Shoes

Sure, buying a Prius is the obvious way to reduce your carbon footprint, but there's a more stylish and sustainable step toward Earth-friendly transportation you might want to consider: resoling your shoes. Los Angeles is home to more than 200 registered shoe repair shops, but not all cobblers are created equal, especially when it comes to men's shoes. So where to take your favorite wingtips, loafers or boots? Here are three top shops where history, quality and craftsmanship combine to keep your shoes a step ahead.

"Ouch!" "Oooh!" "Oww!" "Omigod, that hurts!" Those grunts of pain and anguish weren't coming from us -- a group of 10 people running barefoot on a concrete pathway at Central Park in Huntington Beach early one recent Saturday morning. They were being emitted by a grimacing group of shoe-wearing, dog-walking women who were staring at us as we passed. But surprisingly, it didn't hurt to run in bare feet. In fact, it felt great. Every step of our 30-minute barefoot run was pure pleasure -- far more natural and comfortable than a run in shoes.

FOR $235 (and up!) you can buy a funny looking pair of shoes to make you stand up straight, work your "core," elevate and shape your buttocks and, perhaps ladies, burn some extra calories to eliminate those dimpled saddlebags. Using technology named after the Masai warriors of East Africa, who have long, lean bodies and superb posture, the shoes are meant to re-create the feel of walking barefoot for miles in desert sand. Introduced in the U.S.

DURING the last few seasons, we've seen the return of 1960s patent-leather go-go boots, 1930s-era brogues, the classic 1950s ballet flat and the 1970s platform. But spats? That's right, they're not just for Mr. Peanut anymore. Spat-like flourishes are showing up clinging to high heels, looking like a gladiator's leather armor, and on fall's must-have booties, which are being embellished with ankle buttons and straps. The Hives were onto the trend early.

For most people, ballet automatically means toe shoes and tutus. But both came relatively late to dance, neither appearing until the early 19th century. Before their arrival, the basic elements of the more than 400-year-old art form--exemplified by the Bolshoi Ballet appearing next week at the Performing Arts Center--had long been in place. The five basic positions of the feet, with which ballet steps traditionally start and finish, had been codified by the early 17th century.

Just months after landing the nation's best-known singer, L.A. Gear scored again Monday with football's premiere flinger. Joe Montana, the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback who has won back-to-back Super Bowls, signed a three-year contract estimated at $3 million to $5 million to become a spokesman for the Marina del Rey company. Montana joins a growing list of celebrities, such as pop star Michael Jackson, who became an L.A. Gear spokesman last fall. The nation's No.

The flashlight beam lighted up the dark interior of Abraham Lincoln's left boot as if the inside of a tomb, and there at the bottom was the smooth and shiny indentation made by the martyred president's heel. The odor of fine leather still clung to the top of the boot, where the white cloth pull straps were sewn. When the light hit a maroon section of the hide, boot maker Michael Anthony Carnacchi whispered, "Aha. There's your original color."

Shoes are to this industrial city what cars are to Detroit. And like the Motor City, Mexico's footwear capital is feeling the heat of foreign competition. The threat might not be apparent from the billboards hawking Mexican-made sneakers, boots and dress shoes that line the highway leading into town. Or from the malls devoted entirely to shoe stores. A statue of a cobbler graces a major thoroughfare. A footwear museum is under construction.

MANOLO BLAHNIK became a household name when "Sex and the City" made his sexy stilettos practically a member of the cast. But before Carrie Bradshaw started giving him shout-outs, the shoe guru was already a star to the well-heeled women who wear and collect his designs -- a list that includes Madonna, Bianca Jagger and Diane von Furstenberg. Blahnik's shoes are a perennial on Hollywood red carpets -- as common as Spanx and cleavage tape.

When President Clinton's Size 13-D dress shoes from Allen Edmonds begin to show their age, the Wisconsin company will rebuild them for significantly less than their original $230 cost and even pay the postage. But you don't have to be President to get this kind of service.

