"You are setting a very high and in my opinion, UNHEALTHY standard for women not just in DC but everywhere to always wear the highest, skinniest, most expensive heels. A woman can be beautiful in all kinds of shoes, not just the ones YOU approve of. I don't know you, but I don't believe that on a day like today you're wearing the shoes you're always claiming to wear. I'm sure you'll tell everyone you are, but I demand proof, and if you are in fact wearing heels, I hope you slip on your bony butt."
Um, okay.
First, please to explain how my encouraging women to respect their lovely clothes by wearing heels instead of traditional commuter shoes is "unhealthy."
Second, you got your wish (times two) last night when I bit it hard in front of both the NEA at 16th/M and the U.S. Chess Federation at 15th/M. It will probably improve your mood to know that I had a throng of socially-challenged - come on, when you know you just know - boys and girls laughing behind their hands at my misfortune. Justified payback, I suppose, for all the Mean Girls sh*t in which I engaged at the expense of their Kinawa Middle School equivalents back in the early-'90s.
And third, here's your "proof" -- damn you for catching me in jeans* on a Thursday!
*our office dress-code is such that we could wear jeans five days a week if we so desired, so today, because my sole pair of trousers is undergoing surgery after a vicious cuff-rip and all my tights are awaiting tonight's wash, I had no choice but to reach for the denim.
40 comments:
you can even see your huge calves through jeans! poor you :(
I was actually pondering this exact issue today; not you encouraging women to wear heels, but the issue of heels being "unhealthy."
Yesterday during my usual 4 mi run, my knee began to ache so badly that I couldn't finish. When putting on my heels to run errands this morning, the shooting pains through my whole knee made me realize that if I want to run again within the next week, I'm probably gonna have to stick with the flats.
PS - Those shoes look SO cute on, I'm now considering getting them for myself.
I wish I could read your hate-mail. It must by hysterical to read through!
"Unhealthy"?????
thats too bad. So I guess shes wearing timberland boots to work..with slouch socks...eeeekkkk!!!
such a pity SOME women are ok with looking tired.
Johanna, your shoes are fierce and so are your calves.
Gorgeous. But don't the tops of your feet get cold? Once it dips below 40, I go boots-only.
Please, please make a crappy day for me better by telling me where I can buy myself those shoes for Xmas.
They look like these to me:
http://lorisdesignershoes.com/product.asp?pfid=LDS05073&page=results.asp
righty-o -- and with the "toutie" promotional code at Lori's, you're looking at a total cost of $112, instead of $140. Not too shabby.
best,
J
I really hope whoever Lori is that she's giving you kickbacks or freebies, because I alone have ordered 3 pairs of her shoes since I started reading your blog 10 months ago. Multiply that by your other readers and you've got quite a large sum of money.
you butt isn't bony by the way. shame on you, hate-mailer, shame shame shame
I think you look AMAZING--I totally want those jeans and am COMPLETELY DROOLING over THOSE SHOES!!!!!!!!!
perfect graduation present for myself... I just ordered them!
i'm torn between being upset with you over teasing me in middle school (not you directly but your kind) and loving you for showing me those amazing shoes. as usual, I'm enthusiastically neutral with you, Johanna.
and DC stylist is right - Lori OWES you big time.
I got them as well. This is really beginning to look like a cult, J.
I love the shoes, but I know they are too high for me. The jeans, however, are divine. Who is the designer?
"you can even see your huge calves through jeans! poor you :("
You're kidding anon 5:18pm right?
Gotta say though, as a guy in all my years I never heard someone complain about a woman's CALVES.
Seriously, wish there was an award for being inane...
i wear heels EVErYwhere.. my current faves are five inch marni's with a two inch platform....even my "flats" are a two inch platform.. chanel ..
im only five feet tall people...nobody even notices im wearing five inch heels..unless...i take em off! and if i spend too much on my shoes..well thats between me and Neiman marcus... great shoes pay for themselves..
xoxo
Perfect for showing that hag up! Sorry to say, but we who respect ourselves would wear any type of shoe in ANY type of weather.
That being said...it probably was a bad idea to wear suede boots today but I am keeping that tidbit to myself.
hey how do they fit. My size is gone, but I'm considering going a half size up and getting an insole...
oh, and how do you do the promotional code - where do you enter it?
Hi,
I have a bad habit of delurking only when something is objectionable in the comments or the post. Usually, I really get a kick out of your blog.
That said. Regarding the question of how heels can be unhealthy, they indeed can be. Wearing heels can cause foot, knee and back problems, especially if they're not well-made and thus lack support and balance. I'm speaking as a former (alas) high-heel aficionado. Your best bet (although Johanna won't do this, she's already made clear) is to wear really cute flats to walk to work, or boots in the winter, and slip on your heels in the office. Don't want to rain on your shoe-loving parade, just passing along some sound advice.
One more thing: in addition to wanting to preserve your shoes, shouldn't you also wear boots in bad weather conditions because that's "venue" appropriate (the venue being a snowy, icy, salty sidewalk)? I ask this because when I see women teetering in stilettos on icy sidewalks, I want to cringe and laugh at the same time. Looks so out of place.
