The Times tackles the Eternal Question, soliciting opinions on why, for women, impractical (and in cases, wildly impractical) shoes not merely persist but thrive. Of course, there are the sociological explications, the design perspective, the killjoy podiatrist listing a mind-numbing range of foot injuries. We all know the drill: to Greer, it's servitude. To Bradshaw, it's self-indulgence. To many, it's inexplicable. Fashionista versus frump, under all flags.

The range of comments following the article is equally representative, from those who just think they're beautiful, to those who feel empowered, to the superior woman who declares, "Never have and never will wear high heals. Happily married with no lack of lovers previously. Why would anyone want to wear high heals? If you need these to get attention maybe you need to look at the kind of attention you seek." (Sexual healing, maybe?) Others invoke the irresponsibility, given the health-care debate, of courting avoidable injury. And someone else declares that high heels

make women appear to walk like helpless little girls who can't walk or run away ( i.e. make choices) from men...These women look like they need a man to carry them because they certainly can't circumnavigate the world on their own. Run for a cab in those? Teach class in those? Take the stairs in those? Fight for your client in those?

And so the debate rages on: the sensible versus the defiant. Because there's no justifying heels; it's like smoking, only moderately less hazardous to those around you. And people wear them because they don't have to, in defiance of sense and economy. Now, we're primarily talking "fashion heels" here - although, come on, the McQueen shoes and their ilk are hardly representative any more than is a full-body lace suit sans undies. It's the runway.

But it's still a valid question, and shoes have become absurd. Why do we wear heels? I can only tell you why I do: I'm short. They make me look taller. I went through most of my life looking up to people, with companions having to walk in the gutter. Then I realized I could wear a pair of shoes and look people in the eye. That simple, and I'm sorry but that's a good thing. Men don't have the pressure to torture their feet? They also don't have the option of increasing their height. Well, not without a hefty side of ridicule (and the time poor teenage uncle D bought elevator shoes still looms large in family lore.) But that said, I make no claims to moral superiority, and I'd add to this that wearing heels is like riding a bike: don't do it if you don't know how. It's dangerous and stupid-looking. It's like heavy makeup - you only notice it when it's bad. There are plenty of us striding around comfortably whom you don't notice because someone's teetering by further down the block. I'm not saying you should run in heels - ankles etc. etc. - but I can, most of us can. Of course, I choose my shoes with care - for walking, chunky heels and, whenever possible, good engineering like the estimable Faryl Robin's. "Fashion heels", yes, but not just any! Sure, good ones are pricey, but it's not an area where you want to compromise, and if we're gonna come down hard on anything, surely it should be budget do-mes, with their lack of cushioning and flimsy heels! Caveat emptor, sisters. But for non-heelers: Don't like it? Don't do it. I understand that there's pressure still in some professional environments to don a heel (although surely fewer and fewer) but for most of us, it's a choice. Sometimes, in this world, we want to control our risks for a few hours. The further things move from necessity, the more closely they approach decadence and I suppose for the naysayers, Nero's fiddling as we blithely toss away the gains of our mother's generation. But there's something to be said for reclamation. And you know what? Some of us like the option of riding roller-coasters occasionally. Or, you know, appearing in surrealist operas.

Why We Love The Shoes That Hurt Us [NYT]

Are heels this season so high because the economy is so low? There's power in height, in the instant and literal lift one gets from heels. Some say they feel sexier, and there's no doubt that wearing heels changes the posture of a woman — pushing out the chest, tensing the calf muscle, elongating (actually hyperextending) the leg and putting stress on the lower back, causing hips to work harder and therefore "sway." But where is the true power when you can't really walk? Where is the power when most of the popular shoes were designed by men who don't wear them? Ever notice how ladies who wear sneakers all the time have smooth and un-callused feet, and women with a "sexy" heel habit have stressed out and jacked up feet? Why, after thousands of years and a sexual revolution, do we continue to do this to ourselves? Is it because there's a thrill in being a woman, in claiming all of the chicks-only, "feminine" accoutrements that go with being decidedly female? While you ponder these questions, I'm going to see if I can find a price for those black Giambattista Valli numbers on the lower left. What? Just curious!