Glass footwear has long been synonymous with a romance between a fairy-godmother-assisted girl and a handsome prince but far too fragile and fantastical to ever exist in real life. Until now. Pasquale Fabrizio, owner of Pasquale Shoe Repair in Los Angeles, has doctored the shoes of celebrities, costume designers and fashion industry insiders for the last 17 years. Combining his expertise in reconstructing designer footwear and his passion for Murano glass pieces, Fabrizio has created a line of glass-adorned shoes ornate enough for a princess and with a royal price tag to match.

Sure, buying a Prius is the obvious way to reduce your carbon footprint, but there's a more stylish and sustainable step toward Earth-friendly transportation you might want to consider: resoling your shoes. Los Angeles is home to more than 200 registered shoe repair shops, but not all cobblers are created equal, especially when it comes to men's shoes. So where to take your favorite wingtips, loafers or boots? Here are three top shops where history, quality and craftsmanship combine to keep your shoes a step ahead.

In the season of giving, authorities have come up with a way to help the homeless through items they have confiscated: Hand out about 10,000 pairs of counterfeit athletic shoes. The shoes, which include knockoff Nike and Adidas sneakers minus the labels, were seized for trademark infringement by the Los Angeles Police Department's anti-piracy unit. The LAPD, working in conjunction with the Los Angeles city attorney's office, plans to distribute sneakers Monday to 1,800 residents at the Union Rescue Mission downtown.

"Ouch!" "Oooh!" "Oww!" "Omigod, that hurts!" Those grunts of pain and anguish weren't coming from us -- a group of 10 people running barefoot on a concrete pathway at Central Park in Huntington Beach early one recent Saturday morning. They were being emitted by a grimacing group of shoe-wearing, dog-walking women who were staring at us as we passed. But surprisingly, it didn't hurt to run in bare feet. In fact, it felt great. Every step of our 30-minute barefoot run was pure pleasure -- far more natural and comfortable than a run in shoes.

Mona Moore might not be a typical Venice shoe boutique. A disco ball hanging in the front window should be the first clue. But if you're a female footwear fanatic whose eyes light up at the mention of Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and wedge boots, you might want to venture out to this latest Abbot Kinney retail spot. Lisa Bush and Anna Maria Varriano opened the original Mona Moore in Montreal seven years ago (the name is a riff on " mon amour " -- "my love" in French).

Greening a lifestyle doesn't have to mean sacrificing style, with resources such as EcoStiletto.com pointing the way to the latest vegan pumps, paraben-free makeup and lead-free lipsticks. Rachel Sarnoff, a beauty editor, launched EcoStiletto a year ago, aiming to reach the woman who's trying to "stiletto-size your carbon footprint and change the world, one small step at a time." Sarnoff says that the site, with a newsletter that now has 33,000 subscribers, only advises -- highlighting products to buy and ones to avoid -- and never lectures.

Global fashion: In Sunday's Image section, a caption accompanying an article on ethnic clothing listed the price of striped SoleRebels sandals as $19.95. The shoes are $34.95.

The flashlight beam lighted up the dark interior of Abraham Lincoln's left boot as if the inside of a tomb, and there at the bottom was the smooth and shiny indentation made by the martyred president's heel. The odor of fine leather still clung to the top of the boot, where the white cloth pull straps were sewn. When the light hit a maroon section of the hide, boot maker Michael Anthony Carnacchi whispered, "Aha. There's your original color."

Bike shoes: A Gear review of bicycle shoes in Monday's Health section listed an incorrect website for Keen footwear. The correct Web address is www.keenfootwear.com.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is recalling about 73,000 pairs of Buster Brown & Co. Cars Fleece Clog children's shoes -- which are red with a fleece lining and resemble characters from the animated movie "Cars," the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The shoes were sold in the U.S. and Canada from September to March in infant sizes 4 to 6 and toddler sizes 7 to 11. The shoes have decorative wheels that can detach, posing a choking hazard. The retailer also is recalling about 200,000 pairs of George brand women's shoes.