The Key West Citizen

Today's Women

Associated Press Women's Editor

We're producing a new generation of "wobbling Winnies" in shoes with needle toes and stiletto heels, says Dr. H. L. Collins of Columbus, Ohio director of public education for the American Podiatry Assn. and a podiatrist and foot surgeon for 27 years.

"If older women want to wear these precarious shoes, that's up to them," says Dr. Collins. "But we foot specialists are alarmed about what the current shoe styles are doing to teen-agers' feet.

"Young feet are not yet set in their shape, and young girls haven't learned how to walk in these pointed, high-heeled shoes without wobbling. They are developing bunions, ingrown toenails and foot infections."

Dr. Collins says toes are designed to grip the ground and heels provide the greatest support for the body.

On the other side of the fence are numerous shoe designers and foot health experts who contend that the tapered toe is well adapted to the shape of the normal foot. A recent survey by the American Foot Care Institute, for instance, reports that a well-fitted shoe with a tapered toe is actually more comfortable than the square-toed variety.

Dr. Reuben Hayden, podiatrist and technical consultant of the National Foot Health Council, shares these views.

"If shoes are big enough and carefully fitted, there is no reason why they should cause foot damage or discomfort," he says.

Dr. Collins, however, insists that toes should have "wiggle room," and says the currently popular stiletto heels not only are dangerous, but are unbecoming.

"When a girl teeters along on these thin, high heels, she throws her posture out of line," he says. "Because of her wobbling gait, she puts more strain on ankles, thighs and hips, tending toward over-development in these areas.

A teen-ager in high heels is very likely to present a rumble seat effect, when viewed from the rear."

This outspoken critic of fashion also reports that the incidence of sprained or fractured ankles has increased 30 to 40 per cent since the very high, spike heels became fashionable.

For all-day wear he advises low or medium heels, and adds: "Use extreme shoe styles as you do dessert in your diet."