I remember Alicia Silverstone in the movie Clueless (1995) proclaiming "You see how picky I am about my shoes, and those only go on my feet". Well this justifies the belief that shoes are the most important fashion accessory known to wo/man, and that without them we would damage our most precious possession, our tootsies. Shoes are an everyday necessity used to complete an outfit, keep us comfortable...sometimes and just because you can't have too many. From experience and working in fashion for years the overall consensus on shoes is huge, they're like a drug you can't get enough of and were created to cater for humans once mankind realised feet need to be protected and were the ugliest thing, they had ever seen HA HA.

The workmanship of a shoe happened way back between 1600-1200 BC in Mesopotamia. Yes... everything created started here, where mountain people wore a soft shoe made of wrapped leather, similar to a moccasin, the sheepskin unit we Australians worship! Anyway in the late 1850s, most shoes were made on absolutely straight lasts, so you couldn't tell the difference between the left side of the shoe to the right. Similar to now with moccasins made, as I sell them and get asked pretty much everyday which one is the left side and which one is the right.

Shoes make an outfit sing, they complete the look and show you off like a million dollars. When someone takes notice of what you're wearing, 100% of the time it's your shoes they see first. Usually you look them up and down but in this case you look them down and up because the shoes they wear creates the depth, height and overall fullness to the style they're portraying. It's also the one fashion accessory so many people have so many of, as I've come across more shoe gals then bag girls, I wonder why that is? Also shoes are the one fashion item you can wear more than once or twice, with an outfit because even though the same shoe is worn with multiple outfits, it still holds the same momentum it did when you first wore it. You see, shoes are just like that, they make the outfit, they keep style current and are made in a versatile way.

Take Andre Perugia who began designing shoes in 1906, they say he was the the man behind creating the stiletto. I know... it was a man who created your pain, are you surprised? HA HA..Though it is said that it was also highly unlikely he was the creator but certainly the first firmly documented designer of the high, slim heel. As strong photographic evidence exists of Parisian singer Mistinguett wearing heels in the 1940s designed by Andre Perugia. This shoe has shaped the way a women dresses, holds herself and presents the overall fashion package. Surprise surpise, heels weren't even invented for women but men! Senior curator Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto has discovered that back in the 10th century, Persian men wore heels while on horseback so their feet would fit better in the stirrups OMG....Interesting! I think so!

Now you may also want to know how to help your feet with minor/major shoe malfunctions and dilemmas, that are so over dramatised when really all you need is to use these simple methods. Working at a shoe shop I constantly hear my feet hurt, my heel is slipping, the heel is too high or my shoes are too big, what should I do? Well sit back, listen and learn...Your feet hurt number one because you haven't inserted gel cushions after wearing the heels for at least two hours. Gel cushions inserted after wearing heels/shoes give the shoe a different feel, as your feet are use to the feel once the heels are on, hence why they should be inserted after, as this gives your shoes a lift and helps the feet feel new comfort underneath the foot instead of a burning sensation. These cushions are also a great way to make the feet stay pushed back in the heel, so stopping the feet from flying forward and doing the old toes hanging for dear life over the edge trick. They are also great for people who have the problem I do, skinny, skinny, when I mean skinny, skinny feet problem, where width is a constant problem. Hey, I'm not complaining, it only means I get to wear the expensive Italian and Spanish shoes, am I right? So back to my point, these babies help with bringing the width in about a half size. I know, amazing!

So heels slipping huh? Well let's put a heel grip in there shall we? These bad boys make up the room in the back of the heel, therefore stopping the heel from flipping out the back once you do the catwalk in front of many strangers you see at Crown Casino on a Saturday night, someone's experience promise it wasn't mine HA HA...Usually I get customers constantly asking for a heel that is too low, once I offer a heel that is higher than what they would normally go for, they look at me like I've murdered someone. The higher the heel believe me, the better and even better if it has a platform, a platform you ask... this is what makes the heel even more comfortable. Even though you're wearing a 12inch heel, it feels like you're walking on air all night. If that's not your thing, then I'd say stay wearing your kitten heels, which I don't mind either 🙂 Lastly, my shoes are too big, I bought them on sale, they have stretched more than the salesperson told me they would, I put them in a washing machine because they were dirty, yeah I've heard it all. Well the way we fix this one... put innersoles in those boats, takes about a half to one size away from original size of shoe. Also if you are wearing heels, insert the gel cushions in there and the same magic happens again.