ONETSK, Ukraine — Trading in their combat boots and fatigues for high heels
and ball gowns, female rebel fighters who normally fight Ukrainian soldiers took
Saturday off to take part in a beauty pageant.
The event was organized by self-proclaimed authorities in the rebel-held city
of Donetsk on the eve of International Women's Day, which is widely celebrated
throughout the former Soviet Union.
Women from three main rebel battalions showed off their dinner dresses before
they changed back to fatigues to receive prizes and roses.
Russia-backed female rebel fighters pose with the
flag of the Donetsk People's Republic during a beauty pageant.
Most of the women were local residents who followed their husbands or
boyfriends to the front while one was a Russian, from the Russian western city
of Bryansk. Some of the women used to work in pre-schools, while others were in
private business.
"I'm not used to this," said Nataliya, a contestant in a corseted dress who
gave her nom de guerre as "Radist." ''There are heels to wear and then the dress
is so revealing. We are soldiers after all."
Vadim Ghirda/AP
A young rebel fighter watches as
colleagues perform during a beauty contest on Saturday in Donetsk,
Ukraine.
Whoever said you had to suffer to be beautiful had not discovered Sargossa.
We put this label in the Measure back in July, when we discovered it; I wore my
Momentum sandals all summer. The Sargossa label is based on a patent-pending,
super-comfortable sole with medical-grade padding. It works. They are not cheap
(about £160-£200) but they are worth it.
Marks and Spencer suede boot, £59Photograph: PR
2. On the subject of money: cheap high heels rarely work. High-street labels
that are aimed at 17-year-olds have very pretty shoes, yes. But don’t come
crying to me when your feet are in shreds. I suspect 17-year-olds have higher
pain thresholds, possibly connected to their higher tolerance for alcohol. Marks
& Spencer’s shoe department, on the other hand, can be an unexpected
treasure trove: I love this suede boot. Carvella sandal, £120Photograph: PR
3. Which brings us to boots and ankle support. The traditional, open-front
court shoe is the least comfortable kind of shoe you can wear, as your foot has
to grip on to the sole. Anything that holds your foot across the front will be
more comfortable (see my picks in points one and two). A shoe such as this
Carvela cage-front sandal will be much more comfortable than a more bare shoe.
The lace-up-front high heel is much-worn by high-heel pros (see: super-stylist
and front row star Sophia Neophitou), as it looks fancy and hot but is
surprisingly comfortable.
4. The cobbler is your friend. Get your heel tips replaced frequently and
your shoes resoled when they wear out. Buy leather insoles for added comfort.
Shoe comfort depends on engineering, and engineering requires maintenance.
5. Be ruthless about editing your choice, and only consider heel heights you
can actually manage. 100mm is a standard height for many labels – but most women
can only actually manage 70mm. If you have two pairs of 100mm heels and you
seldom wear them, do NOT buy any more: look for 50-70mm. They are surprisingly
hard to find, but worth seeking out.
Cocorose shoe, £85Photograph: PR
6. Last resort: when I go out to a fancy fashion party, I wear high heels and
carry a tiny clutch bag but I bend one Cocorose foldable ballet slipper in each
of my coat pockets
Rosamund
Pike in high heels. 'I live in hope that one day we will view high heels with
the same horror with which we view foot-binding.' Photograph: Stephen
Hird/Reuters
After well over half a lifetime studying, contemplating and documenting the
vagaries of human behaviour and psychology, I must issue a confession. There is
one significant trait of my fellow earthlings which leaves me utterly baffled
and stumped. I am talking about shoes.
I first became fully aware of women’s relationship with footwear while still
in my teens. An attractive young woman with whom I was nurturing a friendship
casually remarked that she could never go out with me because I wore bad shoes.
She said it with such certainty that it was clear she considered this not a
temporary lapse in my fashion sense, but a profound and permanent character
flaw. She could happily overlook my big wonky ears, ginger hair, freckles and
lisp, but my scruffy supermarket pumps were the deal-breaker.
Many years later, one of my dearest friends was grumbling about the blisters
and bruises being caused by her latest proud purchase. I muttered something
about taking more care when trying things on in the shop and she looked at me as
if I had started speaking fluent Martian. “I’d never not buy a nice pair of
shoes just because they didn’t fit!” she exclaimed, then we sat gawping at each
other while silent mutual incomprehension calcified the air.
I had thought men’s relationship with footwear was more simple. Yes, some men
collect trainers the way I collect music and others collect stamps, but we
really don’t care that much what women wear on their feet, do we? Or so I
thought until this month, when academia came along to shatter my complacency. It
turns out that the typical man does indeed care about women’s shoes and,
surprise, surprise, it is high heels that press his buttons.
A study in the new issue of the Archives of Sexual Behaviour reveals that a
woman who stands in the street and asks passing men for help in filling out a
survey, or who “accidentally” drops a glove will get more positive responses if
she is wearing heels than flats. She’ll also attract more attention when sitting
in a bar. The author Nicolas Guéguen said that a woman’s heel size “exerts a
powerful effect on men’s behaviour”. He was unsure why this should be happening,
but suggested that the over-association of high heels with women’s sexiness and
could lead men to misinterpret the sexual intent of women with high heels.
It is hard to argue with this. Even the most committed evolutionary
psychologist would struggle to claim that our ancestors on the savanna enjoyed
an evolutionary advantage if they propped up their arches on a couple of twigs
while sabre-toothed tigers were on the prowl. As tactical mating strategies go,
that one would be pretty stupid.
Further light is shone on the issue by the latest edition of Podiatry Now (I
have the best bedtime reading). Given the damage that can be done to women’s
feet by high-heeled shoes, podiatrists have an obvious interest in this
matter.
Into the fray steps Dr Chris Morriss-Roberts, Britain’s leading expert in
podolinguistics (quite possibly Britain’s only expert in podolinguistics, but
credit where it’s due). He heard of a case of a 90-year-old woman with extensive
feet problems caused by her footwear, who admitted that she wore high heels to
look attractive to her husband. When asked, he admitted that he’d always hated
the bloody things. I paraphrase, but not much. This set Morriss-Roberts off on a
quest to find out what heterosexual men really think about women’s shoes. I read
the paper eagerly anticipating the twist – surely it would transpire that after
all these years of bunions and claw-toe, men really don’t care what women have
on their feet?
It turned out that few men agree with the elderly husband (and me) and most
are helpless suckers for a high heel and a strap. They reported being excited by
the assertive brand of femininity they imply. As one research participant put
it: “I sense authority behind that … what’s going on for me with high heels is a
sense of politics, behind that there is an element of vulnerability, and a sense
that the foot is being controlled by the shoe.”
Let us not forget that a stiletto is a weapon designed to slide through the
ribs and stab the heart.
For what it is worth (ie nothing), personally I’m more attracted to a woman
who looks like she can drink me under the table then carry me home, making a
sturdy pair of DMs just the ticket. I live in hope that one day the human race
will view high heels with the same horror with which we view foot-binding. Women
would be spared innumerable podiatric agonies and men would, I think, just about
cope. Until then I shall content myself with the knowledge that I’m right and
the rest of the human race is a bit daft. And these supermarket pumps? They’re
actually very comfortable you know.
Vadim Ghirda/AP
