Arah: Alrighty! So, Gaynor Minden and Miguelito. What do they have in common? One pointe shoe!
Anita Fitter: well, they both look very unusual- have a distinct modern look.
Anita Fitter: well, they both look very unusual- have a distinct modern look.
Arrah: Plastic! Modern... plastic!
Anita Fitter: absolutely- they both are completely plastic and both have a shank and box that are one piece.
Anita Fitter: absolutely- they both are completely plastic and both have a shank and box that are one piece.
Arrah: They even have the same super low profile tip to the platform and the 
super shiny elastic binding. Both have outersoles that are VERY short.
Anita Fitter: and both outersoles are that pale grey, not to mention that shark skin looking satin.
Arrah: EUGH. That is some hideous satin. The pic of Miguelito's professional shoe doesn't have a very good angle so we can see the pleats, but my bet is that they don't have pleats at all. I'll bet they’re completely flat.
Anita Fitter: *nods* and I believe that they both have padding on the platform.
Arrah: Hell, even the arch (or lack there of) looks the same!
Arrah: Same heel padding? And on the platform?
Anita Fitter: yup. Since GM has been around since... 93', I suspect that Miguelito decided to make a knock off
Arrah: Cheaper, of course. In Mexico.
Anita Fitter: *nods* yup
Arrah: I wonder if Miguelito's box is harder?
Anita Fitter: I don't know, but from the picture, it looks like the same issue of the box not being long enough is the same as the GM.
Arrah: At least the dancer they used in the photo didn't have a 'wingy' foot type. That would have shown the shoe's flaws right away, though. So, in one aspect- good for them! They know how to take decent photos of their shoes! In another aspect- wouldn't it be nice to be able to see how far up the box hardness goes? That info can be pretty important to dancers.
Anita Fitter: absolutely, but pointe makers’ marketing practices is a whole other entry
Arrah: Well, we're going to have to make an entry on that issue very very soon then!
Anita Fitter: but... what I want to know is- why GM has never settled on their shoe- I mean- they change things like every 3 years
Arrah: Let's make a list of what they changed.
super shiny elastic binding. Both have outersoles that are VERY short.Anita Fitter: and both outersoles are that pale grey, not to mention that shark skin looking satin.
Arrah: EUGH. That is some hideous satin. The pic of Miguelito's professional shoe doesn't have a very good angle so we can see the pleats, but my bet is that they don't have pleats at all. I'll bet they’re completely flat.
Anita Fitter: *nods* and I believe that they both have padding on the platform.
Arrah: Hell, even the arch (or lack there of) looks the same!
Arrah: Same heel padding? And on the platform?
Anita Fitter: yup. Since GM has been around since... 93', I suspect that Miguelito decided to make a knock off
Arrah: Cheaper, of course. In Mexico.
Anita Fitter: *nods* yup
Arrah: I wonder if Miguelito's box is harder?
Anita Fitter: I don't know, but from the picture, it looks like the same issue of the box not being long enough is the same as the GM.
Arrah: At least the dancer they used in the photo didn't have a 'wingy' foot type. That would have shown the shoe's flaws right away, though. So, in one aspect- good for them! They know how to take decent photos of their shoes! In another aspect- wouldn't it be nice to be able to see how far up the box hardness goes? That info can be pretty important to dancers.
Anita Fitter: absolutely, but pointe makers’ marketing practices is a whole other entry
Arrah: Well, we're going to have to make an entry on that issue very very soon then!
Anita Fitter: but... what I want to know is- why GM has never settled on their shoe- I mean- they change things like every 3 years
Arrah: Let's make a list of what they changed.
Anita Fitter: the outer sole was originally brown and slightly pebbled. I remember that the hard shank used to be black- now its that bizarre dark ocean blue. The boxing near to the drawstring used to be harder- but they softened it- supposedly to make it feel more like an athletic shoe.
Arrah: and again I say ewww!
Anita Fitter: yup
Arrah: Why not just dance with a cotton sock with the tip dipped in starch, for cryin outloud?!!
Anita Fitter: which is essentially the original pointe shoe. And I've noticed a lack of quality control- they say that their shanks do not break- and I've seen it happen
Arrah: True. But dancers have much better options than that now. And I've broken their HARD shank! And I'm a 110 lbs weakling! Can we agree that literally, the only way to wear a GM is to not have an arch to begin with?
Anita Fitter: I think that is a very good thing to say- GM only makes the arch of a person who has no arch look nice.
Anita Fitter: And the foam padding inside the shoe- what's up with the way it rolls around and comes undone?
