May I add to your heels question?

If you do wear heels, how do you stop them from getting caught in the hem of your georgette skirts? Whenever I wear heels, for just public wear, I always get the heels caught in the hems of my pants or skirts.

How do you get around this without wearing "floods"?

Azeeza

I wear ballroom shoes. They are comfortable and have a couple of different heel heights to chose from.

I only wear them when I am dancing at restaurants. The floors are disgusting and I want to raise myself up a bit for dancing between the tables.

I find it really hard to do proper Egyptian shimmies in heels, so I prefer bare feet, but I wouldn't be without my pretty heels for the restaurants.

Sit very straight in a chair, everything properly aligned. With your foot flexed (as opposed to pointed), maintaining alignment, straighten your leg, but do not hyperextend it. Repeat. Then repeat the same number on the other side. Once you are used to it, you may add a weight. Proper alignment should be more the focus than weight.

Also stretch all of your leg muscles, especially the gastrocnemius and soleus, which are attached to the Achilles tendon. These in particular need stretching because wearing heels allows these muscles to shorten.

I wear shoes that have a lift in the heel, although not all of them are "high heels" in the traditional sense of the pump style or sandal or whatnot. But pretty much all of my shoes are at least 2-3 inches up. I don't have knee issues, but I think that's due to a mix of things like luck and genetics...and of course I try to stay really active.

However, it's also how you carry yourself in heels...I see so many women in heels who just don't know how to wear them (NOT insinuating that you're not wearing them well, Nat!) and that can be dangerous. Good posture, core strength and the right gait are all imperative to wearing heels in a healthy way.

The foot gurus will tell you that if you regularly wear heels, don't go any higher than a 2" heel. Otherwise they don't do your ankles, knees, hips and back any favors. I once knew a woman who wore 3" stillettos EVERY day for work. After more than 20 years of that, she could no longer wear flats because her Achilles Tendon had atrophied into the length for the heels and she could not stretch it to flatten her feet. That's what they'll do to you. There are some stylish flats, kitten heels and wedges that are not as damaging and fit for work, even in the most formal of workplaces.

That being said, an occasional wearing of heels is okay, c'mon, we're women. We will wear heels, just be sensible with it. Make sure that if you go over a sturdy 2" heel, you have ample time to sit. Don't be on your feet all day in stillettos. (My feet certainly let me know when I wear heels - I prefer bare feet.) If you have pain in your knees, you need to find another pair of heels. Some are more comfortable that others. I have seen some UGLY feet on women, many times due to the disfigurement caused by wearing ill fitting shoes, i.e. heels.

I agree with wearing shoes, dressy shoes, when performing in a restaurant. I'm sure the health department applauds the idea of wearing shoes. I would not want to be barefoot in a restaurant. Ballroom dance shoes are a good idea. They are specially made to be comfortable and supportive to your feet. I've heard that they actually are comfortable. Imagine that. Dressy shoes, because in my opinion, nothing spoils the classy cabaret look more than a broken down pair of shoes with the fancy costume. Even tribal needs to carry that theme into their foot covering.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

It depends on the shoe. Not all shoes fit equally well. But I had a strained knee there for a while because of dance training and therefore got off the heels also in the other time to make the healing quicker.

My mother wore heels every day and, like one of the above posts, she can no longer wear flats without pain. I only wear skinny heels for the occasional night out (less than 5 times a year) and when I go dancing at a club (not belly dancing, normal dance club) the "heels" I wear are platform boots with really wide soles with a fat heel and a broad area for the balls of my feet, so my foot is actually really comfy (and I put inserts in the boots for extra cushioning).

One thing that helped a friend with her feet when she wore heels was the type of insert she put in them. The ones that just cushion under the balls of your feet don't correct the basic problem of your weight placement, so they may feel good for a short period of time, but not for long and you're still doing yourself a lot of damage. She got these inserts for heels that were arch supports and she said they redistributed her weight more evenly over her entire foot, thereby not putting as much strain on the balls of her feet. It's not as good as not wearing heels, but it does help. :)

I wouldn't worry so much about the knees - high heels are awful for the feet and the tendons in your lower leg. I had a student once who wore high heels her whole life, and literally could not dance without heels because her tendons were so short she couldn't stand flat. She was in physical therapy for it, but it had been so long her progress was slow. granted, when I say she wore heels, I mean HEELS - as in five to six inch heels.
Personally, I hardly ever wear heels even for formal events. I think you can dress up a nice flat - I have a pair with lace that looks very smart with formal wear.

After I tore my achilles tendon, no more heels above 1 1/2 inches for me. I've tried, and since my calf starts spasming - it just isn't going to happen. That said, my feet are so happy now that I've gotten the fashion monkey off my back. But, I will say one thing - back when I was a teen, my grandmother taught me how to walk in them - by balancing on the balls of my feet at all times, with no more than about 30% of my weight on the heels when standing. It was "all" about the weight on the ball of the foot, abs tucked, chest lifted... hmmm - this is starting to sound like "good posture". Anyway, it allowed me to glide and not lose my balance, but *gods*, it hurt. (Rock hard calves, though). =0)