What we get on the high fashion runways for spring is the same as what strippers all across the world have sworn by for a decade… Giant platforms! Yes, 2″ platforms have now made it into main stream. Here are a few s/s 2010 shoes that hit the runways.

One of the oddest things to come off the high fashion runways this season must be the striking “Lobster Claw” shoe from Alexander McQueen.

Now, You either love this or hate it, doesn’t really seem to be much in between. I think it’s HOT!

10 inch stilettos are hot for sure. You are already walking on your toes in these babies. Alex, added a spin to the overdone platform by rounding the top of the shoe to make a clunky, but stylish, shoe that reminds one of the lobster claw.

Many designs of Alexander McQueen are daring, not to mention a bit tough to wear in real life. Don’t get me wrong, they are stunning on the runway for sure and the decorations on the shoes are “to die for”. However, the Lobster claws seem to have transcended the “runway only” phase and may even be on their way to becoming a trend. People have been spotted wearing them, not many, but that may not matter when you have such trendsetters as Lady Gaga sporting them.

Actually,  Lady Gaga and Daphne Guinness were both spotted in their own “Lobster Claws” last month.

Will this be a trend? Will this be the next big thing in shoes? Maybe not, but they are just so COOL! I want a pair.

Along with their spring/summer collection, the founder and president of Jimmy Choo, Tamara Mellon, recently announced the release of their latest line, Choo 24/7. Choo 24/7 consists of a wide range of the brand’s hits compiled into one superstar collection of silhouettes that you will never get sick of.

The collection features a snake stiletto sandal, metallic platform slingbacks, leopard print kitten heels, and champagne glitter evening shoes starting from $415 and up being released next month.

Tamara handpicked the collection and says,

“It’s the perfect shoe wardrobe to take the modern woman from day to evening with heel options for every occasion. With today’s trends featuring so many design extremes, we aim to fulfill the need for versatile, modern basics.”

In a video on the Jimmy Choo website, Tamara says,

“They’re investment pieces that every woman needs to have in her closet. In today’s world I really believe women are looking for shoes that look modern, but they can keep going back to, yet will stand the test of time. We introduced 24/7 because I wanted pieces in my closet I could go to over and over again.”

Choo 24/7 includes a variety of colors, materials, and heel heights in their sexy classics, platforms, pointy-toe pumps, round-toe pumps, flats, wedges, and evening shoes.

Here are a few of the items from the Balenciaga collection of shoes and handbags. Very colorful

Herbert Levine Vintage Stiletto from 1950 ish

Vintage red stilettos

Vintage sling backs

Now, lets check out some of the new stiletto shoes…

Here is a pair of patent red sky high stilettos.. super sexy.

Yves Saint Laurent also has some sky high stiletto numbers, check out these with the stars. Most likely not the shoe you want when looking for comfort. I could last… ohhh… 5 mins in those things.

The ever so popular a few years back, stripper stilettos. Wearing these crazy high heals will make you at least a few inches taller, and, I hear, these are way more comfortable than the non-platform ones. I suppose they may be, if you can dance around a pole for hours in these puppies.

Wanna walk on your tippie toes? check out these very awesome dominatrix sandals.

Now if your feet do not hurt enough from the porcupine spiked heels above, you can try this stylish pair of toe-less and sole-less crazy boots. They look pretty cool, but you really gotta watch your step and stay away from stepping on any rocks and such.

Not into nutty shoes? how about a hat. Animal print elf cap.

I bet I could walk in them, well for a few feet at least.

Now these funky ballet toe shoes, are just a bit too hardcore for my feet. I know if I even tried, I would fall flat on my face. I believe they come from a Japanese designer. Leave it to the Japanese to design some crazy crazy shit.

Metal “I Dream of Jeanie” shoes… awesome. If I ever get that dream job of court jester, I will be sure to get a pair of these crazy shoes. I may need to snag them from a museum though

And here are the summer sandals, not as high as the boots, but great platforms anyway. Now those are some cool looking sandals!

Here are some more nutty boots, shoes and sandals.

Killer boots from Miu Miu, these are awesome, they look a bit hard on the feet… but hey, for these designer boots, I can deal with a few blisters.

