Have you seen the shoes that some diabetics have to wear?

Let’s just say that orthopedic footwear is in no danger of giving the boot to the fashioney-fabulous looks of Jimmy Choo or Christian Louboutin any time soon.

South Florida’s Eleanor Leinen is trying to change all of that with her Walk Another Way line. Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2003, she was not happy with the lack of choices. So the self-professed glamazon got 9 local artists to put some “pow and wow” into a color palette that never ranged further than basic hues.

“More than often the choices included putrid tan, blah black, institutional white and dog poo brown,” said Lenin from her Hollywood, Florida home. “I’m a fashionista. I was so horrified by the possibility that I might have to wear these shoes.”

At the time Leinen was working on a shoe campaign for Donna Karan (that never made it off the drawing boards) and she had a line of sandals called Fancy Flops, so she was confident she could do better.

“I contacted the owners and manufacturers,” Leinen recalled. “But they told me that they were not interested in making these kinds of changes. They said that women [were] satisfied with what they have. Now 26.7 million people are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes each year and 3/4 of them are women. And those women want style.”

So she started interviewing 62 artists, never telling them what project she had in mind. She then took images of patterns she wanted and “…matched them with the skill sets of the artist, but allowing them to put their own twist on it,” said Leinen.

Diabetics often have nerve damage so they don’t feel when they stub their toes or bump into things with their feet. Injuries are slow to heal. Also the feet tend to sweat more, so fungus infections are common. Orthopedic shoes give both the protection and double-lining (to wick moisture away) that they need. The shoes (Leinin uses the Drew brand of orthopedic shoes) also often have to allow room for single or dual orthotics. Diabetes can cause ulcers and gangrene resulting in amputation. Orthopedic shoes are also worn by people for fallen arches, high arches, bunions, hammertoes, ankle problems, back problems and arthritis.

Before owning Eleanor’s Craft Gallery and Inside Gallery in New Jersey, she worked for both Mayor David Dinkins and Mayor Ed Koch in New York. But it was as the “celebrity gift wrapper” that launched really launched her name with her multi-media gift boxes snapped up by the likes of Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill and Chris Noth.