What a crime!(Evening)

Byline: Carrie Seidman CSEIDMAN@ABQTRIB.COM / 823-3673

Killer heels. Fugitive clothing. Dodgy jewelry. Extreme fashions don't just raise questions of taste - they can hurt you.

One moment Regina Gonzales was enjoying a free evening on a business trip to Spain, making her way down the narrow steps of an old and elegant restaurant in Barcelona while admiring the fine art displayed on the walls.

The next she was sprawled upside down on the staircase, her head split open, her tailbone severely bruised, and her conservative companion's face as red as the underwear Gonzales revealed when her skirt flew up above her waist.

The culprit? Her 3-inch platform high heels.

"I caught one of my heels and ended up doing a 360, hitting three or four steps and landing with my feet straight up in the air," says Gonzales, 44. "I was mortified, and so was my host. The maitre d' came to lift me up, and when he saw all the blood, he just let me go again."

The fall required eight staples in her head and multiple subsequent chiropractic appointments. Gonzales still grimaces when she recalls the episode and yet she hasn't sworn off wearing heels.

"I do still wear them," she says, "but I'm very much more careful. And I certainly do not look at …