TRENDS Comfort shoes put best foot forward

Aging Baby Boomers are now demanding comfort with their style.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- Until last spring, Linda Mann was willing to squeeze her size nine foot -- bunions and all -- into the latest trendy footwear just to impress her clients or dates.
But the 54-year-old public-relations executive vows never again, after she fell flat on her face and suffered broken bones in her left foot while making a getaway on wobbly heels from a bad blind date.
"I was on my cell phone to my daughter complaining about my date, and I fell on a crack," said the Manhattan resident. "I was in such pain, and couldn't walk. I can't live with the stress of knowing I can fall. At the same time, I don't want to wear shoes that make me look like a dork."
The footwear industry is waking up to the growing demands of Mann and other baby boomers who have been slaves to the styles of the decades.
Boomers still want stylish footwear, but now, they're looking for more comfortable shoes without having them look orthopedic.
Major retailers such as Proffitt's, Nordstrom, Macy's and J.C. Penney are all responding by stocking up on wider widths and bigger sizes or working with suppliers to add more cushioning for the 38-to-56 age group.
A year ago, Penney created a "comfort zone" in its women's shoe departments, featuring brands like Clarks and Rockport. It will be launching similar departments for men later this year.
Meanwhile, brands like Naturalizer and Easy Spirit-- known for their extra cushioning and flexible soles -- are overhauling their dowdy images by offering such youthful styles as mules and platforms.
Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman has added wider sizes and used foam in all of his shoes, including strappy sandals. And two years ago, upscale footwear brand Cole Haan began incorporating tiny air bags into some of its shoes, using its parent Nike Inc.'s technology.
New companies
New shoe companies catering to boomers have formed as well, including Taryn Rose International LLC, started by an orthopedic surgeon. The women's and men's shoe line sold at high-end stores features lambskin and stretch materials and is priced at $325 and up.
Still, while there's an effort to offer more comfort, the latest shoe trends -- long skinny, pointed shoes, ankle straps, and curved-in heels from the likes of such trendsetters as Jimmy Choo -- signal that enduring pain is still a must for being a fashionista.
"At the same time the industry is offering healthy shoes, it's also offering higher heels and more unhealthy styles," said Dr. Glenn Pfeffer, a San Francisco-based orthopedic surgeon, who is on the board of directors of the American Academy of the Orthopedic Surgeons.
Pfeffer added, "I am anticipating a boom in business in (foot) surgery."
Clearly, years of squeezing feet into skinny, high-heeled shoes exacerbates such foot problems as hammer toes and bunions, but boomers can't stop their feet from aging -- even if they wear sneakers all day. After age 40, stiffness in the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to the heel bone, sets in. Soles of the feet lose fat cells, giving boomers less cushion for walking.
Changing with age
Aging adults will also find their feet getting larger as ligaments stretch out, Pfeffer said.
Pfeffer believes boomers have more difficult foot problems than senior citizens because they're the ones leading more active lives, commuting to work and busy running around with children.
Still, marketing to this generation is tricky because boomers don't want to feel old.
Candace Corlett, a marketing consultant, said brands like Easy Spirit and Naturalizer still have an uphill battle to appeal to this audience.
But Naturalizer has seen the average age of its customer drop 24 years to age 40 since 1998, according to Brad Adams, senior vice president of Naturalizer's retail division, a division of Brown Shoe Co.