Skyscraper Heels: They May Be Painful And Expensive But We've Seen Nothing Yet [Independent]
Posh Spike needs a head for heights as she steps out in five-inch heels [Daily Mail]

Earlier: Fashion Victims
Fashion Writer Wears Fashionable Shoes, Loses Will To Live

[Images from Style.com via Flora's Box]

• Oh sweet Jesus: Is Amy Winehouse going to be the new face of Roberto Cavalli? And if so, who would be sullying whose image? Though the rumors are still unconfirmed, Cavalli has said in the past, "She is a fashion icon because she is unique." [Vogue UK]
  
• This weekend, American starlets flew to Shanghai to celebrate Ferragamo's 80th anniversary and the launch of its new fragrance, Tuscan Sun. [Vogue UK]
  
• You see, Ferragamo hopes to exploit the people of China because they have so much money to spend on luxury goods. [Guardian]
  
• Adidas, however, is paying its Chinese workers about $5 a week. Good times. [Times of London]
  
• Miuccia Prada will fire you if you eat lunch at your desk. [Page Six]

• Oh the heartbreak that comes with working as a fashion designer! Before Anna Wintour made Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte go on a diet, the designing duo could hardly afford to eat. Says Laura, "I became a waitress. We sold everything that we owned. We also sold Kate's record collection, which was immense and very in-depth." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Your jeans do not need microdermabrasion. [Chic Report]
• Us: Skeptical of "HD" make-up. [LATimes]
• Lucky Brand: Now doing watches. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Coach: Still selling lots of expensive shit. [Business Week]
• And Hugo Boss is like, totally okay, even though it's in debt. [Reuters]
• Gucci: Wants to be big in India. [Times of India]
• Moscow Fashion Week is big in...Russia. [NYT]
• If I had clothes with sensors in them that could detect my mood, they would tell you that I'm a little sleepy, a little hungry, and wishing it were fucking spring already. [Science Daily]

"I admit that if you don't have to move, these shoes can look quite nice." But she likens them to corsets, the hobble skirt and foot binding. "Having tired of torturing us with skinny jeans and mini skirts, the fashion industry thought it might be a lark to render us unable not just to run for a bus, but even to stand up for periods of time." She gives each shoe a comfort rating and a lists the injuries she incurred. The worst offenders? Satin platforms from Marni, which she could only stand for five seconds. We love her entire report, because it's funny — and it didn't happen to us.
Killer Heels: Liz Jones Tests Out The Agonising New Styles [Daily Mail]

Heels are one of the most potent weapons a woman has, so why not stand on that portable pedestal and admire the view?

Put Yourself On A 6-In Pedestal [Telegraph]

• We said it eight hours ago and we'll say it again: God is dead. Because Paris Hilton has a Teen Choice Award nomination. [TMZ]
  
• Note to self: Not nice to attack people with stilettos. [BBC]
  
• Second note to self: Stop talking on phone about how awesome it is that Bush is going to go to jail for wire-tapping. 'Cause he's not. [CNN]
  
• On a totally unrelated note, a Chinese government official who was found guilt of corruption has been sentenced to death. [NYT]

• Green journalism: knitting as yellow journalism: yoga. [Slate]
• How not-so-bad-ass is Avril Lavigne? Not-so-bad-ass enough to steal songs. [USA Today]
• Here's one thing even we know that Martha Stewart would not do for a dinner party: Hiding a dead body in your freezer for your guests to find. [ABC News]
• If Harry Potter dies, we will seriously freak out. And J.K. Rowling is not helping the situation. [E!]
• 3 U.S. casualties today pending DoD confirmation. [Iraq Coalition Casualties]

Podiatrists Warn Against The Latest Foot Fashion [Houston Chronicle]