Dreaded orthotics: Please send help

In spite of my last post expounding on all the ridiculous expectations placed on women and how it's OK to be flawed, you can't meet every expectation, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, I really care about my image and how I look. Really. As much as I wish we weren't living in such an image-conscious society, we are.

And so it was with great dread that I heard my physical therapist chastise me for wearing flats. Flats! I said, "Well, I can't wear heels." And then it happened. He said the dreaded, terrible word... Orthotics. Grandma shoes. Shoes that look like this:




If I want my knee to get any better, I'm going to have to suck it up and wear these "sensible" shoes for awhile (hopefully not forever... oh god).

As a woman who appreciates style, who wishes she could wear stilettos and thigh-high boots and all the wonderful, shiny things we're taught to love, this is tantamount to a tragedy. It's as if I'm being punished for having an injury.

So, I am trying to figure out if there's any way I can have my cake and eat it, too. Is it possible to wear orthotics and also maintain a semblance of style?

Who can I even go to for guidance on this sort of thing? Doctors don't know style, and stylists don't know orthotics. It's like the Shoemuda Triangle - no one can save you.

If you have any ideas, please help. I don't want to be a grandma yet.