For all the members of our community, I’d like to thank you again for registering. 우리 community member가 되신 분들 - 등록하셔서 감사합니다! 모든 밑에 사진을 클릭하시면 확대됩니다. Don’t forget to click on the pics to enlarge!

This “photo story” happened sort of accidentally. I was planning just another “Audition” for a new model, whom I met by chance while walking past a coffee shop window. As is always the case, models are far more striking in person, and I always fear that a lot will be “lost in translation” over to the two-dimensional plane of the picture.

It’s why they say “you gain 10 pounds on television” or some folks claim that they “take bad pictures.” It’s because you have to know what you’re doing when you present yourself in such a small slice of reality, from the set and narrow angle of a camera lens.

And when it comes to scouting for foot models, let me tell you that it’s hard to make that part of the body look attractive, especially at such close range. That’s why, believe you me, the few people whose feet and legs look decent on camera are that much more attractive in real life. And in “Goldie’s” case, this is doubly true.

I had convinced her to let me take sample pictures with her just sitting in her seat, which seemed the least awkward thing to do, since she’d have to get up, leave her stuff, and pose for pictures of her feet in front of the main glass doors of this very busy coffee shop. So I just let the camera roll on motor drive while she “disrobed” her feet in front of me, took a few flash pics in the middle, then let the motor drive roll while she got her feet dressed again.

To my surprise, the results were very feminine, very sexy, very 멋있어.

I know you might not think, “Wow! Whoa! Hot!” from looking at the smaller version of the picture above, but click on the picture and see if you don’t think “Goldie’s” a prime candidate for a model on this site. She obviously hasn’t received a pedicure in at least the last three months (or any time in her recent memory), yet there isn’t a mark or blemish on her skin. No corns, bruise marks or discoloration from the straps of bad shoes, bruises on her toes or band-aids on her ankle, dead skin, bad cuticles – anything – other than perfectly smooth skin.

I really hope she agrees to come on with us and become one of our premiere models as our site starts to take shape and fulfill its master plan, which really does exist, I swear.

We’ve been looking for different types of talent, found in various styles and shapes of feet and legs. What you’ve seen so far in terms of the models who’ve been on the site so far – both as official “models” and the “auditions” we’ve been having – is the effort to reflect several different kinds of look from the very beginning: clean and cute with short toes, sexier long and skinny feet, plump and petite peds, and even feet that are just outright “hot.”

Now, I think “Goldie” provides a sophisticated set that are not initially striking, but are unusual in that they can stand the close attention of the camera and actually look better the closer you look. Add to that a natural femininity and grace that one would expect in a posed photo shoot – but which found expression during a single attempt without any particular effort – and I tend to think that this is a woman with a lot of potential and who captures just the kind of mood I was hoping to be able to find when I started this little project.

I feel lucky that our paths crossed, and it’s the hope of finding models like her (as a complement to the ones we’ve found already) that really makes me believe that we can gather the models we need to really get this project developinng into what it should be.

Again, I hope that – as members of our community who I want to help define the tone and direction of this site – you’ll start to comment and really get your reactions and ideas out there and make this project more interactive from now, the beginning. I am veritably waiting on the edge of my seat, finger hovering above the mouse, for some good suggestions to turn into reality, so c’mon, people – put me to work!

And I also want to thank “Goldie” and encourage her to come aboard. 사진 포즈해주셔서 너무 고맙고 계속 우리랑 프로젝트를 닽이 하셨으면 좋겠어요, 언니! 이 사이트가 아직도 실험적인 프로젝트인데 이 사dl트의 분위기와 “필링”을 발전하면서 이해주시고 도와주셨으면 좋겠네요.

And to my readers, I want to assure you that whatever you think about the site in its present state, there is so much more in the works, so many more ideas that haven’t even been tried out yet, so many positive suggestions and changes that will come from our growing list of partners – that it’s really safe to describe us now as sitting atop the very teeny, tiny tip of the iceberg. I’m really looking forward to taking this site to a new level and making it something that has never been seen yet. We’re not just another shoe site, nor are we an online shopping mall; we’re also not a “foot fetish site”, even if it does focus on feet and shoes. Anyway, don’t just take my word for it – watch as this site develops, help guide that development, and judge for yourself.

Boys! Don’t be afraid of thinking shoe fashion is just fabulous! It doesn’t make you gay, or a pervert, or a “fetishist.” Girls put a lot of time, effort, and money into appearance and fashion below the skirtline. What’s the harm in appreciating, right?

And girls – don’t be shy! Come talk shoes, compare notes, keep up with the new styles, find out what the other girls are wearing and where to get the really cool stuff.

Whether “Goldie” comes on board with us or not, the impromptu “shoot” was certainly very inspiring. Whatever she decides, she has helped definitely led me to think more concretely about a great many things, about which you will all learn more in the days to come.

Thanks for coming, registering, and hopefully continuing to return to Feet Man Seoul!

As a good student of signification and symbology back when I was taking classes in school and first starting to think about design, I was taken pleasantly aback at how obvious the connections were being made between the fetishized foot and heel, the woman’s body as a sexualized object, and even near-rape and prostitution in this video.
Here’s the full video, which is followed by a link to a Korean television concert version right below (just click on the screen), which has the lyrics on the screen, and about which I’ll briefly also talk below. For non-Korean speakers, you might want to read through this entire post before watching the first video.

What you will notice in the video are some pretty fetishy shots that are standard fare on the so-called “fetish” sites. I guess “fetish” is just a matter of how much you admit you’re looking.

Don’t even get me started on the phallic imagery of the lipstick or her man being impaled by other, more powerful men after she is sexually harassed. There’s also the footsie (and the foot) under that table that initiates her sexual laiason with her man, and signals her end after she has basically decided to kill herself by walking in front of the car – the camera lingers on her dead foot and red high heel that had been knocked off in the impact.

This video’s use of the foot and shoe – along with the lyrics and concept itself – is the very definition of “fetish” as a metonymic symbol of sexuality and desire. If you say this isn’t about “fetish,” then I guess you’ll just have to change the definition of the word. Sorry – I work in the fashion and design field; this is the way we think, is what I do. It’s also what effective video directors and songwriters do, too, so don’t make too short shrift of my insights, OK, girlfriends?

Here’s one of their television performances, where the content of the lyrics is almost as surprisingly entertaining as their complete inability to sing – intonation, anyone? Wow.

You get the gist of it as the group’s rising, swelling lyrics talk about trying to seduce a man by “putting on my makeup thickly, wearing high heels” in the hopes to make the man notice/come to her, followed up by “putting on my makeup even thicker” and “wearing even higher heels” to hold his attentions. The high wail on which the song ends is of one of the singers yelling, “Wearing even higher heels…!”

Maybe they should spend more effort of singing instruction and practice than worrying about the heels and makeup.

This is the bonus picture of Rachel offered to users as an incentive to register to the site. And the Feet Man doesn’t go back on his word!

Rachel here is briefly sporting a style that’s a bit more racy than her usual look. One look at her Shoebox should tell you that.

That’s all the commentary I’m gonna make. Just enjoy the view and thank Rachel for being such a good sport.