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Community Corner

Q&A with Mary Jane Caldwell of Lady Jane Shoes

A Dunwoody woman -- and devoted lover of high heels -- has found a way to make a heel that can be worn all day and all night (and keeps brides from resorting to Crocs).

Geishas in Japan wore them to keep their beautiful kimonos from dragging in street sewage. Catherine de Medici wore them to give herself stature and sex appeal in the French court of the 1500s.

High-heeled shoes are hardly new, but in recent years, they’ve gotten higher and higher. One Dunwoody woman has rebelled against the notion that heels must inherently be feet-killing, toe-squishing torture devices.

Mary Jane Calder, founder of Mary Jane Shoes, sells custom heels designed for all-day comfort. After years of researching shoe design and foot health, she came up with three rules for pain-free wear: no heel higher than three inches; thick layers of noncrushable padding underfoot; and individualized, adjustable laces and straps for support.

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She recently sat down with me in a Closets and More shop in Buckhead, where she was temporarily displaying shoes from her collection.

Why do you consider heels an important women’s issue?

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There are about 800,000 foot surgeries done in this country every year on women. I went out to study with a podiatrist in the Midwest (Gary Loveless). The worst feet he ever saw were on models. They were constantly wearing high heels. The podiatrist pretty much agreed that most of women's feet problems are due to the footwear that they wear over the years, and the damage is cumulative. A lot of it results in foot surgery, or misery.

And women just accept it.

Women become collectors. They buy shoes, they wear them a few times, they throw 'em away. Women have way too many shoes, and none of them really will take you through a whole day. I started observing women at events, and I see women in their bare feet, all dressed up in beautiful clothes, make-up, jewelry -- and they're carrying their shoes. In public spaces. I've seen brides in clogs. I've seen brides in flip-flops. I've seen brides in purple Crocs. That shouldn't happen. I've seen people trip over the bridesmaids’ shoes that they've flung off. I've seen women in hotels walking through filthy lobbies barefoot. Somehow women accept it.

What was the turning point for you and your own feet?

I know exactly when it was! I was helping with a fundraiser for the Atlanta Bard Society, which is a group of lawyers that does singing. It was at Eddie Garland's house in Buckhead, great big beautiful home, and we had to go early to set everything up. Then it was a whole night of being on your feet, cocktails, you know, the whole thing. Then we stayed late to help clean up. I was in heels the entire time. We were on a patio, we were going up and down steps -- to navigate all of that in heels was just torture! The next morning, I could not walk. I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't sleep that night my feet hurt so bad. I said, "I will never do that again."

I just gave up on wearing heels.

Some people are starting to do that, too. But, in the business world, a lot of women have to wear heels. They've done the research, and a woman needs three things to present herself as being authoritative. She needs the jacket, the collar and high heels.

How long have you been working on Lady Jane Shoes?

Oh, gosh. I was back to the drawing board so many times. I never gave up. I'd get to a certain point with a manufacturer, and they would not do what I wanted them to do, and it was all over, nothing. It took me a good five years to develop what I wanted first and then find somebody to do it. Manufacturers are of course very invested in doing things the way they've always done them for years. Women have been wearing high heels for 500 years, and there's no real improvement in the construction.

So, where are your shoes made?

They're made here in the United States. And I'm very proud to say that because that was one of my goals, which was hard to meet. But I finally found a manufacturer who's in the business in the second generation, who understood what I wanted, who did enough hands-on work in the factory to be able to use the materials and adaptations that I wanted for the shoes.

And where are they located?

I can't say. I have a confidentiality agreement not to disclose where they are and who they are.

What surprised you about shoe manufacture?

I'm surprised that so much is done by hand. There's quite a lot of artistry still in it. There are a lot of steps to creating a shoe. They make lasts -- that's part of the big deal and what's so expensive -- a last is the shape of a foot. It looks like a wooden foot. They build the shoe around the last. They stretch the leather, they cut the pattern and they build it right on the last. They build it for what they think is the average foot, and there is no average.

Is seven and a half the most common size in women's feet?

I think it's eight now. Women's feet are getting larger, and I think it's because of sports.

And not wearing constrictive shoes?

Yeah. And that's another big problem -- young women who have worn flip-flops to school, and sports shoes, now are getting jobs in corporate America and they can't fit their feet into shoes. They can't get used to high heels.

I see shoes in vintage stores from the '50s that are tiny, like size five, five and a half.

They don't even make fours anymore! I think it's athletics, I do. People are getting taller, and girls are not wearing heels. College kids wear flip-flops everywhere.

Why a three-inch heel?

There's pretty much a consensus of opinion that it's safe to wear a high-heeled shoe that goes up to three inches. Of course, now the industry standard is four and higher for a dress shoe. And of course it looks fabulous! (Laughs.) But, I'd like to say that Marilyn Monroe wore a three-inch heel and did very well. If you raise the elevation of your heel three inches, you're putting almost seven times the pressure under the ball of the foot. That's almost the same impact as running, and a woman would never go out for a jog without an athletic shoe, but she will put on a high heel and wear it for 18 hours. Even the team at Manola Blahnik agrees, a woman cannot look graceful in anything higher than three inches. I consulted with a nationally known image consultant in Atlanta, and he said, "Ladies don't wear heels higher than three inches." (Laughs.)

Who are some of your fashion inspirations?

I love Dior, just the classic pumps, the classic straps -- something that makes the foot look good. There are a lot of women who love shoes and want the shoes to be the centerpiece, but I think the shoe should compliment the whole person, the whole outfit. It doesn't have to be the star. Unless you have spectacular feet, I don't know why you'd want to call that much attention to your feet. My designer does shoes for women who perform, and a lot of his designs are very classic, make your foot look beautiful, make your legs look beautiful.

What did you do before you designed shoes?

I was a psychiatric social worker. And then I stayed home for a while to raise my son, who's now in medical school. Shoe therapy works almost 100 percent of the time, and traditional therapy -- you get kind of mixed results. Shoe therapy is great. I can make women happy, real quick. (Laughs.) That was not my experience before. It was a lot of hard work.

Have you worked with any local celebrities?

I haven't really gone after celebrities, because this is kind of an anti-celebrity shoe. I never watch the Oscars, but for some reason I had them on the year before last. And Meryl Streep was nominated, as she always is, and they stopped her on the red carpet and they said, "Meryl Streep! You're nominated again. You're here all the time. What's the best thing about coming to Oscar night?" And you know what she said? "Getting inside, sitting down at a table and getting off my Jimmy Choos." I thought that was so typical. There she was being honored, she looked wonderful, and yet the foremost thing in her mind that she blurts out is, "I can't wait to sit down and get out of these shoes." That should not happen.

One pair of Lady Jane Shoes costs $350 to $425. Call 770-393-3564 for more information or to set up an appointment with Caldwell. You can visit her web site at http://www.ladyjaneshoes.com/index.html

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