Shoeflyer | Shoes, Trends & Reviews

It’s true.  Flats are the footwear of the bourgeois and the proletariat.  And I’m not just saying that because they’re far more comfortable to wear at work than heels.  Indeed, I used to think of my favorite flats as a personal fashion bargain.  I would think to myself, “I’m trading a little bit of fashion fierceness for a whole lotta comfort.”  Never one to kill herself for fashion, I saw my flats as a sign of my own laid-back approach to life. My, how my approach to flats has changed since I learned about the history of heels.

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An article from the Boston Globe, “Catwalk no Cakewalk,” highlights a new trend in wearing pumps: working out. Of course, ladies have always known that a sculpted set of legs makes stilettos look sexy, but as writer Christopher Muller learns after taking a catwalk class, exercise also improves your catwalk.  By stretching and strengthening your feet, legs, and abs, you can even wear heels without killing your feet and back.

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An excellent article on fashion in Baghdad has me feeling blessed to be able to express my inner diva.  In their article, “What Not to Wear, Baghdad-Style: Fashion Rules Begin To Change,” Timothy Williams and Abeer Mohammed provide an excellent overview of just how much has changed in Baghdad in recent years.  After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, clerics set strict rules about how Iraqi women could dress.  Women who did not wear body-covering, full-length abayas were threatened, kidnapped, or even killed by armed militia members.  As one woman interviewed in the article explained, “Militias did not want women’s bodies to be visible, because they thought it might charm men.” Even women who wore full-sleeve shirts and long slacks were targeted by militia, so women across the city erased themselves into cloak-like abayas. Thankfully, as the city has stabilized in recent months, a small group of young women have been brave enough to exchange their abayas for styles of their own choosing. Mini-skirts and Mary Janes are appearing across the city.

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Welcome to the Pre-New-Year-Lame-Duck-Slump of 2008. The last few days before any long-awaited event are always a little strange. I can’t remember a single thing about the days leading to my college graduation, except that I walked around in a hurried daze.

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