In my formative years I spent a lot of time exploring the exotic night-life of the North, and one thing that never ceased to amaze me was the courageousness of the local lady folk.
Mini skirts in Newcastle in freezing cold weather, high heels on the cobbled paths of Leeds’ Corn Exchange and low cut tops on a wind-swept night in Manchester always made me feel rather guilts for chucking a jumper on over my shirt and wearing a nice padded coat out.
But fashion hurts, according to Long Tall Sally’s “If the Shoe Fits” survey. The study found that nearly half of all British women are unable to walk the day after an evening out because of their ill-fitting shoes, which means up to eight million women could be hobbling around today after stepping out in uncomfortable footwear on Saturday night.
Three quarters of women confess to owning at least one pair of shoes which are “absolute agony” to wear while a third of women admit to having “sit down shoes” which can only be worn to seated events.
Lindsey Clark, Head of Garment and Shoe Tech for fashion and footwear retailer Long Tall Sally, which commissioned the poll of 1,000 women, said: “Our research suggests 32 per cent of women are wearing the wrong size shoes. Even the most beautiful shoes will look unattractive if they’re two sizes too small.
“Stats show that 62 per cent of women haven’t had their feet measured in more than five years, and 45 per cent in more than 10 years. We urge our customers to head in store and have their feet measured to check they’re wearing the right size shoes. Lots of lifestyle factors can change the shape of a woman’s foot, from pregnancy to ageing to weight loss.”
