ribbon / elastic

[Guest tmw2n]

this is an awkward question for me, and i think i'll pose it to my teacher as well. due to an injury as a child, i have a large, raised scar on my right ankle, and i have a feeling the elastics would dig in too much and be painful. i know ribbons are used by women to hold on their shoes, but i'm not sure if they are used alongside or instead of elastics, or whether it would be appropriate for me to use ribbons to hold on my shoes, if the elastic cuases discomfort.

 

any feedback GREATLY appreciated.

[Mel Johnson]

Frankly, not a great idea. Ribbons are used in addition to elastics for girls and women in pointe shoes. If you have an injured area, I'd go with a wider elastic, in order to spread the force out over a broader area. Anyway, scar tissue has no nerves in it, so the scar itself won't be a source of anymuch feeling.

[citibob]

Probably no one would really care. I would try for ribbons that are a similar color to whatever you're wearing on your ankle.

 

You can also try canvas shoes with no elastics. Yes, that works too, the drawstring is often enough to keep the shoe on. But it could end up digging into your heel if it's too tight.

 

Have fun dancing!

[koshka]

knock knock

In addition to the idea of using wide or not-super-snug elastics (remember you sew them yourself, so you can customize!), you might be able to fiddle with the placement of the elastics.

 

Also, it's true that if the shoes are snug enough, elastic isn't really necessary.

[ruby]

*Knock knock*

 

(I hope you don't mind another woman chipping in, but it strikes me that on the whole we ladies have more experience of the difference between ribbon and elastic.)

 

You say that the problem area is on your ankle, in which case most elastic positions wouldn't cause any trouble with it. If it's right on the front of your ankle, crossed elastics should leave it well in the clear. If it's on the side, then a single elastic over the instep can be stitched far forward enough to avoid aggravating the ankle. In general, ribbons are much more unforgiving than elastic and of course in far more contact with the ankle area. As others have said, plenty of soft shoes will stay on without anything, especially those with elastic drawstrings. If you need something over the top, you could try the 'invisible' elastic which is like a kind of wide webby thing (sorry for rubbish description). It's very gently elasticised, and very wide .

[MJ]

Most nylon ribbons have a very sharp edge. Capezio includes a nice wide set of elastics with their shoes, and they seem to have less polyester than other shoes (Poly is evil and gives me a rash!). I would experiment with elastic placement locations instead of ribbons. Ribbons are stirctly for women. I've also seen dancers sew the elastic cord from the shoe acress the instep.