Women brought to heel on fashion faux pas

It seems girls just can’t resist buying shoes that look great, even though they know they will hurt – and Worcestershire lasses are worse than most!

It’s the fashion faux pas that is rarely talked about and remains one of the hidden secrets at the bottom of many women’s wardrobes.

Most of us girls have parted with our hard-earned cash for a pair of must-have shoes, only to find these treasures are transformed into a toe torture contraption halfway through the night.

Once or twice is forgivable and perhaps even understandable, but now new research has revealed that women keep making the same mistake when it comes to fashionable footwear – and are frittering away £2.5 billion a year on uncomfortable shoes they rarely wear.

The average woman in the UK spends £136.52 on five new pairs of shoes every year, at a cost of £27.40 per pair.

But instead of investing wisely in shoes they can wear more than once, three out of the five pairs of these “must-have” heels end up at the bottom of the wardrobe having only had one or two outings because they hurt their new owner’s feet.

The research, commissioned by shoe specialist Hotter Comfort Concept, also revealed that 40% of the 1,000 women questioned admit choosing their shoes purely because of how they look – and not how they feel.

But incredibly, almost a third who have tried on shoes and know they’ll be sore still buy them because they just can’t resist the look, and often kid themselves into believing their feet will adjust.

This determination to persevere with their purchases means 62% of women spend at least one day a week wearing uncomfortable shoes, with 48% hoping to wear them in until their feet get used to them.

But still we refuse to give up! More than half of women say they hang on to their hellish heels for up to a year before admitting defeat and throwing them away, despite only wearing them once.
They also revealed that they own at least four pairs of shoes just to be worn when sitting down or Dinner Shoes that look amazing but are excruciating to actually walk in.

Regionally, women in Chelmsford buy the most shoes, treating themselves to an average of seven pairs every year whereas women in Leicester buy the least, getting by on just four pairs a year.

Worcestershire is revealed as the worst county for footwear faux pas as women there admit that 70% of their shoe collection has only been worn once because they are too painful, whereas Cambridge females are the most comfort-savvy with just 20% of their collection having been worn only once.

Lisa McCarten from Hotter, said: “Shoes really can change your life: they have an impact on the health of your feet, can influence how you feel and play a significant part in how much you enjoy your day.

“Not only do uncomfortable shoes make for a bad day today, squeezing your toes into ill-fitting footwear can also damage your feet causing pain and discomfort in later life.

“We all want to look our best, keep up with our busy lives and have fun; stylish comfy shoes are an essential part of the modern woman’s wardrobe to help her tackle all three.”