13 Comments
User's avatar
Quiara Vasquez's avatar

Too relatable - a week or two ago I made the fatal miscalculation of trying to jump over an obstacle while wearing two-inch heels and sprained my ankle :( and yet, when all my friends said the problem was I had attempted to do so in too-sexy boots, I said no, actually, the elevation was lessening the pain!! But I will never, ever fault these knockoff riding boots with two-inch wedge heels that I bought at a Macy's for $15. They are... actually my favorite article of clothing I own. They're comfy, I swear! And I get so many compliments on them.

Expand full comment
Rowan Born's avatar

“is it pressure or pain? i don’t know” so good madison!!

Expand full comment
Madison Huizinga's avatar

Thank you :) 🤍🤍

Expand full comment
Lauren's avatar

so relatable! one of the first things my now-husband told me as soon as we got really comfortable with each other was how disgusting my feet were because they were always torn up by my shoes. 17 years later, i still don’t have a solution.

Expand full comment
Barbs Honeycutt's avatar

And then their feet are all soft and painless even wearing the same pair of shoes for years and years, with or without socks... whyyyyy?!

Expand full comment
Rahma's avatar

Really enjoyed this! They say beauty is pain but I say no thank you. It’s painful enough existing

Expand full comment
Skyla's avatar

Yep... had the whole "go to the bathroom to check on my feet real quick" thing happen to. Luckily it's only happened a few times, but I hate that some of my favorite shoes (heels) can sometimes be so uncomfortable.

Expand full comment
Luiza B. Campos's avatar

I never ever, ever, wear high heels. Only at weddings, which are almost mandatory. But even so only for the start of the party. I always take a flat sandal to change and dance freely. Free your feet. :)

Expand full comment
Barbs Honeycutt's avatar

Pointe shoes?! fascinating! The boyfriend gifted me some high heels and claimed I had to wear them weekly to get used to them. I always felt all dressed up with nowhere to go, and the times we did go somewhere I was in pain the whole time. My enjoyment is more important than not looking like a t-rex walking on heels. Yep, I never got to the point of wearing them skilfully. So I only wear comfy shoes now, luckily I am a bit of a corporate goth so creepers and dr.martens are okay! (I also work in digital so nobody sees my lower half hah)

Expand full comment
Jellyfish Alloy's avatar

Great piece. Even as an adult, sometimes I can't tell the difference between pressure and pain.

I used to think that other women were just somehow better at handling the pain and discomfort that came from restrictive clothes and uncomfortable shoes until I realized that anyone looking at me probably wouldn't be able to tell I was in pain, either. There can be solidarity in pain, and a lot of women do find solidarity in the pain of beauty, but I didn't want to be in pain anymore. My solution was to prioritize freedom of movement and comfort. This has the strange effect of alienating you from the presumed solidarity of beauty-pain...

Expand full comment
Meg Flores's avatar

ohhhhH rly loved this!

Expand full comment
Madison Huizinga's avatar

Thank you!!!

Expand full comment
superblue's avatar

“Are they tougher than me or just quieter?” !!!

Expand full comment