Lifestyle
Getting comfortable in high heels
by Hilda Fong
High heels may be good looking and attractive on the feet, but wearers do often complain about foot problems and pain after sporting the shoes for some time. It is always a headache for many to find a pair of fashionable and comfortable high heels.
Still, customers tend to consider the styles and choose shoes that are aesthetically pleasing, rather than being comfortable.
To Grace Lau and Chichi Lam, both boutique saleswomen working at Causeway Bay , the design of a pair of high heels comes first and pain is second.
ˇ§I can wear high heels for 12 hours a day,ˇ¨ Lam said. She recalled that she once tried on a pair with four-inch heels. ˇ§I actually fell down at that time.ˇ¨
Shoe designer Wong Tat-shing suggests women to choose heels that are not too high. The shoes need to have thick shoe pads and, most importantly, suit the shape of the wearerˇ¦s feet, Wong said.
The latest styles of fashionable high heels are those that are ˇ§not too tall, about one inch and a half with a retro feelˇ¨, the designer said.
May Chan Yuet-mei, an orthotist from Dr Kong Footcare Limited, a company which specialises in selling foot care products, advises women to pay attention to the size and height of the heels, the shape of the shoe and the availability of a shoe-pad when choosing their shoes.
Heels with a height below one and a half inches are preferable. Lower heels can reduce the pressure exerted on the balls of the feet and spread some of the body weight to the heels of the feet.
Experts say the heels should not be too narrow. Those who wear stiletto heels are more prone to twist their ankles because they will not be able to walk steadily and balance the body properly.
To choose high heels, one needs to find a pair that suits her feet well, especially the widest part of the feet. For example, if oneˇ¦s feet are relatively wider, she is not suitable to choose extremely pointed shoes, which may tighten her feet and cause deformities, Chan said.
A pair of good high heels has to include shoe pads to support the arches so that the surface area of the feet in contact with the shoes can be increased to carry the body weight.
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