Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidex/2091970768/

We all make sacrifices for fashion. Sometimes we’ll wear uncomfortable things for the simple sake of looking good. But how far would you go to be able to wear the things you love? There are already countless plastic surgeries, everything from facelifts to liposuction, which happen on a daily basis in this country. But it’s not just faces that are going under the knife. Around 13 years ago, a podiatrist by the name of Dr. Ali Sadrieh opened a foot surgery clinic in Beverly Hills, California. His clinic specializes in plastic surgery on feet. Basically, his clients will bring in a pair of shoes that they have always dreamed of wearing. The doctor will look at the shoes and then perform a surgery on the client’s feet in order to make them be able to wear the shoes comfortably. This kind of thing begs the question, “when is enough, enough?”

Cinderella Story

We’ve all had the experience of going to the shoe store in order to buy an amazing new pair of heels, boots or wedges. You ask the attendant if he can find one in your size and, after a few minutes of searching, he comes back to you empty handed. He lets you know that the Michael Kors shoe of your dreams doesn’t run that big, wide or whatever. Of course, being the good salesman that he is, he brings you another pair that’s a size or two too small, but it’s the biggest size they come in. You start feeling like Cinderella, how does anyone fit into these!? That’s exactly what the doctors that perform these surgeries are banking on. With each surgery ranging anywhere from $500 to $5,000 it pays very well to prey on your insecurities about your feet.

Fashion Designers

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/martyworld/4269195

It really goes back to the fashion designers who are making these shoes. Take a look at a few fashion sketches. They are tall, unattainably slim and usually faceless. This is personified by the people that model. They are gorgeous women but they are also usually photoshopped beyond recognition in their photos. This kind of thing has been a problem since people have started paying attention to fashion and it won’t stop until people buying products that you have to have plastic surgery in order to fit into. As time goes on it seems that the standard for what qualifies as beautiful has become more unrealistic, and this trend doesn’t seem to be changing for both men and women.

What Can We Do?

It really is up to you as a consumer to decide when fashion is going too far. The best way to tell fashion designers that their standard for beauty is unrealistic is with your wallet. It’s the same thing with the way the media portrays beauty. If you aren’t satisfied with it then watch something else. Maybe, if enough of us take action, the next time you’re in the shoe store you won’t have to worry about your favorite designer shoe coming in your size.

What about you? I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments section.