Houston Chronicle writer, Kathy Gibson, began her article, Shoe Obsession Disorder: “Contrary to popular belief, Cinderella’s stepsisters were not desperate for Prince Charming — they were desperate for her glass slipper. Unlike shopping for jeans (which is about as much fun as going to the gynecologist), shopping for shoes is an exhilarating experience. Feet don’t have hips, feet don’t have thighs. Feet are our friends.”

Jane Eldershaw, author of Heart and Soul: The Shoes of My Life (St. Martin, 2004) adds, “Shoes are fun! Shoes are little personalities just waiting to be put on. Shoes can be instant sex appeal or instant comfort or instant glamour. Just add your feet. With the right shoes, you can slip on a whole new image…And shoes are fun to buy. You don’t have to diet to fit into them and you can sit down while you try them on!”

Laura Ball, in the Vail Daily News, is perhaps most instructive: “(With shoes), you get to dream a little. And we do love it when men compliment our shoes, because it’s like looking right into our souls.”

Windows to their souls! Wow. So, I guess, if I want to understand a woman, I better look at her shoes?