Style Tone

I spent the last several weeks nursing a broken foot in a...

Mon, 31 May 2010 15:09:36 -0700

I spent the last several weeks nursing a broken foot in a challenging black boot cast. I did my best to deal with the trauma by dressing cheerfully. It was actually funny to be wearing a great outfit that was just killed by the boot. Pretty comical. I had to endure “Frankenfoot,” “Broke-Foot,” and “Big Foot” from perfect strangers. My pride was semi-injured. Vanity is is a tough one to keep down.

The dreaded boot. I had to stick it out despite the vain impulse to cheat and take it off. The worst case scenario was foot surgery and possibly not wearing heels again! Horror of horrors. Apart from that, I started to worry about all my left shoes being far more worn down than all my right shoes, which were on sabbatical. It is amusing to clean up after yourself and find lone left shoes scattered about without their mates.

I have to say that the whole getting-sympathy-for-a-broken-limb-thing is a myth. Don’t expect a man to hold the door open for you if you break your foot. No gallant lending of the arm for support. No entreaties to discuss your lame footed-ness over coffee and ibuprofen. There are no guarantees. You might get called “Robo-Cop-Foot” though.

Apparently a short hem line is really the best look for an unsightly boot. Proportionally, if you wear a longer hem over such a block of a boot you look shorter and more chunky. It is optical. Try to show as much leg as possible to distract from the hideous reminder of your injury. If you can show that most of you is still looking pretty good, then you have an edge on the handicap. Ultimately, embracing the humor in the situation is the way to go.

Above are some looks I sported to get me through the days of the black boot.

Thanks.