Head to the fashion section of the site to hear about the woes of high-heel wearing toes.  Heels are the only things that can constantly hurt us and stay in our bedrooms.

A painful habit we love too much to kick.

After a long day of classes or being confined to the office, heading out with a few friends almost always serves as the perfect pick me up.  However, after packing all of your things into your bag, attempting to turn off your computer while sliding your arms into your jacket, all while constantly looking at the clock, the last thing you want to do is shuffle around in your heels…or is it?  

Women have a love-hate relationship with the weapon-like shoes we like to call high heels.  Why?  Quite frankly, the pros and cons list is endless, so I’ll only let you in on a few of the secrets of a shoe-obsessed, woman’s mind.  

Let’s start with a pro.  They’re slimming, sexy and can dress up any outfit short of workout gear.   Go ahead and guffaw, men.  Laugh until you cry.  No, high heels are not on the verge of becoming a newfound diet.  They actually are slimming.  The heel acts as an extension of the leg and gives the appearance that the leg is longer than it actually is.  Not only that, but because it forces our foot to maneuver around a curvy sole and end up in a forced arch position, our calf muscles look more toned.  Sneaky, right?  

Now for the cons.  They hurt, may cause bleeding and muscle stiffness, and are absolutely 100% addicting.  Hm…kind of sounds like a drug, doesn’t it?  Well, the bleeding and muscle stiffness are pretty self explanatory.  No matter how much a heel may act as though it is merely hugging your foot, or so you’d like to think, it can actually be cutting into you and causing blisters…and that’s not the worst of it.  In fact, the Washington Post wrote a lovely article all about heels.  I’m not making this stuff up.  

Even after hearing about all of the negative side effects, why is it that we still wear them?  I have over 50 pairs of shoes, yet when I see a pair of heels I like, I feel as though my closet empties itself and this one pair is critical.  Like if I don’t have them, I will have made one of the biggest regrets of my life.  So, I scurry over to a shoe salesman and ask to see it in a 6.5 and a 7.  What if I try them on and they’re a little snug?  I know that after walking about 15 steps in them my feet will be crying hysterically.  I also know that I will not listen and continue to click-clack to my destination.  As I said, it is a love-hate relationship.  

Other than the pros I listed above, why is that?  Women, what are your thoughts?  Men, do you even notice a girl’s shoes or would you care if she was wearing Reeboks instead of Manolo Blahniks?