WHY WOMEN LIKES AND HATES TO HIGH HEEL

Five Things to Love About High Heels (And A Three Things to Hate)

Some women love high heels, and other women hate them.

But I believe that most of us fall somewhere in the middle,

having a love/hate relationship with high heels -- we know

how painful they can be, but we can't resist the call of a

pretty pair of pumps, even if they do have horrible, horrible

four inch heels. Over the years, I've tried to use moderation

when it comes to high heeled shoes. I opt for chunkier heels,

and don't go in much for stilettos, thinking that while they

may be just as bad for my feet, at least I'm less likely to injure myself while wearing them. I mix my high heels in with a lot of flats, sneakers, and lower-heeled shoes, and I never wear high heels for very long, or do a lot of walking in them. I also try to find the most comfortable high heels that I can, make sure they fit well, and never wear a heel over about 4 inches. Because let's face it, no matter how pretty or sexy the shoes are, nobody looks good teetering on a pair of ill-fitting stilettos that they can barelywalk in.

Thus far, I've sustainedno major injuries, and I don't have any heel-related problems that I'm aware of. This could be that my moderation methodis working, or it could just be dumb luck. I suspect that the debate over whether or not women should wear high heels will continue long after I've retired my platform sandals. In the meantime, I've compiled this list of things to love about high

heels, and to keep things balanced, I've included a few things

to hate about them.

5 Things to Love About High Heels

1) High Heels Make You TallerVertically challenged

women everywhere will tell you how they love their

heels. But, even if you don't need extra height, having

it can make you feel good. It's truly a heady feeling to

slip on a pair of shoes and instantly be 3 or 4 inches

taller, and reaching things on the top shelf, well, it's

a high like no other.

2) High Heels Don't Make You Look FatUnlike skinny

jeans, cropped leggings, or whatever other torturous

styles are appearing on the runways, high heels won't

make you look fat. Granted, some styles are more

flattering than others, but as a general rule, heels

are more slimming than flats.

3) High Heels Can Make an OutfitEven a pair of jeans

and a t-shirt can take on an entirely different look

when a pair of heels is added, and nothing can make a

plain skirt pop like the perfect pair of pumps or sandals.

Heels add a feminine touch to suits as well.

4) High Heels Make You Feel (and Look!) SexyJust

putting on a pair of sexy high heels can make you feel

sexier, but they also can make you look sexier. High

heels change our body stance, making our calf muscles

more pronounced, and forcing our butts and chests

out -- it's nearly as if high heels force us into better

posture ... and good posture is always sexy.

5) High Heels Don't Have to Cost a FortuneWhile

it's easy to spend a fortune on high heels, even

inexpensive brands can look great. In fact, there

are few things that can cost as little and make you

feel quite as happy, as a pair of killer heels.

Three Things We Hate About High Heels ...

1)High Heels Wreak Havoc on Our Bodies

In addition to making your feet sore, wearing

very high heels too often or for too long can

cause knee and back pain, as well as a host of

other foot problems.

2)High Heels Can Cause Serious Injury

I once read an article in which an ER doctor described

some of the injuries caused by high heel shoes. Among

them, was injuries caused by having a stiletto heel

rammed into the top of another person's foot on a

dance floor. Not all foot injuries sound quite as gruesome,

but trust those who've endured them, they all hurt like hell.

3)High Heels Are Hard to Walk In

Granted, some women seem to have been born

wearing high-heeled shoes, and could probably

climb a mountain in them -- have you heard

about High Heel Races? But for most of us,

some things are just less convenient in heels.

A few things that come to mind are: icy streets,

grassy areas, steep or long staircases, snowy

sidewalks, slippery floors, puddles of water,

dancing, running, and aerobics ... the list goes

on and on. We may love them, but if high heels

were as comfortable as many of us claim, we'd

be lounging around in our PJs and evening shoes.

LATEST SHOES FASHION AND SPRING SHOES FOR WOMEN

Shoes in Bright Colors

You'll be seeing a lot of purple pumps, pink platforms and melon Mary Janes -- in fact, every color of the rainbowis well represented in this spring’s selection of footwear. But there is a special emphasis on hot and citrus colors like oranges, limes, yellows and pinks. This is great news for those of us who die a little bit inside every time the fashion powers-that-be decide that beige is the new black.

Print Shoes

From floral patterns to retro graphic prints,

prints are experiencing a bit of a comeback

this season, and there are enough out there

that I'm calling it a mini-trend.I love print

shoes because they're such an easy way to

inject a bit of personality into an otherwise

basic outfit -- and they're great for pulling

together multiple colors. The key to pulling

them off is in keeping the rest of your outfit

relatively simple.

Color Block Shoes

Another huge trend for Spring 2008 is Color Block shoes (or shoes with "color blocking") -- which is basically a 50 cent term for shoes that combine big, bold areas of

contrasting colors. It's a great look, and one I'm really fond of.

And it works so well with mod styles, bright colors and shiny

finishes, it's the perfect time for its comeback. Patent Leather

Shoes Happily, we're not done with patent leather yet, especially

since I can't wait to see all of this season's bright colors coated

with shiny varnish. All I can say to my fellow patent lovers is to

enjoy these glistening gems while you can, because as hard as it

is to believe, shiny shoes aren't always so popular.

Metallic Shoes
Metallic shoes are in again. Not that they were ever really "out"

exactly. It's just a matter of which department you'll find them in.

When they're really "in" you'll find metallic flats, casuals, boots,

even metallic sneakers. When metallics aren't quite as hot, you'll

find them mostly in the evening shoe department.Well, this spring,

you can have just about any kind of shoe you desire with a metallic

finish. Especially if you desire it in gold, and especially, especially if

you desire it in silver. Shimmer on.

Shoes with Cut-Out Uppers
Holy Shoes, shoes with holes in them are hot! Laser cut, punched,

mesh and perforated uppers can be found on everything from

sporty shoes to pretty pumps, and with designs ranging from

dainty floral patterns to designs that look nearly industrial. While

this trend isn't quite as omnipresent as some of the others on the

list, it is one of the more innovative -- and some of my favorite

styles thus far this season, have fallen into this category.

Sling-Back Shoes
Sling-back shoes are among my favorite styles, so I'm happy

to report that they'll be hitting the streets and our feet with a

vengeance this spring.One of the reasons I like sling-backs so

much is because I find them less-confining than regular pumps.

And while back straps are usually found on shoes with higher

heels, this season, they can even be found on flats and lower

heeled styles.

Platform Shoes
While we may not be quite as platform-crazed as we were last

Spring and Summer, make no mistake, platform shoes are still

a popular choice for Spring 2008. But if you want to stay on the

cutting-edge of this wave, try looking for styles that pair one of

this season's other hot trends, like bright colors or cut-out uppers,

with their thick soles.

Wedge Shoes
Wow, wedge heels were gone for all of what, like a year? But lo

and behold, they're on their way back. While wedge shoes aren't

exactly a "craze" again yet, there is definitely enough of them on

the shelves to call them a mini-trend. The good news is, this is a

style that's easy to wear, and one that works especially well with

warm weather shoes like espadrilles and sandals.