The Shoe Story: Women's Love For Shoes

How many pairs of shoes do you have? And how many of these pairs of shoes do you actually wear?The average woman makes 301 shopping excursions each year, spending around 400 hours buying clothing, books, food, and toiletries. Each year women (including those nurses wearing nursing uniforms and nursing shoes) buy shoes 15 times, 40 hours and 30 minutes according to the survey done by marketing research firm OnePoll.com.
Consumer Reports published a report saying that American women own an average of 17 pairs of shoes but wear only three pairs regularly, which is based from a poll of 1,009 women ages 18 and older by ShopSmart magazine. The poll also found that women buy about three pairs a year and, on average, spend $49 a pair. About a third (31%) of those surveyed says they have spent more than $100 on a single pair. In fact more than a third (39%) consider themselves "a shoe person."
What may be the reason beyond this?
Lisa Lee Freeman an editor in chief of ShopSmart magazine said that no matter how much weight you gain, you can always fit into your shoes. Shoes are women’s friends through thick and thin. "A lot of us go shoe shopping to cheer ourselves up," Freeman says .But 60% say they are willing to tolerate pain for fashion, basically buying shoes that hurt because they look great, she says. On the other hand, 46% have bought an ugly pair because they are comfortable, just like those ugly nursing shoes of some nurses in nursing uniforms.  Imagine that! Most women will tolerate pain just for the sake of looking good and being fashionable! Isn’t it vanity?
Another reason according from marketing consulting company Just Ask a Woman's Mary Lou Quinlan, is that "this is about want, it isn't about need, you don't need 60 pairs of shoes." An American Vogue editor even explained that shoes could actually give us power; "one element that goes on your feet can actually change the mood of your entire look, your entire behavior. I mean, that's power."
Indeed shoes could change our posture, can transform our simple outfit and can give us power rush that sweeps through our body when we put them on. There are actually so many reasons why women are so in love with shoes to the point of absurd vanity.
Here are other facts about shoes based on a phone survey:

• Half of women have more than 10 pairs of shoes.
• 13% own more than 30 pairs of non-athletic shoes.
• 28% feel shoes are an important part of their outfit and put a lot of thought into what they wear on their feet each day; 46% put little to no thought into it; 17% grab the first pair they see.
• 59% have gotten blisters from their shoes; 46%, foot pain.
• 35% have had an evening ruined by uncomfortable shoes.
• 24% have fallen because of their shoes.
• 86% are honest with their spouse or significant other about their shoe purchases; 14% admit hiding at least one purchase.

There was even an article at Yahoo Shine that featured the sexiest shoes for this year. Take a look:Chrissie Morris suede, mesh and stingray peep-toe ankle bootPrada knee-high leather boot with covered platformJimmy Choo Swarovski crystal-encrusted sandal with double ankle strapsValentino's Platform Lace Pump was voted the sexiest shoe of 2011
They may be the sexiest shoes ever, yet they are very expensive, and I don't think they are that safe to use since there are shoes that even not as high as these shoes had caused accidents and can send you to medical practitioners in nursing uniforms and nursing shoes. Here are some of the so called "striking but deadly" shoes:
Boot shoesAretha Franklin loves her Jimmy Choos, but they don't love her back. The singer was sent to the hospital with a fractured toe after she stepped on her spiked Choo shoe. That's right, she wasn't even wearing them when they injured her. In April, U.S. Open tennis champ Kim Clijsters tore ligaments in her ankle when she stepped on someone else's foot while wearing heels at a wedding. She had to keep her foot immobile for a month following the misstep.
Platform wedge sandals"Very very high platform wedges, which are super hot right now, are prime suspects," says Meghan Cleary, resident shoe expert at shoeareyou.com. The most common injury they cause are what's known as a "ballet break". "It's when you fall off a wedge onto the side of your foot causing a stress fracture," says Cleary. "It happens because there is zero flexibility in the large platform, so your foot is locked into falling the way the platform heel dictates." 
Pencil heelsThese thin-as-a-pencil Louboutin heels should come with an on-call EMT. "People don't have a good sense of balance on spiked or pencil heels because the heel is so thin," says Dr. Rock Positano, Director of Non-Surgical Foot Service at The Hospital for Special Surgery. "In addition, a very narrow heel puts force on the achilles tendon which can lead to problems not just in the foot but in the back and knee."
Heels higher than 3 inchesDr. Positano regularly sees what he calls "Gloria Gaynor fractures", or injuries caused from dancing or even walking too long in high heels over 3 inches. "The higher heel means less balance so people lose their footing and invert their ankle leading to fractures or torn ligaments." He's even seen people break bones. "The worst injury I've treated was a woman who actually broke her ankle and foot in three different places from dancing in heels," he says. "When she came in to me her foot was the size of a basketball."
High heels and stilettos of course have this high tendency of being deadly, yet even though they are dangerous, still, there are plenty of women who bought it and wore it. I'm not referring on this blog post that we don't need shoes, in fact a shoe is a necessity. On the other hand, I always believe in moderation, eh. Shoes may be very attractive and beneficial but they have also bad effects on us especially if not used properly. We, women may love shoes but the question is; do they love us back?
Sources: The sexiest shoe of the year | The most dangerous high heels | "A carnal relationship:" New documentary tries to decipher women's love for shoes | Yahoo Images | Google Images | Women fall head over heels for shoes | The Trendy Nurse Takes A Look at Nursing Shoes | Investing In Quality Nursing Shoes Is Essential To Your Body Health