Givenchy Boots, these are the same boots that have been shown over and over, the gladiator look was pretty hot at last years shows. I wonder what this years runway shows have in store

In my mid 30’s with kids and a husband I found myself in a position that many other women my age share … lying flat on my back and holding my breath in order to zip up my pants. Now, it takes time to get here, but somehow it just goes unnoticed until you just break that zipper.

I looked sadly at my expanded waistline and shrugged it off as a natural part of getting older. right?

My weight had been stable for years, I was not fat, but not as thin as I felt I should be. I was 5′4″ and 140 lbs. I definitely could lose a few pounds. I blamed it on decreased metabolism, it’s natural part of getting   older… right? I am not a big eater, never have been and I do not snack. Not that I do not believe in it or for any dietary purpose, it’s just that I can only eat if hungry and do not like to feel full or stuffed. I also believed that I ate fairly good things. Not much fast food or junk.

My husband and I split up and a few changes came my way that changed my thinking and my weight. My husband is a big beer drinker and always had Budweiser in the fridge. I drink beer as well and always drank Bud because it was there. Now that I was on my own, I started trying other things when I went out. I found Michelob Ultra, which I really liked because it was light and began ordering that.

As time went by I noticed I no longer struggled with zippers. Six months later, I was at my high school clothing size of 4 and weighed 118. The changes were so gradual that I never really thought about it until I needed new “small” clothes. I sat down and thought about what had changed. My diet was the same, excersise? never really do any… the only major change was the beer I drank and… going out more since I am single again.

I read that 1lb = 1500 calories, so if someone drinks say 10 drinks a week and a regular beer is 180 calories (I do not really know, but its something like that) than thats 1800 calories and a bit over 1lb. If you drink a light beer, 90 calories, thats only 1/2 the calories that you have been used to.

After 6 months, you can see how that may add up.

For years thereafter, I remained a size 4 and thin. A few months back, I realized I was gaining weight, my clothes were again getting too tight and I began struggling with the zipper. I thought about anything that may have changed and had nothing. In 4 months I had gained 10 lbs. and saw no reason at all for the gain.

A few weeks ago, I went into the drug store and saw some flip flops I liked, I bought them. I used to live in Flip Flops, summer and winter and now I had not worn Flip Flops in 6 months. Why? I got a new pet, a guinea pig, and she ate Flip Flops. She eats anything that is foam or rubber and devours a shoe literally overnight. Because of the guinea pig, I never replaced the ones she ate fearing that foam may not be the best thing for her little body.

Anyway, I bought the new flip flops and hoped to keep them hidden and out of her reach. I wore them and went on to do regular daily thing. That night I noticed my legs and calves were really sore, I felt like I had been working out or something. I examined the difference between regular shoes and flip flops to figure out why I got such a workout. What I noticed was that it takes a little extra work by your feet and toes to keep them on as opposed to lace up shoes. When I wear them, my toes flex and press down to keep them on and that causes my calf to also flex. That was something I never noticed because I suppose when you always wear them, your legs get used to it.

After wearing flip flops all day long for a week, I noticed that I again began to lose weight. After a few weeks, I had dropped 5 lbs, changing nothing but my shoes.

Is there a point to my ramblings… Yes. Many women struggle with weight, they gain weight, go on a serious diet, lose weight, then get off the diet and regain the weight. They look at the drastic changes for explanations never even noticing the tiny changes that over a long time may make the difference such as the extra exercise I get from flip flops that seems to be enough to cause weight loss.

If you found yourself gaining extra weight over some time and can’t quite put your finger on why, did a bit deeper into the minutia of your daily routine. Things like that new car you bought. A a stick shift car takes a lot more physical effort to drive than an automatic. Moving from a home to another, walking up stairs daily to a second floor apartment burns more energy than just opening the front door steetside. Anyway, you get the point and figuring out the small changes may put you back on your way to skinny forever.

Maybe what causes us to gain weight as we get older is not that easy to see and may not always be our diets, maybe it’s those small changes we make and the extra shortcuts we take as we move on in life such as moving on up to a nice easy access home instead of that old 3rd floor apartment we lived in during college… Ya know.