Good In Theory

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A fashion historian, a podiatrist and a soap opera actress met in a bar—well, maybe not, but they have an OpEd in the New York Times about why women wear painful shoes. Surprisingly, the economics professor was the most interesting participant, likening the annual increase in heel height to a fashion arms race. "Height is relative," says Robert H. Frank of Cornell University. "If others wear flats, a woman in two-inch heels seems tall. But that same woman seems short if others wear four-inch heels." [NYT]