Cannes Shoegate: Festival Apologises But Women Are Still Complaining of Flat Shoe Ban

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Women attendees are still complaining of being turned away from the Cannes red carpet despite a denial and then an apology from festival director Thierry Fremaux.

 

The BBC reports that producer Valeria Richter was barred by red carpet officials, who allegedly pointed to her feet and said, “No, no, this won’t work. You can’t get in like this.” Part of Ms Richter’s left foot is amputated and she said she finds it hard to balance in heels. She was eventually let in.

 

Filmmaker Asif Kapadia, director of the documentary Amy which was screened at Cannes over the weekend, also reported that his wife had been given a hard time over her shoes but was later allowed in. Actress Shabana Azmi, who has served on the Cannes jury in the past, criticized the alleged ban on Twitter:

Shocking report that Cannes bans flats on red carpet!Director of Amy Asif Kapadia says his wife was given rough time 2.Unacceptable surely.

Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) May 20, 2015

 

After Britain’s Screen Daily reported that a group of women were not allowed into the screening of Cate Blanchett’s film Carol, Thierry Fremaux insisted in a tweet:”The rumour that the festival requires high heels for the women on the steps is baseless.”

 

At a dinner on Tuesday night, he told AFP, “We apologise,” adding that “there was perhaps a small moment of over-zealousness,” apparently referring to the security guards.

 

The festival also released an official statement that read: “Regarding the dress code for the red carpet screenings, rules have not changed throughout the years (tuxedo, formal dress for Gala screenings) and there is no specific mention about the height of the women’s heels as well as for men’s.”

 

As the row over high heels erupted, actress Emily Blunt said on Tuesday, “Everyone should wear flats to be honest. We shouldn’t wear high heels anyway. That’s very disappointing. You think there’s these new waves of equality.” Emily’s film Sicario premiered at the film festival on Tuesday evening and her director Denis Villeneuve joked that he and the film’s male co-stars, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin, would climb the ‘stairs in high heels’ in solidarity.

 

Categories: asif kapadia, cannes, festival, heels, high heels, nbsp, red carpet, thierry fremaux, Women

Men Love Foreplay: He Wants It, So Here’s How to Give It!

There’s a common misconception that foreplay is favoured by women, while men just put up with it in order to get to the good stuff. However, according to a study from the University of New Brunswick, Canada, it was found that while women assumed their partner wanted 13 minutes tops, men claimed that 18 minutes was ideal. Sexual health and wellness expert Judy Dutton, author of REDBOOK’s 500 Sex Tips, argues, ‘It pays to take your sweet time and indulge in the sensual smorgasboard foreplay can be.’ So, to help you tune into his sexual wellbeing, we’ve rounded up some real men who were happy to share their favourite foreplay experiences.

 

1. De-Robe In Front of Him: John, 40, notes, ‘When Cassie’s in the mood for lovemaking or for reminding me how sexy she is, she makes sure I see her undress. After raising her skirt above her thighs, she removes her stockings, running her hands along her calves as she pulls them down. Then she slowly unbuttons her blouse, giving me sexy looks between each button. Finally, she undoes her bra and cups her breasts as the straps fall off her shoulders. It makes me nuts.’

 

2. Sext Him: ‘Occasionally she’ll page me and send the message “I want to [bleep] tonight,”’ says Paul, 27. ‘I love getting playful, devilish little notes like this. It lets me know that she’s going to be ready and raring to go when I get home.’

 

3. Take Him Shopping: Tyson, 28, recalls, ‘Recently my sweetheart got me a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret. She said, ‘Let’s go shopping — and you can buy anything you want me to wear.’ Being allowed to call the shots on the purchases we made was an amazing turn-on. That shopping spree was one long stretch of foreplay!’

 

4. Play Footsie: ‘My wife, Laura, plays a world-class game of footsie,’ asserts Bill, 37. ‘She has beautiful feet and wears a lot of high heels. She runs the side of her foot up and down my calf, first on the outside of my leg, then the inside. Then she kicks off her shoes and caresses my legs with her bare feet. Her toes tickle my ankles. If we’re at home or sitting in the dark back booth of our favourite neighbourhood pub, she puts her bare feet in my lap, and…I can’t stand up for a while afterward.’

 

5. Leave Him a Sexy Note: Mike, 42, remembers, ‘Once when I was putting in long hours at my job, I opened my date planner at work and found a note jotted down on that day’s page that said: “Sex @ 7pm” She must have taken my planner from my briefcase one night and written it in. Needless to say, I was home on time that night!’

 

6. Grab Your Trench Coat: ‘One night my wife and I were out to dinner and we were sitting at a table, but she wouldn’t take off her coat,’ details Tom, 31. ‘I asked her why and she said she couldn’t — and just stared at me. Turns out, all she was wearing was a trench coat and high heels. I couldn’t even eat; all I could think was, “This is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”’

 

7. Strut Your Stuff: Mark, 32, comments, ‘Some women quit being sexy for their man after they get married, but Nancy has never stopped showing me how hot she is. She has this special walk that’s just for me, where she slowly struts around, with her hips swaying from side to side. When she comes home from work, she keeps the high heels on for 10 or 15 minutes — long enough so that she knows I’m getting an eyeful of that sexy walk. I want to take her straight to the bedroom.’

