OSCARS: There's No Biz Like Shoe Biz

By Stephen M. Silverman

03/21/2002 at 10:25 AM EST

The stars are expected to be teetering on Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals on Sunday night at the Oscars, and that's no easy feat for the feet, reports PEOPLE. After all, the "evening" starts out as early as just after lunch (Oscar attendees are required to be inside the doors of the new Kodak Theatre by 4 p.m. at the very latest) and can last until the wee hours of the next morning. To battle the foot fatigue that could develop, orthopedic surgeon Taryn Rose, who sells shoes at flagship stores in Beverly Hills and Manhattan, has set up a showroom in L.A.'s L'Hermitage Hotel to display her fancy footwork. Her special retail outlet (she is selling her shoes at full price, starting at $325 for shoes and $600 for boots, owing to the high cost of having them made by hand) will feature some 300 models in women's sizes 5 to 11, as well as some men's shoes. After learning that some 90 percent of all foot surgery was done on women as a result of bad shoes, Rose founded her own shoe company with Italian-made, easy-to-wear glam footwear. "We'll be (at the Oscars) to show celebrities and wardrobe people an alternative to the painful high heels that plague women during award shows and after parties." Rose tells PEOPLE. "Heels over two inches in height place seven times the body's weight onto the ball of the foot. Add a pointed toe and no cushioning, and you have some very painful hours to endure." She calls her footwear "a luxurious alternative" that has already attracted the feet of Oprah Winfrey, Geena Davis, Anne Bancroft, Demi Moore and Sandra Bullock, among others.