Louboutin, bare feet, and stockings
The more serious shoe designers, Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, and Jimmy Choo for example, are aware that women have to walk in their shoes -- not far, but far enough without having to suffer pain and disappointment.
If a shoe is uncomfortable, it will affect a woman's willingness to wear it a second time. Or, she might wear it but she won't walk in it, or worse still she will walk badly in it like an injured deer.
As Mr Blahnik so eloquently puts it: "I hate these designers who put flowers and jewels and this and that on shoes and they don't even look like shoes. Shoes can be crazy as long as they're comfortable and women can walk in them."
Working as a photographer in the fashion industry I have seen so many shoes that look so great on models your thoughts immediately shift to sex. But as soon as the poor model moves, you can see the shoes are crippling her. Not sexy at all. The girls on the runway can't wait to kick off those uncomfortable creations and let their pretty feet breathe.
Guys who only look at a woman in high heels have no clue how pretty a beautiful woman's feet can be.
Many's the time I have had to stop a shoot, let the model rest her feet while an assistant rushes off to fetch a foot bath of warm warm, another scurries to find lotion, talc and towels ... then a call goes out, "Is anyone here any good at foot massage?"
I love a woman's feet, whether she's in high heels, flats, or shoeless, so I don't need to be asked more than once to devote a few minutes to caressing a lady's ankles, massaging her arches, rubbing her heels, and stroking the balls of her feet.
The toes need attention too. Pointed high heels have a way of pushing and pressing the toes together, which can be extremely uncomfortable, requiring more loving attention from your truly, massing each little toe, or kneading them kindly but firmly in my hand.
A woman in stockings can drive a man crazy with desire
It is so wonderfully touching when a runway model wearing a $10,000 frock and $1000 shoes kicks off the shoes and leans back in a cheap plastic chair. Suddenly she is no longer the superstar, the focus of male attention, but she's a girl once more, a girl with sore heels and toes, aching arches, just like a teenage tomboy trying high heels for the first time. With the best will in the world that first pair of heels can't be worn more than a few minutes before the tomboy kicks them off high into the air and puts on her loved and trusted sneakers.
Don't you just want to reach out and caress those legs?
I once had the delicious pleasure of spending a week at a model's home near the beautiful city of Copenhagen. She, a close friend of mine for many years, lived in a delightful apartment overlooking Sundet (Oresund), the narrow stretch of water that separates Denmark from Sweden.
I was on my way to a fashion shoot in Stockholm, Sweden, which was to be followed by a dull week of product photography in Oslo, Norway.
I stopped off in Copenhagen to catch up on our friendship, which I'd neglected over the past year or so.
We jogged together along cobbled streets, sipped coffee in attractive basement cafes, and lunched on delicious salads in bistros and restaurants that would not have been out of place in Paris.
Thong and seamed stockings. Yummy-yum-yum!
I have a keen eye for shoes. My friend wore Sauconys for running, at least five pairs of Cole Haan ballet flats for walking about town (ballet flats are great for tall women), and an entire walk-in wardrobe of designer shoes for, and from, photo shoots. Christian Louboutin was a favorite, closely followed by Jimmy Choo, Prada, Christian Lacroix, and a few pairs of Manolo Blahnik warrior sandals and high heels.
With thousands of dollars of shoes in her apartment, my friend's favorite footwear at home was ... nothing ... bare feet, which gave them time to recover from demanding photo shoots in tightly fitting Jimmy Choo high heels and impossible Alexander McQueen creations.
My friend was serious about good foot care. Foot baths were a favorite, followed by treatment with lotions and moisturizer. And whichever guy was in the apartment would be asked whether he was willing to give her a foot rub, nothing more you understand, no male hand would ever be allowed to wander higher than her knee.
Rear view: lingerie adds much-needed spice to the curves and softness of a woman's body
She'd calmly tell her foor therapist, "Foot rub, darling, not the knees. Focus darling, focus".
I had learned my lesson, and as a photographer you have to win and keep a model's trust. You don't achieve that with lustful gazes and Wandering Hands Disease. A runway model asks you to rub her feet, then you rub her feet. That's all you do. But those feet can be works of art, finely boned, smooth skinned, no unsightly bumps or blemishes. It's an erotic experience just stroking them.
Next time you find yourself telling your wife or girlfriend to put on her high heels, why not give her a break, offer her a soft, sensual foot rub before she puts on those heels, and do the same after she takes them off.
Your woman will adore you for taking an interest in her feet. Learn to see them as beautiful. Feel them, enjoy them -- and if she's your very special woman she'll no doubt allow your hands to wander a little higher than her knees.
By Angelos Fertakis
