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Miss Dressed

Safety before shoes? Sort of

by: Monica F. Jacobe

This month, dear readers, Miss Dressed is responding to a reader comment that is not exactly a question. Please read below.

Comment:
This is an FYI, in case you happen to see me in the streets of Capitol Hill, walking to the metro in my tennis shoes. I’m 5'10”, fit, and stylish, except for my tennis shoes. Why do I (and perhaps others) wear these things to and from work? To run fast - really fast - when someone pulls a gun out on me, or when someone might try to grab my purse. About 4 months ago a man pulled a gun out on me and a friend, and thank God I wore my tennis shoes home from work that day because they allowed me to run like a jack rabbit away from the gunman. Just this week, I saw the aftermath of two women getting mugged in the morning - one on Monday, and another on Thursday. One of the women lay defenseless in the street with her cute shoes on. She couldn't balance herself as the guy tugged at her purse and she fell to the ground. Or how about a month ago when a deranged man tried to throw a bike at me? Luckily the bike was chained to a Stop sign. However, he then lunged at me, but I was able to run away from him, thanks to my tennis shoes.

So, feel free to wear your kitten heels, etc. to and from work in the interest of being stylish. But I suggest you practice running fast in them considering the rate of crime in this area, especially against women.

Ann on Capitol Hill

Response:
First, Ann, let me tell you that I am sorry you feel so unsafe on the Hill. I personally feel much safer in this neighborhood than in many parts of the city where I have lived. I spent a good number of years living in Columbia Heights and Takoma Park, neither of which felt as safe at the time as Capital Hill does now. I carried mace on my keys commuting from those neighborhoods because murders and violent assaults happened along my commuting route with regularity. Before you ask, I will tell you that I wore heels everyday and felt that my footwear put me in less danger than people wearing headphones or talking on cell phones as they wandered down the sidewalk paying no attention to anything. A good self-defense class will spend more time on the need to be aware of your surroundings than on choosing the right shoe, though mobility is a question, and for that, please keep reading.

No, women should not sacrifice their safety to style but nor should they sacrifice style (or anything else they enjoy) to fear. I can in fact run in heels of all sorts, but I, personally, only commute in shoes that stay on my feet, that I can actually move around in, and that won’t get stuck in grates or Metro escalators, regardless of the height of the heel. As a matter of fact, I only wear comfortable, sensible clothes and shoes when I take the train, whether for work or fun. So, I do believe style and a sense of safety can come in the same package – even the same shoes.

Good fashion is sensible fashion – like not wearing suede boots or open-toed heels in the rain or trying to hike to the train in the shoes you bought yesterday and can’t walk properly in even if you try. I have many times advised women to beware of shoes they teeter or topple over in, but some women simply never learned to walk in heels. It is, after all, a learned skill. If your version of sensible fashion is to commute in tennis shoes, Ann, I simply hope they are stylish ones, which do exist, and not the white 1980s horrors I recently learned are called “mom shoes” by people in their early twenties. And at least they aren’t flip-flops, a poor shoe choice for both fashion and safety.

In closing, I want to say that fashion choices – good or bad – cannot make anyone safe. Classes exist for those who need or want to feel safer or more in control of their environment, and, alas, shoes are not the answer to everything. Making yourself aware is the best defense against anything, so perhaps the best advice I can give you all is to pick up your neighborhood crime report instead of your favorite fashion magazine sometime. Then, go out and buy some amazing heels.

Monica F. Jacobe is a DC-based writer who believes that some things can be sacrificed, but sensible style is never one of them. She welcomes your fashion questions and commentary at missdressed@hillrag.com.


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Miss Dressed
Safety before shoes? Sort of
by: Monica F. Jacobe
This month, dear readers, Miss Dressed is responding to a reader comment that is not exactly a question. Please read below. Comment: This is an FYI, in case you happen to see me in the streets of Capitol Hill, walking to the metro in my tennis shoes. I’m 5'10”, fit, and stylish, except for my tennis shoes. Why do I (and perhaps others) wear these things to and from work? To run fast - really fast - when someone pulls a gun out on me, or when someone might try to grab my purse. About 4 months ago a man pulled a gun out on me and a friend, and thank God I wore my tennis shoes home from work that day because they allowed me to run like a jack rabbit away from the gunman. Just this week, I saw the aftermath of two women getting mugged in the morning - one on Monday, and another on Thursday. One of the women lay defenseless in the street with her cute shoes on. She couldn't balance herself as the guy tugged at her purse and she fell to the ground. Or how about a month ago when a deranged man tried to throw a bike at me? Luckily the bike was chained to a Stop sign. However, he then lunged at me, but I was able to run away from him, thanks to my tennis shoes. So, feel free to wear your kitten heels, etc. to and from work in the interest of being stylish. But I suggest you practice running fast in them considering the rate of crime in this area, especially against women. Ann on Capitol Hill Response: First, Ann, let me tell you that I am sorry you feel so unsafe on the Hill. I personally feel much safer in this neighborhood than in many parts of the city where I have lived. I spent a good number of years living in Columbia Heights and Takoma Park, neither of which felt as safe at the time as Capital Hill does now. I carried mace on my keys commuting from those neighborhoods because murders and violent assaults happened along my commuting route with regularity. Before you ask, I will tell you that I wore heels everyday and felt that my footwear put me in less danger than people wearing headphones or talking on cell phones as they wandered down the sidewalk paying no attention to anything. A good self-defense class will spend more time on the need to be aware of your surroundings than on choosing the right shoe, though mobility is a question, and for that, please keep reading. No, women should not sacrifice their safety to style but nor should they sacrifice style (or anything else they enjoy) to fear. I can in fact run in heels of all sorts, but I, personally, only commute in shoes that stay on my feet, that I can actually move around in, and that won’t get stuck in grates or Metro escalators, regardless of the height of the heel. As a matter of fact, I only wear comfortable, sensible clothes and shoes when I take the train, whether for work or fun. So, I do believe style and a sense of safety can come in the same package – even the same shoes. Good fashion is sensible fashion – like not wearing suede boots or open-toed heels in the rain or trying to hike to the train in the shoes you bought yesterday and can’t walk properly in even if you try. I have many times advised women to beware of shoes they teeter or topple over in, but some women simply never learned to walk in heels. It is, after all, a learned skill. If your version of sensible fashion is to commute in tennis shoes, Ann, I simply hope they are stylish ones, which do exist, and not the white 1980s horrors I recently learned are called “mom shoes” by people in their early twenties. And at least they aren’t flip-flops, a poor shoe choice for both fashion and safety. In closing, I want to say that fashion choices – good or bad – cannot make anyone safe. Classes exist for those who need or want to feel safer or more in control of their environment, and, alas, shoes are not the answer to everything. Making yourself aware is the best defense against anything, so perhaps the best advice I can give you all is to pick up your neighborhood crime report instead of your favorite fashion magazine sometime. Then, go out and buy some amazing heels. Monica F. Jacobe is a DC-based writer who believes that some things can be sacrificed, but sensible style is never one of them. She welcomes your fashion questions and commentary at missdressed@hillrag.com.