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Ballerinas take over high heels
Highlights
Ballerinas Take Over High Heels. Sprains And Fractures Are Common Among High Heel Wearers.
New Delhi: Keri Hilson was right when she sang, “I hate heels. I hate heels. Love how they look. But hate how they feel. But hate how they feel.”
High heels, they make you feel high, stylish and confident. Your efforts to look fashionable and trendy halt at purchasing a pair of stilettos or pumps. There is a craze among women, probably influenced by the celebrities, to rock this world with a pair of heels.
But behind the long beautiful legs fitted in a pair of heels, there’s a story of pain and suffering.
Lady Gaga, an international pop super star, is known for her flair for fashion. She is very expressive and encompassed herself with the craziest shoe creations by designers like Alexander McQueen with heels over 10 inches.
If you wonder how she manages to walk in those enormous boots and bulky heels, you should know that Gaga is not invincible either. Being a celebrity is not an exception; she was many times captured by paparazzi, tripping and falling in her large boots and stilettos.
High heels hurt anybody who wears them and makes it difficult for them to walk fast and almost impossible to run. Maybe this is why Marilyn Monroe once said, “Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world.”
No doubt high heels add up to your well groomed look; they make you look funky, twerk and trendy, but are tweak and ache so much. So is it worth paining your feet to create an illusion of looking taller?
When we asked this question to the girls out there, interestingly they said they’ve got an alternative for high heels. Yes, they are talking about ballerinas, the latest trend.
Avni Mishra, a 21-year-old HR executive in a software firm, says she was a great fan of high heels in college, but after she started working, she had to go off them.
“I am not always comfortable in heels, especially when I have to travel everyday from Delhi to Gurgaon for work. I needed running shoes, and I ended up buying this pretty pair of bellies. My high heels may rest now,” she said, and smiled.
Surabhi Datt, a 25-year-old Mumbai-based trader in stock market, told that she is not in favour of high heels due to health reasons. “Oh, the body weight falls on those tiny toes, it’s like walking on a pair of knives. How is it okay?” she exclaimed. “I care for my feet; I have an alternative, I love those ballerinas with cute bows coming in many different colors.”
Subiksha Santhanam, a 21-year-old student from Christ University in Bangalore, said, “Ballerinas are not just chic but also very comfortable to wear. I can pull them off with all my outfits, both casuals and formals.”
Roshni Thongram, a 20-year-old London-based criminologist, said her preference for footwear depends on comfort and uniqueness. She asserted, “Ballerina shoes come in a variety with cuteness, comfort and fashion. I prefer them any day.”
Ballerina shoes are inspired by ballet slippers, worn by ballet dancers, and are made from soft leather. They fit the foot right and are safe, retaining maximum flexibility for dancers.
Bellies have now become staple in women’s footwear. They might seem similar to stilettos, but with a flat heel and slipper style, they are well known for their ease in slipping in the foot.
Rasalika Jain, a fashion apprentice at Max Fashion India, says customers seek variety and comfort as well, so she suggests them to go for a cute pair of bellies in their desired variety.
“There are varieties for both casual and formal wear; we’ve got a great collection in market these days. It’s undoubtedly true that the sales of ballerinas have gone up over high heels.”
Swati Mehrotra, a footwear designer and creator of Swati Modo in Defence Colony in Delhi, said she is shocked to see women of all age groups foregoing high heels and shifting to ballerinas. “Women above 30 prefer flat ballerinas with a cut open to the heel, and below 30 like the bellies with peep toes.”
To pitch up with the demand, they came up with new creations of ballerinas in different designs and colors. “The moustache and bow bellies are stealing the show,” Modo affirmed. She suggested that girls who cannot resist heels at all but want to do so for health reasons may go for platform heels.
“They are not very high and evenly heeled; they give you that feel of heel and posture.”
Studies suggest that high heels are probably causing a permanent damage to the feet and legs. In 2012, researchers at Griffith University, Australia, conducted a research to assess whether heels had changed the way women stride by comparing the walking styles of daily heel wearers to those of a controlled group.
It showed that the kind of footwear they wear affected their style of walk. The walking style of habitual high heel wearers showed quite uncomfortable and unstable. Scientists said by constantly forcing a foot into a “plantar-flexed” position, or downwardly pointed toes, women are changing their walking behavior - at the risk of causing permanent damage to leg muscles.
In high heels, all the body weight is stressed on toes, thereby shortening the calf muscle and Achilles tendon and also contorting the spine. Sprains and fractures are common among high heel wearers.
So why wear high heels when there is a ballerina?
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