I'm on jury duty this week. In the jury handbook it says to dress as if it were a business meeting. As a result, one of my fellow jurors wore heels today. She doesn't usually, but she just didn't have flats that went with her outfit. (Which was a shame because she broke a bone in her back last year.) We had walked a long way to lunch and were in a hurry to get back so we wouldn't be late. She was cursing her heels all the way back to the courthouse.
Johanna - when was that coupon to expire? Because it already has....:(
Anonymous 7:53-
Darn it! I didn't know when it was going to expire but I guess it was yesterday.
It may not help, but a nice gentleman from heels.com just sent me a code for 15%-off, and they too carry this Max Studio shoe (http://www.heels.com/womens-shoes/zera-mary-jane.html). It's not as good of a deal, though -- $136 with the coupon instead of $112. Free shipping, though...
If you're interested, the code is: "friends"
best,
J
PLEAAASE tell me what jeans those are!! pleassssssssse
The jeans are by Anlo - 'Nori' straight-leg in "abyss". I like them so much, because unlike most straight-legged jeans, these are cut skinnier at the hem.
best,
J
Thanks Johanna for the other coupon - appreciate it!
So falling on your ass twice is less embarrasing than wearing reasonably-safe shoes (no, not fugly commuter shoe) in icy weather and putting the pretty shoes on at work?
I admire your dedication/bravery/insanity.
I find it really endearing that you admitted to your readers that you fell twice.
Ugh. Whoever hate-mailed you really needs to back the eff off. If you don't like it, DON'T READ IT. If you don't like the clothes or shoes, DON'T WEAR THEM. I didn't realize that was so hard to understand. In the future, Johanna, don't feel like you have to prove anything to us.
Johanna's not passing out Kool-Aid to the masses. She likes a heel. She writes about it. On her very own site. Shocker.
I wore flats yesterday, and I still fell on my ass. But only once. And without some bitter harpy wishing for it to happen.
For shame. Such ugliness.
That reader's words *were* ugly. Ugly and stupid. Why would you care if J trying to set a standard of heel wearing in DC? It's all tied into boosting a woman's confidence, I think. Find me a single woman who doesn't feel prettier, sexier and more powerful in a pair of tall stilettos than ballerina flats or flip flops and I'll eat my words.
Sadly, it is terrible for your feet to wear such heels. My mom's arch collapsed in her foot from years of wearing heels now she has to wear shoes with arch support like birkenstocks (ugh, poor thing). I love heels and feel weird not wearing them, but I'd rather wear boots in the snow and change at the office than chip my front teeth or break an arm. That's a hell of a lot uglier than ugly boots for a short walk.
Jo, you were right about Eva. She just won me over with this quote:
"You know what really pisses me off? I've heard so many actresses say something to the effect that it's very difficult to be beautiful in this business. And you know, I'm not violent but I literally want to strangle them. I want to tell them, 'No, it's difficult being overweight in this business. It's difficult being from a minority or having some kind of physical or mental disability. But the easiest thing is to be beautiful in this business.'" -- Eva Mendes
lindsay - as a *former* runner myself who is recovering from two running related injuries my physical therapist said NO HEELS because they ARE bad for you, especially for runners.
however, there are lots of things that people (me) do that are bad for them, like overindulging at the bar (drinks on the house?!), or eating that extra piece of chocolate cake (why not). and even wear 4 inch heels after their doc told them not too (oops!).
somedays you need to wear your pumas with your orthodic insoles to work, or at least i do.
so Johanna has her opinions about that - you don't have to agree!
girls like Johanna who wear heels all the time and worry about their appearance 24/7 are the kind of girl who goes to the gym and does the elliptical with a Teen Vogue on tow. I may kill my knees with running, but at least that's more respectable than killing them by constantly wearing stupidly high pairs of shoes.
If there's one thing I've learned since I started running long distances it's that genetics are the most important factor in one's longevity in the sport. I have a girlfriend who is the most athletic little thing - could kick my ass in any non-running sport, hands down - but because she has such bad joints, she can't do much more than an 8 or 10K.
With heels, I tend to think some women are better predisposed for success than others. I happen to be one of those women. Obviously, if you have shooting pains that inhibit you from working out or even walking, go to a flat immediately and see a professional. I'm not saying to grin and bear it through *that* kind of pain.
and that's about all I got left on that topic.
best,
J
wow, I didn't even see dc runner's comment until after I posted mine.
the only part of what she wrote that offends me is the Teen Vogue bit.
Come on, you think *that* lowly of me?
johanna - word.
The heel debates alway make me smile. I'm 5'10" and everytime I wear heels people tell me that I shouldn't because it makes me too tall. If I'm wearing flats they say I should be 'proud' of my height and put on heels. The point of this rambling: No matter what, everyone has an opinion. At the end of the day I wear the shoes I want when I want :)
**I really enjoy your blog**
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