A Freak Accident Just Waiting To Happen...

High heels without an actual "heel". They would go well with most things in your wardrobe, since few colours clash with gold or silver snakeskin. But the sensible girl would team these shoes with a crash helmet and an instruction manual. The 5 1/2in creations by Briton Antonio Berardi can hardly be described as high heels, since they lack the most important part - a heel. For the bargain price of £1,800, the wearer will get to totter around with all her weight balanced on a thickened platform sole. Unsurprisingly, fashionistas are jostling to buy a pair. Stars including Gwyneth Paltrow and Uma Thurman invested in a black patent version costing more than £1,100, shortly after they were unveiled in Berardi's spring/summer collection in Paris. And Victoria Beckham apparently has a snakeskin pair. Lincolnshire-born Berardi, 39, said he was inspired by Latin American music and 1980s post-modernism, adding: "When you walk, it is almost on tiptoe. You look really dainty." But of course, foot doctors are advising against this kind of shoe: Podiatrists, who have already warned about the health impact of high heels, were less impressed. Michael Paynton, chairman of the British Chiropody and Podiatry Association, said: "The heel is there to stabilise. "When you elevate the rear of the foot it makes you lean forward, which is bad for both the back and the foot. "The front of the foot ends up taking the weight of the bulk of your body, which can in turn do damage to the tendons in your legs by shortening them. "I certainly would not recommend these shoes." Source