Modern Living: The Elevated Look

(2 of 2)

Doctors are bracing for an onslaught of male patients suffering from the ills to which high heels are heir: sore hamstrings, shortened calf muscles, sway-backs, backaches and spontaneous "fatigue fractures" of the metatarsal bones. Warns one orthopedic surgeon: "I consider these shoes dangerous, particularly for ankle injuries. There is no question that the higher the sole is off the ground, the greater the leverage on the joint."

One New York editor broke his ankle while running for the bus in a pair of high-heeled shoes. Said he in a falsetto: "Thank God I did not strangle in my pearls."

—

Bucking the high-heeled trend is the KalsØ Earth Shoe, which is made with contoured wooden soles that slope downward toward the back. The KalsØ company claims that having the heels lower than the soles results in a natural, barefoot style of walking and a more erect stance, thus avoiding "the fatigue and aches caused by living in a cement-coated world." The price for the barefoot feeling: from $22 to $36.