If the Shoe Fits

I saw this woman on the elevator this morning wearing a shoe that was barely hanging on to the tips of her toes, leaving not just a peek of toe cleavage, but about an inch of . . . crack. I don’t know about you, but I think toe cleavage is kind of . . . ucky. What’s toe cleavage, you ask? Well it’s the partial exposure of a woman's toes in shoes that are cut low on the vamp.


It’s not that I think it’s sleazy to show one’s toes – I love sandals and bare feet. There’s just something about a person’s toes peeking out from a shoe that makes me think of an undergarment that’s too tight to cover all the relevant areas. Or of the wicked stepsister who sliced off part of her foot to try to jam into Cinderella’s glass slipper.

I know, I know. Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear are all about the pointy-toe shoes, because they make one’s legs look longer. But shouldn’t a shoe be more than tangentially attached to one’s foot? Some shoes these days look like foot-binding torture devices. Surely we’re all more enlightened than that!

And even cute little ballet flats have gotten in on the act.

This reminded me of the shoes that a well-meaning relative sent me in the mail to try for the wedding. They were so cute in the box, but the revealed too much toe when I tried them on. So I found another pair to wear.

What about you girls? Showy toes, or no?