeze-midgets!

love the heels, now even more.

@braak: I don't know...I'm 5'10", and I remember it being a big problem for me in high school. I think only insecure assholes don't like tall women.

I'm 5 ft 4 and I do have a shoe obsession but I wear them in moderation so my feet won't hate me when I'm 60. I think I like buying them more than I like wearing them.

I wear heels everyday - I love them, I love the way they look... I love the way I feel - sexy! I can't wait until my next "why do you always wear heels?" coverstation with one of my co-workers (they are always wrinkling their noses at me) so I can bust out this research!

@ThaKadinskyPapers: @thatgirlinnewyork: @DorothyZbornak: @NefariousNewt: Any man that's okay with me in heels (especially men that are my height or a smidge shorter) automatically gets a pass in my book. What really makes me giggle are the men that are 6'4" that get paranoid because I'm "almost as tall as them" in heels. Uh, get over it?

@TruculentandUnreliable: Ah, well, but basically everyone is an insecure asshole in high school, so that makes a little sense.

I am also 5' 10"!

pelvic prolapse. ohmygawd. niiiightmare!!!! my old roommate was a gynocological (sp) surgeon, and this was her specialty. she said that women would come in and say that after they had kids they 'grew a penis'. it was not a penis though, it was their UTERUS prolapsed and hanging out.

off the topic of your ladyparts falling out, and onto the topic of heels. ouch, they hurt. i wear them occasionally, but only when the outfit absolutely needs them. @TruculentandUnreliable: i am studying footbinding now in my paleopathology class, and the stats are pretty unreal: the ideal footprint was 3.5", the metatarsals basically disintegrate over time, and they called it the 'lotus foot' and it was highly eroticized--especially the cleft in the foot where the toes had been bent and folded over. gag.

@braak: men don't like tall women who know that men are uncomfortable with women taller than themselves. also, it depends on what type of tall woman we're talking about - if she's tall but a complete wallflower and easily ignored then the men seem to stay settled, but if she's a vivacious and spunky type who orders drinks for the house and knows how to shake her ass without trying, well, then, teh mens sometimes don't want her in their clubhouse.

@braak: It's a good point, about proportion. I suppose any body that is greatly out of proportion would be perceived as less appealing.

@phrygian: same here. heels are always sexy until sandal season and the girls who wear heels all the time end up with the most busted looking feet ever...in sandals, no less.

heels are pretty when i'm sitting down. walking around all day long? hell no.