I touched on this briefly back when we got our first look at Valentino’s Spring 2011 shoes during Paris Fashion Week, but now that the Valentino Chain Strap Studded Pumps have jumped from being a runway concept to a retail reality, it bears repeating: ouch.

“Ouch” is the only word that comes to mind when I look at this design, mostly because of the tiny jewelry chains that make up the shoe’s wrap-around ankle strap. Putting any kind of stiff material around your ankle is a dicy proposition in the first place, but thin strips of metal? I’ve rubbed the backs of my ankles in sympathy pain three times since I started writing this post.

Have you ever had a pair of patent leather shoes that tear you to shreds the first dozen times you wear them? I can only imagine that these shoes will be like that, but increased by several orders of magnitude because metal will never break in. Perhaps I’m wrong and the sort of women who call their heels comfortable and never seem to have a Band-Aid on their feet will be able to deal with metal chains just fine, but for my own safety, I’ll pass. And actually, even if the straps were leather, I’d still pass; the shoes aren’t particularly cute. Buy through Neiman Marcus for $875.

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