Heels from 5-year-old Suri Cruise's $150,000 shoe collection

We’ll start with Suri Cruise‘s $150,000 shoe collection, because it’s actually the least disturbing of the grown-up gifts trend. Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise obviously have more money than most parents, so it’s probably not too much of a surprise that little Suri has some expensive things. What is a little bit of a surprise is how far the couple goes to satisfy their daughter’s sartorial wishes. It’s not that Tom and Katie stocked up on a walk in closet full of regular kids shoes; Suri’s starting her race to knock Imelda Marcos from her Shoe Queen throne on custom Christian Louboutin and Marc Jacobs shoes. {ABC News} We’re assuming those weren’t cheap.

While we’d normally recommend using a different color for any shoe sole add-ons, this is one situation where we have to say stickers or paint are probably the best way to go for any red soled shoe desires. Especially if the person who really wants the shoes is five and will likely outgrow the shoes in a year.

Further up the awkward meter is the Trendy Monkeys Salon and “Princess Parlour.” The English salon caters strictly to a 13 and under crowd, and offers mani/pedis, fruit smoothie facials and hair styling. All of which seems like it might be fun for little girls who want to have a little princess experience, but don’t have parents who can splash out for bespoke heels. Here’s where it gets a little weird: the salon also offers makeup and spray tan booths, which would seem to push things into that awkward child-pageant territory where you’re not quite sure how to feel about what you’re seeing. The youngest patron so far was 16-months old. {Daily Mail}

We’ve all been in that uncomfortable situation where someone whips out a baby picture and is like “isn’t little ____ so gorgeous?” and you’re like “ummm… awww!” because you don’t want to be the person to point out that the little guy or gal is still growing into their looks. Still, we’re pretty sure slathering a toddler in fake tanner and layers of makeup is not the answer.

7-year-old Poppy Burge, who also pole dances with her mother, with her birthday boob job voucher. Happy birthday?

Finally, in full on awkward gifts for girls, UK mom Sarah Burge gifted her 7-year-old daughter Poppy with a plastic surgery voucher that she can apply to a boob job when she turns 16. {Huffington Post} We were never great with the anniversary gifts, and aren’t sure if there’s something similar for birthdays, but hopefully the voucher for therapy is the appropriate gift for age 8.

The elder Burge has had over 100 aesthetic surgery procedures and calls herself the Human Barbie. If you’re thinking “this won’t end well,” you’re probably right. Closer, the UK magazine that reported this story previously covered the story of a 12-year-old who asked her mother for a boob job for her 13th birthday. The mother in that case had undergone 50 surgeries, and supports her daughter’s plastic surgery aspirations. While she did say she’d want her daughter to wait until her 16th birthday, that was in 2008, so her plastic dreams may have come true. {Daily Mail}

Also, this isn’t Sarah and Poppy Burge’s first time dancing with controversy for publicity. Little Poppy and her mom pole dance together, and Sarah gives her 16-year-old daughter Botox injections. {Daily Mail} Unlike the previous “Botox Mom,” this one seems to be legit.

Youth sure does look a lot different these days.

If High Heels Just Aren’t High Enough, There’s Now a 12″ Shoe to Fix That

Romanian shoe designer Mihai Albu has created a shoe that will raise you up an entire foot.

What woman wants to be a whole foot taller? And talk about hard to walk in – they’re a lesser version of stilts (albeit much better looking)!

The tall shoes seem to come at a tall price, as well: $1,525, which is approximately 3 times the monthly wage in Albu’s homeland of Romania. {BayAreaLiving} And from the picture, it looks like you’ll definitely have to pull off a balancing act.

That said, Alexander McQueen’s 10″ armadillo heels found a few fans in Daphne Guinness and Kelis among others, and the former has stepped gingerly around town in heelless Nina Ricci shoes that mere mortals would have broken necks or ankles in. And some of the custom heels in Lady Gaga’s Alejandro video don’t exactly look like they’re made for walking, so maybe there are more potential customers than we think.

When Tiaras Aren’t Enough: Parents Fear for Teetering Toddlers in Heels for 3-year-olds

They may have a celebrity spokesperson in Suri Cruise, and a potential customer in New Jersey Housewife Teresa Giudice {Dlisted} but it turns out not all parents are so excited about the idea of heels for tots.

Mumsnet, an online community for UK moms has launched a campaign called “Let Girls Be Girls” in response to UK retailers GapKids, Asda and Next selling heeled shoes for children as young as three years old. {Daily Mail}

While the group fears that the shoes will sexualize girls at an early age, a podiatrist chimed in with fears of safety. “Any heel above 2cm increases the risk of twisting you ankle,” says podiatrist Gregor McCoshim (wonder what he’d say about Mihai Albu’s shoes).

The companies rebuffed the claims though. Next responded that the popularity of the shoes “suggests many parents agree we’ve come up with a look that’s special without seeming inappropriately grown up.” Asda said they hadn’t had any customer complaints about the heel size, and GapKids said the tiny heels had been tested to ensure safety.

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