Women Trade ‘Sex and the City’ Heels For Sneakers for Grueling Trek to Work

Ana Cores usually wears pointy toed, high-heeled black boots in the winter – but not yesterday. On Day 2 of the strike that has shut down New York’s subways and buses, Ms. Cores, a social worker, donned a pair of old white Reeboks for her journey into Manhattan.“Normally, the people come well dressed,” she said. “Today people were saying with this strike: ‘We’d rather be comfortable.'”Just a day into the strike, New York women started turning in their “Sex and the City” heels for sneakers and rubber soled boots as they prepared to hike miles and miles through the freezing city streets. Some men, who wear flat shoes every day, pulled on even more comfortable shoes for their long treks.“Wear comfortable shoes,” the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, Iris Weinshall, recommended. “Don’t look for fashion at this point. Go for comfort.”Ms. Weinshall is taking her own advice. She purchased a pair of Merrell “strike shoes” in anticipation of the transit strike at Paragon Sports and has been wearing them to work – even to a Tuesday briefing at City Hall.“I’m very excited about them,” she said. “They’re waterproof and they’re also warm. I was anticipating there was going to be snow.”Jessica Hughes, who works at TEK systems in Midtown, said she usually wears 3 or 4-inch-high heels to work. This week, with no public transportation and unreliable cab service, she is wearing her sneakers.Ms. Hughes said she is looking forward to the day when she’ll be able to ditch the running shoes.“Heels are much more attractive,” she said. “I mean, my feet are probably pretty happy, but it’s somewhat inconvenient to have to change in a lobby before you go in to see someone.”An assistant vice president at Related Capital, Debra Brodsky, has been wearing fuzzy boots to work.“They’re totally made for walking,” she said, adding, “I think I’ve only seen one person in normal heels this week. Being in Midtown, that’s a big deal.”The public advocate’s chief of staff, Anat Jacobson, had a different theory on strike shoes: “It’s not just about comfort. It’s definitely about comfort and style, but probably the most important thing is: Are they going to keep your feet warm?”Ms. Jacobson has been wearing SmartWool socks under her hot pink patent leather booties for the long walk from Lower Manhattan to Penn Station.The last time there was a transit strike, for 11 days in 1980, stores reported that they were selling out of callus pads and shoe cushions; sporting goods stores noted record sneaker sales. So far, at least, the strike of 2005 hasn’t had the same result.“I’ve noticed a drop-off in business,” Lester Wasserman of TipTop Shoes on the Upper West Side said. “It’s very tough to get around. The whole thing is a disaster. In Midtown, I know people aren’t even opening. You have no one to open for.”Mr. Wasserman said despite overall problems, sneaker sales were higher than usual for this time of year.Edward Greene of Camper in SoHo also said business was “slow.”Mr. Greene said if New Yorkers do start shopping, he recommends: “Something comfortable, flat. Avoid any heels. Something you can slip off. Nothing that’s too tight.”

Women Trade ‘Sex and the City’ Heels For Sneakers for Grueling Trek to Work

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