myfashionworld

LOS ANGELES — Fitness shoes that wobbled into major-league popularity last year with names like Shape-ups, EasyTone and TrueBalance are getting a tough workout these days.

Heralded as the secret to tightening your buns, thighs and abs, the mbtshoes— equipped with uneven soles designed to put muscles into overdrive — flew off the shelves last year as Americans, by one estimate, scooped up nearly 10 million pairs amid the latest fad in the finicky footwear industry.

One year later, the shoes have fallen in popularity in a now-flooded market for workout shoes, and companies are focusing more on lighter-weight shoes.

Meanwhile, studies and lawsuits have repeatedly questioned whether toning shoes may really whip a flabby body into shape.

Although toning shoes have been around for years, most Americans became familiar with them in 2009 and 2010 as companies hawked pairs for around $100. But now with the glut, prices have been cut and sales have dropped.

Reebok, New Balance and other brands have played a big role in the shoes’ popularity, but no one more than Skechers, the Manhattan Beach, Calif., shoe maker that makes Shape-ups and Tone-ups. The company’s sales and stock price soared in 2010, but no more.

The company recently said it lost $29.9 million in the second quarter, compared with a profit of $40.2 million during the same period last year. Sales fell 14 percent to $434.4 million. Stock shares have plunged 28 percent year to date.

Company officials blamed the loss mostly on a tough market for toning shoes.

“We aggressively reduced our excess toning inventory during the second quarter by selling 2 million pairs of our original Shape-ups for a loss of $21 million,” Chief Operating Officer David Weinberg said.

“Every business faces challenges as they grow, and at this time last year we were experiencing record growth and were the leaders in an explosive new category of footwear,” Skechers Chief Executive Robert Greenberg said in a statement.

Skechers is rolling out a new line of lighter-weight, athletically styled Shape-ups and Tone-ups with smaller soles; those mbt shoes were renamed “fitness” rather than “toning.”

“We are producing more lighter-weight Shape-ups for people who want a lightweight package and still engage in — let’s call it fitness,” said Leonard Armato, president of Skecher’s fitness unit. “We are evolving Shape-ups, and we are excited about that evolution.”

On a recent afternoon, retired salesman Keith Parker, 45, checked out a newly renovated Skechers store in Manhattan Beach. Pop music played while an audio recording urged shoppers to “step into your new body.”

Parker wasn’t so excited. His favorite shoe? A dark-brown European-style slip-on. He said he had no interest in exploring the store’s new wing, which held the company’s fitness and toning clearance mbt shoes.

“That whole marketing pitch doesn’t float my boat,” the retired salesman said. “I’m in good enough shape just walking around.”

Others have also expressed similar skepticism since toning footwear took off.

Lawsuits have been filed against Skechers, Reebok and New Balance alleging deceptive marketing.

Last year, the San Diego-based American Council on Exercise funded a study that found Skechers Shape-ups, Reebok EasyTone and Masai Barefoot Technology toned one’s muscles no more than normal running shoes.

And Consumer Reports, citing the shoes’ instability, recently said they “could send you to the couch with your foot in a cast.”

“Like any other high-heeled shoes, you’ve got to follow directions and instructions,” which for the original Shape-ups is walking, said Skechers’ Armato.

Greenberg called the criticism nonsense, citing thousands of unsolicited letters from customers and company-sponsored studies that say his company’s shoes tone the body, relieve back stress and improve posture.

Analysts predict the record sales of 2010 won’t return — caused by diminished or flat demand coupled with dropping prices to clear a flooded market. And that drop has touched all that sell shoes designed to tighten muscles.

In April, toning-shoe sales hit $33.2 million, down 55.5 percent from a year earlier, according to market researcher NPD Group. The volume of shoes sold is also down — 23.6 percent in April and 3.7 percent during the first four months of 2011 opkgklull15.

Reebok saw its North American toning-shoe sales fall during the first quarter — although overall North American sales grew, a company spokesman said. But adjustments are being made.

Ads have evolved. Reebok has settled for a subtler “reflection” campaign in which women are comfortable with what they see when they look in a mirror or a shop window, no longer citing specific percentages that women can expect EasyTone to boost their workout.

“We have reviewed the messages we get out there to make sure we don’t intend to mislead women,” said Martina Jahrbacher, head of Reebok’s women’s division. The change was a seasonal adjustment and had nothing to do with lawsuits, the company said.

Although sales may be declining compared with last year, toning shoes are here to stay, analyst Marshal Cohen of NPD said. The real question, he said, is what comes next.

“How are they going to migrate it to the next level?” Cohen said. “How about the real benefits of it? The comfort factor and the wellness factor — and tapping into that market.”

After we published a piece last week about the difficulties faced by women with big feet, we were inundated with requests for advice on where to shop if you have feet that are as small as a size 2.

When it comes to choosing Women’s MBT , avoid anything round and clumpy: you will resemble Olive Oyl.

A heel is essential, as long as it is either kitten or stiletto. But with shoes, it seems larger feet are better catered for than small-footed women.

Your best bet if you have size 2 or 3 feet is, unfortunately, to shop designer, who are all making tiny sizes to cater for the burgeoning Asian market mbt shoes.

Jimmy Choo stocks shoes down to a size 2. On the High Street, Pied a Terre and LK Bennett have a wide selection of stilettos in a size three, at £130 and £175 respectively, while izzylane.com has vegetarian peep toes in a size three, at £210.

Meanwhile, Dune has a pair of bow patent stilettos, £80, in a size 3. They have scanty toe cover, which lengthens the foot. I also like a pair of black patent super-sharp stilettos by Mango, which come in a size three and are just £54.90 opkgklull15.

But the best find is an online shop called Duo, which stocks MBT 2011 Women’s MBT as small as a two. Its boots for autumn are fabulous, with a 30cm circumference for those with a narrow calf, and a 14in shaft height, so you don’t feel you are sloshing around in linkmbtshop.com.

After we published a piece last week about the difficulties faced by women with big feet, we were inundated with requests for advice on where to shop if you have feet that are as small as a size 2.

When it comes to choosing Women’s MBT , avoid anything round and clumpy: you will resemble Olive Oyl.

A heel is essential, as long as it is either kitten or stiletto. But with shoes, it seems larger feet are better catered for than small-footed women.

Your best bet if you have size 2 or 3 feet is, unfortunately, to shop designer, who are all making tiny sizes to cater for the burgeoning Asian market mbt shoes.

Jimmy Choo stocks shoes down to a size 2. On the High Street, Pied a Terre and LK Bennett have a wide selection of stilettos in a size three, at £130 and £175 respectively, while izzylane.com has vegetarian peep toes in a size three, at £210.

Meanwhile, Dune has a pair of bow patent stilettos, £80, in a size 3. They have scanty toe cover, which lengthens the foot. I also like a pair of black patent super-sharp stilettos by Mango, which come in a size three and are just £54.90 opkgklull15.

But the best find is an online shop called Duo, which stocks MBT 2011 Women’s MBT as small as a two. Its boots for autumn are fabulous, with a 30cm circumference for those with a narrow calf, and a 14in shaft height, so you don’t feel you are sloshing around in linkmbtshop.com.