It’s strange, considering I write the a column on health and fitness, but I really don’t like exercising.  I like the benefits of exercising, though, so I’ll do just about anything to get those without having to step foot into the stinky, sticky gym. So when a shoe company’s all, “PSH girl, you don’t need to go to the gym! Just wear these shoes instead!” I get a little excited. Okay, REALLY excited. But could a pair of shoes really tone my lower body enough (making me look like the girl in the ad) to make them worth the $50+ they cost? Do these things really work?

Here are the facts:

Fitflops/Shapeups/Easytones work by messing with your balance (an effect similar to walking on sand) to work your muscles more than usual. They claim to tone you up without going to the gym (making “your boobs jealous”) and burn more calories than walking in a standard shoe. And women are totally buying into the claims. These shoes are flying off the shelves faster than the holiday-themed chocolate-covered strawberries in my fridge (and let me tell you, those are disappearing really quickly). Read More »

Now that Kate Moss’s collection for Topshop is a few weeks old, London has a new fixation: the FitFlop. It’s a “biomechanically engineered” flip – flop that promises to “make your bum smaller and your legs leaner.”

FitFlops are supposedly so intense that the creators recommend wearing them sparingly at first, so not to exhaust or injure your legs. No testimonials yet as to whether FitFlops deliver, but they’re currently completely sold out across the UK and there is already an extensive waiting list for the next batch.

I know, I know, it’s upsetting — nothing worse than a waiting list — but you can take comfort in the fact that the FitFlops are hideous. They’re definitely the Uggs of summer.

See for yourself (and decide that you’d just rather go to the gym).