![](http://skypedia.org/wp-content/003shoesdm_468x320.jpg)
snakeskin.
But the sensible girl would team these shoes with a crash helmet and an instruction manual.
The 5 1/2in creations by Briton Antonio Berardi can hardly be described as high heels, since they lack the most important part - a heel.
Pretty or painful?: Desinger Antonio Berardi thinks the shoes look ‘
dainty’
Height of fasion: The heels are 5 1/2 inches off the ground
For the bargain price of ?1,800, the wearer will get to
totter around with all her weight balanced on a thickened platform sole.
Unsurprisingly, fashionistas are
jostling to buy a pair.
Stars including Gwyneth Paltrow and Uma Thurman invested in a black
patent version costing more than ?1,100, shortly after they were
unveiledin Berardi’s spring/summer collection in Paris.
And Victoria Beckham apparently has a snakeskin pair.
They are going on sale in Browns stores in London, where they have to be ordered up to five weeks in advance.
Lincolnshire-born Berardi, 39, said he was inspired by Latin American music and 1980s post-modernism, adding: “When you walk, it is almost on tiptoe. You look really dainty.”
A spokesman for his Paris-based fashion house said: “The shoe has a bigger
platform sole which stretches back further than normal and gives support under the arch of the foot.
“When walking though, you have to put your toe rather than your heel down first and you cannot wear them for very long.
“They are not dangerous because you would have to lean quite far back before you fell over.”
Podiatrists, who have already warned about the health impact of high heels, were less impressed.
Michael Paynton, chairman of the British Chiropody and Podiatry Association, said: “The heel is there to
stabilise.
“When you
elevate the rear of the foot it makes you lean forward, which is bad for both the back and the foot.
“The front of the foot ends up taking the weight of the
bulk of your body, which can in turn do damage to the
tendons in your legs by shortening them.
“I certainly would not recommend these shoes.”
The Berardi shoes were joined on the season’s
catwalks by
stilt-like sandals from Alexander McQueen, Nina Ricci heels shaped like a bear’s claw and Yves Saint Laurent
strappy sandals with a
reed-thin metal sole.
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dainty: small and delicate in a way that people find attractive
totter: to walk or move with weak unsteady steps
jostling: to push roughly against sb in a crowd
patent: an official right to be the only person to make, use or sell a product or an invention
stabilise: to become or to make sth become firm, steady and unlikely to change
elevate: to lift sth up or put sth in a higher position
bulk: the weight or shape of sb/sth large
tendons: a strong band of tissue in the body that joins a muscle to a bone
catwalks: the long stage that models walk on during a fashion show
strappy: ??(I couldn't find the meaning of the word)l