If you've met me or seen me lumbering down the street, you know that petite is hardly a word that describes Cherish Wilson. In heels, which I frequently wear for work, I'm at the 6'1'' to 6'3'' mark. Barefoot, I stand at 5'11''. So, I'm tall. Not freakishly so, in my opinion, but taller than the average woman.

With my height comes numerous benefits -- I rarely have to ask for help reaching things. It is easy to spot me in a crowd. Most designers now carry a TALL size, so my pants reach past my ankle bone. No one, props their elbow on my head.

It also comes with a few bothersome simple facts -- people always asked if I play basketball. My hands are rather large and my fingers...well, they aren't spindley...but they're very long. (A nickname, bestowed by a well-meaning friend is 'spidermonkey'). If I'm driving another person's car, there are always a good 5 to 10 minutes of adjusting their seat so that my knees aren't under my chin and my head isn't sticking out the sun roof.

Through the years I've found there is only one real disadvantage to my height. And oh, how it plagues me. When I was younger, it caused a level of self-consciousness rivaled in my peers by severe acne or perhaps an extra head. Now that I'm older, it is still the butt of jokes by my co-workers (Graham). I confess to you now, in hopes my sisters will unite and rise together...

I have big feet.

Now, for my frame they don't look so out of place. But set my foot down next to the average woman's...and it's embarrassing. Hell, set it down by the average man's foot and I'd probably give him a run for his money. (But big hand and big feet...I swim like a fish.)

As I fluctuate between size 11 to 11 1/2, outfitting my feet in the latest fashions is sometimes difficult. It's always been this way. For my age I've always had a long, wide foot. Shoe salesladies would 'tut, tut' while measuring my foot. Quietly, they'd suggest something less fashionable, more orthopedic-looking apologizing that it appeared nothing else would fit me. My aunt and grandmother would travel to bigger cities, more specialized boutiques to find me Sunday shoes and summer sandals.

Nowadays, when I find a shoe that fits and looks good, I'm willing to drop any amount of money on the pair. It's my only respite. You can fix a hook nose, you can augment lop-sided breasts, you can suck half a human in fat out of your thighs, you can lose the four-eyes and have LASIK, there is even a surgery that can elongate stubby legs and make you taller.

But the truth remains: ain't no fixin' big feet.

So, imagine my delight to find out that Paris Hilton was coming out with a line of designer shoes.

Don't follow me?

Friends, Paris Hilton is one of those big-footed sisters I was talking about. She wears a size 11.


Hilton (and I) shares a size 11 status with Tyra Banks, Adrianne Curry, Geena Davis, Famke Janssen, Gabrielle Reece, Meg Ryan, Uma Thurman and Kate Winslet (even tiny little Audrey Hepburn wore a 10 1/2).

Admittedly, shoe size is probably all I have in common with any of those women.

Back to Paris' shoe line...go ahead Google it...on Zappos.com...they only go up to size 10! I know this is still large for most of you. But when you wear an 11...it's a slap in the face. After a lot of digging, I've found a vendor that has some 11's but they're limited in color and style. (Kitson is a good boutique site, by the way.)

It should be raining sizes 11 and 12s over there. That's all I'm saying.

Am I right, big-footed sisterhood?

Labels: feet, internet, just for fun, media, Paris Hilton, shoes, spending, weekend