Merrell Dress Shoes
My girlfriend's mom had foot surgery a couple of years ago. Her doctor told her, "You should wear nothing but Merrell brand shoes whenever you can. There's nothing better you can put on your feet." So she has four pairs of Merrell shoes that she wears most of the time. She told me about them, and now, I own a pair of them. They're very comfortable for all of the hiking and the walking I do.
Earlier, she was talking about how uncomfortable her feet get when she has to wear dress shoes to meetings at work. I asked her if Merrell made dress shoes, so that her feet could be comfortable in spite of being in a stuffy office meeting. She told me that women's dress shoes always have a heel on them, which defeats the purpose of trying to create a shoe that properly supports the foot.
Heeled shoes are not good for women's feet, but they're fashionable. Manufacturers, in the interest of playing it safe, let fashion dictate what their product development department is creating. So, it's unlikely that Merrell is going to make a dress shoe, without a heel, that looks good enough for women to wear into the office.
It's a chicken and egg kind of problem.
The trick here is in changing the culture at large organizations that set dress codes for their employees. If Merrell wants to make a change in the way dress shoes are supposed to look, and break into a new market in the process, they should approach companies directly. Educate employers about how heeled shoes are not good for women's feet and, in the interest of the well-being of their employees, they should not only allow but encourage women to wear flat-soled dress shoes. Get podiatrists who feel passionately about the importance of good footwear to back you up.
Gradually, try and replace the culture that believes women should wear high-heeled shoes with the more pragmatic culture that takes into the account the health of women's feet. Once they've expended the energy to create this campaign, Merrell has the opportunity to generate awareness of a new line of comfortable, ergonomic dress shoes. If you're actually working to change things for the better, people are unlikely to mind that Merrell is being opportunistic.
The hard part is the culture change. Lots of companies still make heeled shoes for women. They're all going to fight you tooth and nail. They're going to work hard to keep fashion the way it is. But until the rules of fashion make more sense, I don't think we have any incentive to obey those rules. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The next time you see a woman in a business meeting wearing flat-soled shoes, pay her a compliment on them. Tell her how much you prefer the appearance of shoes that don't have heels. Give her kudos for challenging convention.
Earlier, she was talking about how uncomfortable her feet get when she has to wear dress shoes to meetings at work. I asked her if Merrell made dress shoes, so that her feet could be comfortable in spite of being in a stuffy office meeting. She told me that women's dress shoes always have a heel on them, which defeats the purpose of trying to create a shoe that properly supports the foot.
Heeled shoes are not good for women's feet, but they're fashionable. Manufacturers, in the interest of playing it safe, let fashion dictate what their product development department is creating. So, it's unlikely that Merrell is going to make a dress shoe, without a heel, that looks good enough for women to wear into the office.
It's a chicken and egg kind of problem.
The trick here is in changing the culture at large organizations that set dress codes for their employees. If Merrell wants to make a change in the way dress shoes are supposed to look, and break into a new market in the process, they should approach companies directly. Educate employers about how heeled shoes are not good for women's feet and, in the interest of the well-being of their employees, they should not only allow but encourage women to wear flat-soled dress shoes. Get podiatrists who feel passionately about the importance of good footwear to back you up.
Gradually, try and replace the culture that believes women should wear high-heeled shoes with the more pragmatic culture that takes into the account the health of women's feet. Once they've expended the energy to create this campaign, Merrell has the opportunity to generate awareness of a new line of comfortable, ergonomic dress shoes. If you're actually working to change things for the better, people are unlikely to mind that Merrell is being opportunistic.
The hard part is the culture change. Lots of companies still make heeled shoes for women. They're all going to fight you tooth and nail. They're going to work hard to keep fashion the way it is. But until the rules of fashion make more sense, I don't think we have any incentive to obey those rules. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The next time you see a woman in a business meeting wearing flat-soled shoes, pay her a compliment on them. Tell her how much you prefer the appearance of shoes that don't have heels. Give her kudos for challenging convention.