Categories: bare feet, Foreplay, high, high heels, Home, men, nbsp, Research, sexy, trench coat

What Everyone Ought to Know About Wearing High Heels

If you wear high heels, you probably do so with a slight guilty feeling, knowing that they are not exactly good for your health or wellbeing. But how bad are high heels for the wellness of your feet?

 

Inside your foot, there are hundreds of thousands of nerves, and also 28 bones (making up a whopping 13.5 percent of the bones in your whole body). These bones and nerves are really important as they hold you upright all day, from morning till night, and they take repetitive stress too, as people take on average 10,000 steps every day. Therefore, shoving them into uncomfortable shoes every day is hardly a good repayment for the service that they do. Around 90 percent of all women who wear high heels suffer from foot pain, fatigue and sore feet as a result.

 

In addition to this, high heels don’t give you proper foot posture, as many a podiatrist will tell you. When you wear a pair of high heels, the arch of your foot becomes higher than is natural, and yet at the same time the profile of the shoe itself is a flat one, that does not follow the natural curves of your foot. High heels can therefore be quite damaging, but there is a surprising addendum to this: small heels can actually be good for you.

 

Many people over-pronate, which means that their ankles and arches collapse inwardly on every step. Slipping on a pair of slight heels turns your ankles out slightly, counteracting this collapse. A small, stable pair of heels can actually help in this way, as well as taking the strain off overly tight calf muscles.

 

Every half inch of extra height that your heels add can actually but 25 percent more body weight onto the front of your foot, leading to tissue damage and pain.

Categories: foot, heels, high, high heels, nbsp, pair, wear high

The Perks and Perils of Wearing High Heels: An Overview

Let’s face it ladies. The words “seven-inch stiletto” and “everyday wear” cause even the most daring fashionistas to cringe and curl their toes.We’ve all thought we could do it; that enthusiastic strut and twirl in a fabulous new pair of heels at the start of the day quickly devolves into the agonizing “how-could-I-have-done-this-to-myself” pilgrimage to the closest store for flats. Even a few hours clubbing in height-defying pumps is enough to compel some women to wave their little white flags of surrender as they wince and walk home barefoot. Yes, dramatic high heels can transform an attractive ensemble into a runway ready heart-stopper, but unless you intend on sitting, floating, or being carried around everywhere you go, donning these luxurious death stilts can be a very painful, unhealthy choice.

Christian Louboutin, the esteemed French footwear designer, is openly unapologetic about the subject. In an interview with Grazia, one of U.K’s premiere fashion magazines, he insists that “high heels are pleasure with pain…If you can’twalk in them, don’t wear them.” Let’s be honest. Anyone who can afford a pair of Louboutinswants to wear them no matter how much they hurt.  But for those that believe the temporary pain of wearing high heels is always worth the cost might want to reconsider that perspective.Let’s investigate the true damage of subscribing to the idea that it always “hurts to be beautiful.”

Not only does the design of a high-heeled shoe cause one’s body to tilt haphazardly forward, but this unnatural distribution of weight virtually deforms the foot and shortens the muscles in the calves and lower back. This unhealthy posture places an inordinate amount of pressure on nerves in the back and can cause a painful condition called sciatica, which triggers spasms of pain and numbness. Additionally, a woman who wears high heels for extended periods of time at least three times a week can experience a shortening of her Achilles’ tendon. This can lead to plantar fasciitis: an inflammation or deterioration of the connective tissues in the foot.

Therefore, to be absolutely clear, wearing high heels to the point where it becomes painful to walk can cause irreparable damage to your body. Celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham, who often flaunt wasp-thin stilettos,have recently disclosed that they must undergo surgery to either restructure bones in their feet or remove unsightly bunions. Parker reveals, “I went to a foot doctor and he said, ‘Your foot does things it shouldn’t be able to do. That bone there…You’ve created that bone. It doesn’t belong there’.”

On a separate but related issue, wearing seven-inch platforms inevitably increases your risk of falling over or into things. A woman who brazenly attempts to wear high heels without knowing how to walk gracefully in them increasesher possibility of falling down a flight of stairs, twisting her ankles, falling into oncoming traffic, and other countless tragedies.

It boils down to this: high heels, like everything else we wish to indulge in, should be worn in moderation.  If you simply cannot give up your glorious pumps, recognize that a shoe of this design should not be worn for extended periods of time while walking.  Here are some tips for women who seek reasonable common ground between seven soaring inches and day-to-day flats:

-Find heels that properly fit your foot shape and distribute weight more evenly.Platforms, and shoes with less dramatic “dips” will place less weight on the front of the foot.

-Many shoes feature pointed fronts that squeeze toes together, leading to corns, hammertoes, blisters and more. There are wider, rounded box-toe alternatives sold by popular brands like Dansko, found here.

-Add cushion inserts like these for comfort. Furthermore, either find footwear with reliable treading or buy shoe traction adhesives.

Marilyn Monroe once stated, “Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”  Monroe’s keen observation packs a powerful proverbial punch: if it hurts too much to walk, you certainly won’t go very far.  So weigh the risks of your fashion choices ladies, as we’ve got exciting places to go!

*This article has been contributed to Yourwellness by Britany Hoxie

Categories: extended periods, foot, heels, high, high heels, perils, perks, walk, wear, wearing, wearing high