A friend recently emailed me about this great shoe line created by Dana Davis that’s supposed to be better for your feet, especially if you have back or foot problems. Ten years ago while fashion editing in Europe and running my feet ragged wearing heels, being stressed over crazy co-workers, carrying bags full of heavy lookbooks, magazines and samples for shoots, sitting through countless hours of bad benches during show season and stiff airplane rides all over the world my back broke. No, seriously, it broke, not metaphorically, but literally. And I would NEVER complain about any of the other aforementioned stuff, all of that was fun except the broken back (and maybe the crazy co-workers but that’s just life and an occupational hazard in our business). I had had back troubles most of my life, slipped discs from a young age and a solid need for a chiropractor starting in my teens but this time it broke for real; one of my slipped discs chipped and started pinching all kinds of nerves and well, you get the idea. If you’ve been there, you know it is hell on earth. I was in Paris covering shows when the downhill process of a broken back began and will never forget sitting at the Hotel Lotti across from my boss at the time while I could barely breathe from pain and calling my editor in chief to tell her I couldn’t make it to the Chanel show (heretic) the next morning because I was sobbing from pain in my hotel room and literally couldn’t walk. I could tell no one was happy that I dared pass up my Chanel invite because you know, according to the big bosses we are fashion machines and we run at all costs no matter what. It took two years for my back to recover with physical therapy (I said no to surgery) and in that period I was always scared I would never wear heels again (even more of a nightmare!) So these days when I don a pair of 5 inchers (no pain for many years now, I finally learned to relax and not sweat the small stuff, which has been the greatest help in getting through all kinds of ailments, fashion related and otherwise) I jump for joy for many reasons, beauty and vanity aside. Besides bringing back awful memories of back pain, I got excited to hear about Dana’s comfy sexy heels because let’s be honest, we can all use a little more comfort when event hopping and awards season shmoozing or just being our everyday glamorous selves. Dana Davis created the line after her own harrowing experience with Diabetes-related foot problems, which throughout a period of twelve years forced her to undergo eight corrective foot surgeries. Being a school teacher and spending hours on her feet only added to the pain and a search for good soles was disappointing so she did what any smart fashionista would do, she launched her own line and Dana Davis comfy sexy heels were born. Anyway, my point is, I LOVE her shoes and have been wearing the ones above all week in comfort and joy. You don’t need to have back or foot troubles to wear them, they look great on all feet and are just a little more comfortable than your other heels for standing for long stretches of time which anyone who has run all over town event hopping for work or pleasure will tell you is imperative to good health AND a good mood.
