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Ever wonder how drag queens manage to not just wak, but perform, on sky-high heels? We caught up with Frida Lay from Roscoe's, who answered some of our shoe-related questions.
Racked:How long have you been wearing heels?
Frida Lay: Too long. Like twelve years.
R: Was it hard at first?
F.L.: No, the thing was it was always really easy for me. I have really high arches and I used to wear my mom's heels when I was little.
R: What size are you in women's shoes?
F.L.: 11 or 12.
R: Is that really hard to find?
F.L.: Not really. Chicago is a big city so I'm sure somewhere else it would be harder, but not really.
R: Where do normally go in the city to buy shoes?
F.L.: I've gotten shoes from Marshall's, Burlington Coat Factory, they usually have cute shoes in big sizes. I don't really have a store that I go to, it's more like dumb luck most of the time. Nordstrom Rack, I've gotten shoes from there. Here and there.
R: Do you have any brands that really work well for you?
F.L.: Not really. Guess shoes are really, really good. Believe it or not, even though I hated myself for buying them?.Jessica Simpson shoes are good. They're cute, they're comfortable.
R: How high do you usually go with your heels?
F.L.: No less than four but the higher the better. Six, seven inches.
R: Have you ever fallen or hurt yourself or anything?
F.L.: Oh, yeah. The last time I fell...well, the shoe has never been a problem, I'm just clumsy. We were shooting a documentary for the Redbull flugtag. We were one of the teams last year and were featured in the documentary. My heel got caught and I fell. That was the last time. But it's never been the heels. I mean, I'm really good in heels, I can run in them. The only thing now is, I broke my big toe on my left foot so sometimes shoes are extremely painful, but isn't about the shoe or the height of the shoes, it's that I have a bad toe.
R: How many times a week do you wear heels?
F.L.: I used to do it five nights a week, now it's just twice a week.
R: What advice do you have for someone, male or female, who is bad at walking in heels?
F.L.: Don't do it. There are some people who are naturally adept at it. I see this all the time on weekends. I see girls, and they're cute girls with cute shoes, but they don't know how to walk in them and they look horrible. My advice is buy shoes early in the day, don't buy them late because your feet swell up.
· All Shoe Week 2013 Coverage [Racked Chicago]