Mar 7, 2017 3 min read

Are you ready for spring? Wild temperature swings this winter wreaked havoc on sinuses and left us guessing whether to wear sweaters or shorts from day to day. Once warm weather breaks, I will bust out my beloved sandal collection, but one thing it doesn’t include is high heels.

The idea of teetering on shoes with spikes as heels has always seemed absurd to me. I love the way they look and make you feel, however I can’t stand the way they make my feet ache after a few hours. I tend now to go from winter boots straight to comfy sandals and flip-flops. Tennis shoes are a year-round standard.

A former coworker used to show up the first week in September wearing a pencil skirt and high-heeled, tall boots, even if it was still 81 degrees outside. The same girl started sporting sandals and peep-toed pumps even if there was still snow on the ground, just because the calendar said it was spring.

I always felt as if I was lagging behind in my fashion and bringing up the rear by being the last one in the newsroom to switch my seasonal footwear. I don’t follow the calendar that closely when it comes to fashion, and I don my footwear according to temperature and precipitation day to day.

My days of wearing high heels have passed, except for special occasions. I always have to walk a bit more slowly and carefully in them and remember Mom teaching me how to walk like a lady when I started clomping around in my first pair of wedges. I marvel at runway supermodels stomping down the catwalk in sky-high stilettos without wiping out and falling on their faces. It’s a special talent I don’t possess. I think most ladies struggle to walk daintily in high heels, and watching someone try to cross a city street wearing pumps and a mini-skirt can be fascinating – especially when that person seems to be in a hurry.

Platforms are a clever design because they give you more of a sturdy base. The pointy-toe, high-heel pumps are the biggest instruments of torture as your weight is pushed onto the balls of your feet while your toes are also being pinched together. Who came up with this idea? Someone did create clever, foldable ballet flats that you stash in your evening purse for dancing once your feet can’t stand the heels any longer. The only problem is you’re left carrying your heels home at the end of the night. Maybe I can invent foldable high heels you can stash in said purse or a convertible pair of shoes where the heel would fold up to become an instant pair of flats. Then again, I may be liable if the heels collapse without warning. Better stick to my sneakers.

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.