Arrah: Yeah?! Every time I've seen that stuff it's shifted over all lopsided and you end up having to rip it out.
Arrah: If the GM works for you- great. But if you're a dancer with even a moderate arch, beware of what can possibly happen with that shoe! oh and btw, I just check with Miguelito and the Criselle student shoe is $33 and the pro shoe is $35. So essentially, if you wanna pay less than an arm and a leg for a pair of GM’s head on over to Mexico! Same darn shoe! But Miguelito says that the shank is "Soft." So what exactly do they mean by that? A GM Hard? Or a Pianisimo? Somewhere in between?
Anita Fitter: And what about the way they are fitted- They want everyone with a wide foot to wear the #4 box, everyone with a medium foot to wear the #3 box, and everyone with a narrow foot to wear the #2 box. Haven’t these people ever heard the term "toe configuration"
Arrah: I doubt they'd answer that question.
Anita Fitter: honestly, it’s hard to tell.
Arrah: If you wanna be technical about it, GM really has three different models and several different widths. It's not that difficult to understand! I think that the fitters were just not trained properly.
Anita Fitter: well, it’s not just that- because the #2 box will not fit on a person with a wide foot and tapered toes- without a compressible foot
Arrah: Exactly!
Anita Fitter: the width measurement- as told to me by a GM exec- is for the heel area only and then the larger the size- the less options there are.
Arrah: WHAt?!
Arrah: The heel area?!
Anita Fitter: you got it! If I didn't have a compressible foot- then I wouldn’t be able to wear them at all.
Arrah: You have a wider foot and the only way you DON'T wear the #3 box is because your foot squishes so much.
Anita Fitter: yes, the heel area
Arrah: In their pics on the site, they show the boxes and the heels getting wider. ok, so... deception?
Anita Fitter: they told me point blank that the width has nothing to do with the box- the boxes are all a standard size and width
Arrah: So what really is the TRUTH here?
Anita Fitter: that Eliza Minden didn’t know how to fit pointe shoes when she designed the shoe and now they are fudging it
Arrah: And she has a pancake flat arch.
Anita Fitter: you got it
Arrah: *sigh*
Anita Fitter: and probably a square toe configuration- and knew nothing about what a tapered or somewhat tapered foot needs.
Arrah: Case in point that just because a DANCER makes a shoe doesn't necessarily make it decent! Principal Pointes are an exception.... I might add.
Anita Fitter: and what type of dancer was she anyway? She never ever danced anywhere. Just in her teens. She could have been at a little recital school for all we know.
Arrah: A... dare we say it? Dolly.... Dolly... come on now! Say it!
Anita Fitter: Dolly Dingle!!!!
Arrah: (ROFL) *snort*
Anita Fitter: well- it’s true, let the truth bite her in the ass
Arrah: or on the toes. The same way her shoes ouch the toes of many out there.
Arrah: Oh and there's a dancer on Blochworld.com who mentioned that she just tried the GM and wondered why it bruised her toenails so badly. The unfortunate answer everyone gave her was the obvious one: the platform is made out of PLASTIC! Plastic doesn't cushion the way linen and glue does. Plastic doesn't conform to a foot for suitable balance and support. I tell ya what- let me go stick my foot in a freaking plastic soda can and call it a GM! I'll pirouette, yes. But I'll break my face.
Anita Fitter: but then there is the whole- Schachtner has a plasticated box- but it does not do to the toes what a GM does- Why? because the GM has no support at all. Chances are, the girl was fitted by her shoe width rather than by the taper of her toes and she’s crashing down into the box of the GM's
Arrah: Not necessarily. I crash down after a while, once the box flattens out. I was fitted for the proper width and box. I put little silicone strips in the inner platform but it still didn't help. And Schachtners are in a class by themselves!
Anita Fitter: well, the box design leaves a lot to be desired anyway. The whole box is pretty flexible. The point of the box of a pointe shoe is to provide support for the dancer- you can’t have complete flexibility and still have decent support
Arrah: The shoe itself is just crap.
Anita Fitter: even runners have to have shanks in their shoes
Arrah: Exactly! The lack of frontal support on the box just makes the entire shoe mush.
Anita Fitter: and when the shank does break- the entire shoe collapses onto itself- providing a breeding ground for broken ankles.
Arrah: Even if you find the perfect shank for your foot you have to deal with the fact that if you have hyper extended ankles then you're definitely going to run the risk of falling forward out of the box.
Anita Fitter: well, I think that it is safe to say- that overall- no matter if Miguelito ripped them off or not- GMs Suck!
Arrah: Oui. Exeunt!
