My complete fascination with women's shoes began right about the time my mother took me shopping for my first pair of heels. I was twelve years old and had been invited to my first school dance. After purchasing a trendy but appropriate new mini-dress, mom took me to the big shoe sale at Macy's. One look at the rows and rows of all the different kinds of shoes marked the beginning of an obsession that has lasted almost 30 years. I tried on pair after pair until I finally decided upon a white, cork-soled sandal with a 4-inch platform. Of course, mom thought them totally inappropriate for a twelve-year old but she bought them for me anyhow. Those shoes taught me my most important lesson: sexy, stylish and good-looking shoes are usually not the ones you want to stand up or walk around in for any length of time.

Why would I say that, you wonder? I will start by saying that those shoes looked great! My legs looked long, my feet looked small and I walked with that "Marilyn" wiggle. By the first dance, I began to get my first blister. The straps by my toes were cut in such a way that they rubbed in all the wrong places. Soon, I had tripped and fallen because my ankles kept turning and, by the end of the dance, I was carrying them. Thus became a pattern that I fall victim to even today.

Think about the styles over the last few years which include dressy sandals with flimsy straps and skinny stiletto heels; pumps with toes so pointed your toes folded over each other to fit; pumps with heels so high you felt you were walking on your toes, boots that never fit right around the calves of a normal-sized woman; and lets not forget the "mule" type slip-on with the open toe and 5 inch heel. I owned at least two pairs of each of these styles. They all had the same common denominators: they looked great, make my legs look sexy and they killed my feet. Not one pair was even remotely comfortable after wearing them for more than 10 minutes. After many nights of soaking my feet and nursing blisters, I was convinced that the shoe gods were men because no woman in her right mind would design such a device of torture.

Over the last decade, things have changed. The styles have evolved and it's no longer just the stiletto "date-me" shoes that are considered sexy and stylish. Sexy, feminine and pretty shoes are actually comfortable today. We have beaded espadrilles that tie up the leg; cute ballet flats; pumps that don't require you to walk on a 5-inch toothpick; flat or low-heeled boots that actually fit around a normal-sized calf; ankle boots and sturdier, modified platforms. My love affair with shoes has kept up with the times and every time the styles change, I add another shoe rack in my closet. Woman's shoe styles will continue to change but the trend has begun to place comfort right up there with style.