New York resident Andre McDonnell spends all his spare time handing out free shoes to the homeless. Through his charity organisation ‘It’s From the Sole’, the generous 40-year-old has given away over 5,000 pairs of shoes in less than three years.

Andre’s idea is very simple: he collects new or gently used sneakers through donations, and then cleans them thoroughly himself. He actually spends $50 to $60 each week to wash donated shoes at a laundromat. Once the shoes are cleaned, Andre walks to the Grand Central Terminal and Union Square every day to hand them out to the homeless. Whenever he makes a donation, he takes a photograph along with the recipient and emails it to the donor. He also puts up the pictures on his Instagram page, where he has over 2,000 followers.

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This winter has been one of the toughest in years, which makes this Kentucky man’s initiative all the more special. Richard Hudgins has decided to go barefoot for an entire year to create awareness about the plight of shoeless children around the world. He also hopes to raise money for the cause.

“For 365 days I’m going to wear no shoes to collect new shoes and raise money to buy shoes for children who have never had the luxury of owning a pair,” Hudgins wrote on his Facebook page ‘No Shoes for a Year’. “At the end of the year I’m going to take all of the money that I’ve raised and talk to as many shoes companies as I can. Hopefully, I can raise enough money that they really really want it and they’ll make a contribution as well.”

Hudgins, a hairstylist from Louisville, started the charity campaign in December. His first day barefoot was the hardest. “After that first hour-and-a-half, I was like no way, I can’t do this, there’s no way.” He even abandoned his workout and left the gym when he saw the manager approaching him. “It was kind of humiliating, I didn’t expect that at all,” he said. He almost gave up after that, until he saw his first $5 donation on the website. “That really inspired me and I said I’m going to keep doing it, I’m going to keep going.”

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Sleek stilettos, often considered the ultimate, or ‘queen’ heel, are all it takes to make a woman go weak in the knees. There’s nothing that lends a woman power and confidence than to be seen strutting down the street in a great pair of heels. The attraction that the perfect pair holds over a woman is normal, and quite understandable. But apparently now men want it too… According to The Times Of India, stilettos for men have recently been introduced in fashion circles around India. That is just weird!

I hope this is not men’s answer to women who have been borrowing from their wardrobe all these years. I mean, it’s nice to see a woman wearing pants or shorts, but a man in stilettos? But believe it or not, heels are indeed becoming the latest fad in men’s fashion. But we’re not talking about the common Indian man here. I can confidently say that if I went out on the streets of India and asked about a 100 men if they would like to be seen in a pair of stilettos, they would ‘flatly’ refuse. Some might even ask what stilettos are, others would just run away, but most would probably punch me right in the kisser. But that’s not how things stand with the men of India’s high society.

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Cinderella and Prince Charming re-uniting over a glass slipper has always been a popular fairy tale, the stuff that fantasies are made of. But now it might actually happen for real. Playing God-Mother here are Kuala Lumpur’s shoe retailer, Shoes, Shoes, Shoes and a dating company called Lunch Actually. “Buy a pair of shoes and get a free man!” is their slogan.

The scheme goes something like this – bachelors who sign up choose about 20 shoes they like from the Shoes, Shoes, Shoes collection. When a woman picks up a shoe labeled “Date Included” at the store, they get to go on a free date with the man who chose it too. So basically, you know you have one thing in common with your date – your taste in shoes. Of course, it’s understandable if the woman wants just the shoes and nothing to do with the date, so she can refuse. But there’s another incentive waiting for her on the date. The man will carry a Shoes, Shoes, Shoes discount cash voucher that he paid for himself, for the shoes that the woman bought. This could be anywhere between 10% to 100% of the total price. Some women might not want to miss out on that, in exchange for one date! Also, there’s no limit on the number of shoes a woman can purchase under this scheme.

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These are some of the freakiest shoes I’ve ever set eyes on. Made by German designer Iris Shieferstein, the footwear is actually created from body parts of dead animals. She uses horse hooves and skin, snake skin and even whole dead birds as decorations.

I really doubt there are a lot of people out there willing to walk around with a pair of stuffed birds on their feet, but that isn’t stopping 45-year-old Iris Shieferstein from using all sorts of dead animal parts to make unique shoes. She agrees her creations aren’t exactly as comfortable as trainers, but she still wears them around the house. The designer says that her footwear is mainly meant for ‘aesthetic pleasure’. The animal shoes have been displayed at exhibitions around the world and Dolce & Gabanna have even created a range based on her designs. But so far, no company has had the courage to produce them for the general public.

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Lisa Dillon, a fashion student at the Bath Spa University has designed a delicious-looking pair of Jimmy Cheese shoes, made of cheese and bread.

The stinky footwear is part of an entire collection of cheese shoes and accessories commissioned by Pilgrims CHoice Cheddar and will be displayed during the 2011 Royal Bath & West Show, from 1 to 4 June at the Bath & West Showground at Shepton Mallet in Somerset. The event plans to promote the region’s delicious cheese.

For this particular pair of cheese shoes, Lisa Dillon used West Country cheddar and bread. A block of cheddar was sculpted to make the heels, and a stale cheese sandwich was used as part of the platform sole. The front of the shoe was also moulded from cheddar and more cheese was melted to create the embellished design.

While I’m sure not many models would wear Jimmy Cheese, for fear of stinky feet, they look like a nice breakfast treat to me.

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Jimmy Tomczak, a young entrepreneur from Michigan, is taking the footwear world by storm, with his original line of shoes made from recycled billboards, Paper Feet.

Jimmy says he’s an outdoors guy who likes to walk barefoot as much as possible, but he always felt like he needed something to protect his soles from the hot asphalt. So, one day, he decided to create some sort of revolutionary footwear that had to be tear resistant, waterproof and light enough to make people feel like they were actually barefoot.

The first thing he tried was Tyvek, a material mostly used on FedEx envelopes, but even though it was puncture-proof and waterproof, it was way too thin for footwear. But when someone suggested he use an old billboard as tarp for his leaky roof, Mr. Tomczak knew he had found the material he was looking for. Billboards are five times as thick as shower curtains, and just light enough for his revolutionary “foot condoms”

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Gwen Murphy is a brilliant artist who breathes new life into old shoes, by transforming them from fashion accessories into intriguing works of art.

Ever since she was a little girl, Gwen liked to look at shoes and found that they were staring back at her, each pair with its own character and personality. Depending on model and how worn out they were, some shoes sometimes looked sleepy, other times grouchy or fierce, some even looked like they were singing. Young Gwen perceived them as a species of beings made entirely from pairs of identical twins, and the fascination with shoes stayed with her all the way through adulthood.

Now, she collects pairs of worn out shoes and tries to bring out their personality, by literally giving them a face. She makes use of ash clay and acrylic paint to create bugged-out eyes, long faces and pouting lips, and gives each pair a unique face that expresses its unique character. Indian slippers have an exotic look, wooden shoes look blissful and primitive, while high heel shoes have somewhat of an arrogant look.

Gwen Murphy named her collection of shoe artworks “Foot Fetish” because she actually perceives shoes as fetishes (objects believed to have magical powers to protect or aid its owner). To her, they have the power to protect our feet and transport us from place to place.

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