Would You Wear Toe Shoes?

The Superficial

So Scarlett Johansson went running in Malibu last week – and it got everyone talking. "She's pregnant!" said the tabloid glossies. But what got my attention was Scar-Jo's footwear. The girl runs in Vibram Five Fingers, otherwise known as "those weird toe shoes".

Back when I wrote a health page for Shop Til You Drop, I went to a media briefing with a guy from Vibram who talked about this new-but-old concept of barefoot running. The basic idea is that we are made to move and our bodies are built to give us all the natural support we need to run effectively, but when we start interferring with shoes – whether they be sky-high stilettos or support trainers – well, that's where the problems start.

So now companies like Vibram are starting to make shoes that are basically not like wearing shoes at all. And they're way popular. Terra Plana came out with th Vivo Barefoot shoe and it sold out in the US in three days.

You should be able to get the gist of what the movement's all about from the video below. I can't say I'll be giving up my running shoes, but The Barefoot Professor puts foward a pretty compelling case...