The small city of Carmel-by-the-Sea is famous for requiring visitors to get an official permit in order to legally walk in heels higher than two inches. Carmel-by-the-Sea’s infamous high-heel permit sounds like an urban myth, but it’s a real, official requirement in the Monterey city. If your heels are over two inches in height and have less than one square inch of bearing surface, it is illegal to wear them in public without first getting a permit from the city hall. The permit is issued free of charge, and many visitors get it simply as a souvenir, even if they don’t plan on walking in heels. The certificate has every nice, official look, it is issued in the name of the person making the request and is signed by one of the city clerks on duty. Read More »

The things some women will do to fit into a beautiful pair of high-heel shoes. Apparently, a growing number of women are having their toes shortened or even completely removed, in order to make wearing stilettos a less-painful experience. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, eighty-seven percent of women have had foot problems from wearing uncomfortable or ill-fitting shoes, like high-heels. But while some give-up on the problematic footwear, others love wearing them so much they will appeal to surgical procedures such as shortening toes, receiving foot injections and even completely cutting off pinky toes in order to make walking in them bearable. “Unless you’ve been there, and you can’t find shoes, and you’re in pain, don’t judge,” Susan Deming, a patient who recently had one of her toes shortened, told Fox News. “I was having calluses, and just, all sorts of problems with my left foot.  And there finally was a solution.  There’s never been a solution before.” Some of Susan’s toes were longer than the others, making her left foot an entire size longer than her right foot, so she cut off about a centimeter off her second toe. “I’ve never felt this good about something I’ve done,” she said.  “If it’s vain, it’s vain.”

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