Frontless shoes: The worst of all worlds

by Lauredhel on January 20, 2009

In the interest of completing our schedule of Ridiculous-Shoes blogging, I just wanted to show you these shoes. I do feel sorry for the model’s poor toes, which look battered and bruised, probably from whatever other ridiculous shoes she’s been in.

frontlessshoes

Original source unknown. Via ugly_crap.

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Tagged as: bodily organs, fashion, heels, high heels, model, ridiculous shoes, toes

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This article was written by lauredhel

Lauredhel is a forty-something woman with a disability. She lives in her Western Australian family home where books, Lego, and soapmaking gear constantly compete for space. She blogs about feminism, reproductive justice, freedom from violence, the use and misuse of language, medical science, being disabled, her vegetable garden, and whatever else pops into her head. Lauredhel also blogs at FWD/Forward (feminists with disabilities), scribbles at her personal dreamwidth journal Selective and Arbitrary, and co-moderates Hollaback Australia. She joined Hoyden About Town in 2007.

lauredhel has written 1286 posts for Hoyden About Town. If you liked this post, you might like to subscribe to the feed via RSS or EMAIL to get instantly updated for more posts like this.

{ 22 comments }

1 Rebekka January 20, 2009 at 4:01 pm: What the?

I’m not sure whether those or the ones without heels are stupider.

I look forward to the day when we look back on high heels as an historic curiosity, like bonnets and wimples.
2 QoT January 20, 2009 at 4:22 pm: Those just cannot be stable.
3 WildlyParenthetical January 20, 2009 at 5:10 pm: Interesting, though, as an intervention into high heel culture. Most people, I think, would think ‘yuck’, and partly because her poor feet are *visible* in their strained and strange position…. the same position all other high heels shove your feet into. It’s like… making visible what is usually invisible…
4 Lauredhel January 20, 2009 at 5:18 pm: WP: It is, isn’t it? You can see how much pressure is put on the ball of the foot, and the marks on her gnarled toes. And yet, the position these heels put the foot into is the same as with any other high heel. The only added downside is the fact that there is no protection from hot/cold/sharp surfaces.

A bit like that X-ray that so horrified people.
5 Dave Bath January 20, 2009 at 5:21 pm: Surely there has got to be an occupational health issue for models, and a product safety issue for consumers, unless there is a big "This product is a toy and should not be used more than a 5 minutes a day, and only in areas guaranteed to be free of discarded needles and other sharp or hot objects."

And any consent form that might indemnify manufacturer or merchant should have in big letters "I, the undersigned, agree that I am an idiot and have private health cover for podiatry".
6 tigtog January 20, 2009 at 6:42 pm: It’s probable that these, like the heel-less shoes and the ballet-point heels, are actually designed for the foot fetish market rather than actual fashion. Still doesn’t make them non-ridiculous.

[posting from onboard the Indian-Pacific at Broken Hill]
7 Lauredhel January 20, 2009 at 6:49 pm: OH HAI Indian Pacific traveller!

Yes, they’re quite possibly originally/mostly/somewhat/totally intended for the fetish market, I agree. However, when photos show them on an upright woman walking on the ground, I reserve the right to critique them as functional (or not…) footwear.
8 Emily January 20, 2009 at 6:58 pm: This is such clear proof of the male-driven fashion industry. Apart from the sheer far out insanity of making something like this in the first place (whatever the designer was smoking, it’s strong and he should be sharing) it could only be designed by someone who will never, ever get his foot within a mile of the things!

Even the most basic high heel comes with some structural support for the foot and the only heels one should wear are those which include proper cushioning for the ball of the foot to reduce the risk of sever injury (with heels, you can’t do anything but reduce that risk). These aren’t just weird, they’re dangerous and show a complete disregard for the comfort and even the safety of the woman wearing them.
9 Helen January 20, 2009 at 7:24 pm: I just showed these to Exploding Boy and Girlchild. GC stalked off in disgust, EB said (Quote) “Wha?…They’re not shoes. …They’re not shoes!!”

Which goes to show that your “shoes, remedial” post was spot on.
10 Helen January 20, 2009 at 7:27 pm: The only added downside is the fact that there is no protection from hot/cold/sharp surfaces.

…and other peoples’ chewing gum, and vomit, and oil slicks, and cigarette butts, syringes, and…

Mmmmm nice!
11 Michelle January 20, 2009 at 8:14 pm: Yes, I’m guessing like others that these “shoes” are for fetishists and no one will actually consider actually going outside in them. Well maybe one person, or 2.. dammit there will be somebody. Even though they’re not shoes! How can you call them shoes?
12 Lisa A January 20, 2009 at 8:54 pm: Reminds me – painfully – of the artwork “Overstepping”, by Julie Rrap, here: http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/32/Julie_Rrap/158/35167/
13 hexy January 20, 2009 at 10:18 pm: Interesting. I’ve also seen shoes (usually of the fetish variety) aimed at foot fetishists that are made entirely from clear plastic. These, at least, wouldn’t fog up.

Don’t feel too bad for the models. The good bit about being a model/performer/sex worker or most other occupations who are required to wear silly fetish shoes is that we usually only have to keep them on for an hour or so at a time. The model gets to take them off after the shoot, the Dominatrix gets to take them off after the session. That’s probably why I still love the things… wearing them for short and sexy stints is a lot more sensible than trying to get through a day at the office in six inch heels. I feel sorry for the women who buy the myth presented by the pictures of the model and believe ridiculous shoes are or should be every day wear.

hexy’s last blog post..Shocking news: Accurate chemo dosage more effective than one not based on body weight!
14 Deus Ex Macintosh January 21, 2009 at 10:29 am: Why not bind women’s feet and just have done with it…
15 Bene January 21, 2009 at 3:37 pm: No, see, this proves that we are at the point where a good deal of the couture industry has decided to give up any kind of subtlety and said screw it, women don’t actually need to walk, just be fashionable.

I’m not always an expert patriarchy blamer, but gawd.
16 TimT January 21, 2009 at 4:53 pm: … women don’t actually need to walk

Or possibly levitate at a steady distance from the ground.
17 Chally January 21, 2009 at 5:24 pm: I should like to levitate. But if the price for that skill was having to wear those shoes, I wouldn’t accept.
18 hexy January 21, 2009 at 5:25 pm: If I could levitate, I’d never wear anything BUT impractical heels.

hexy’s last blog post..Adult shop in Queensland forced to remove educational promotional material from window, along with "Phallic Towers"
19 Stephan Zielinski January 21, 2009 at 5:28 pm: Er… I’m pretty sure they’re deconstructions> of shoe insanity, by Annejet Kosters.

http://www.annejetkosters.com/experimenten.htm
20 Lauredhel January 21, 2009 at 5:54 pm: Don’t feel too bad for the models.

I felt bad for the model in this case because her toes do look completely banged up, and as if she’s started along the path to a major surgical problem.

Cheers for the source, Stephan. Yet the shoes are near-indistinguishable from other shoes marketed as actual shoes. It’s always difficult to do satire when reality is so extreme. cf US Republicans.
21 hexy January 22, 2009 at 10:34 am: You should have seen my feet when I was a dancer! Now that I just wear ridiculous shoes, they’re greatly improved and far less deformed :)

hexy’s last blog post..Adult shop in Queensland forced to remove educational promotional material from window, along with "Phallic Towers"
22 Bene January 22, 2009 at 3:07 pm: The above may be deconstructions, but these are a real product from London Fashion Week in ‘08.