Shoes

[tealin]

There are few things I dislike doing more than shoe shopping. Those who have attempted doing this with me will testify to the nightmare of a picky toddler I become when confronted with the need to clothe my feet and to do so from the selection available at retail outlets. It doesn't help that my feet are shaped like seal flippers and need extra space in any pair of shoes for arch support and cushioning inserts. On top of that I am ridiculously picky, and pretty much any pair of shoes I am presented with will have something wrong with them, such as:

• useless buckles/tassels/studs/doodads stuck on
• '80s spaceman puffy bits
• honking great stomping soles
• no discernible soles at all
• wrong material for soles (too cheap, hard and/or slippy)
• useless zips that compromise watertightness
• stupid great heel seriously how do you stand in that nevermind walk
• sparkles and/or metallic and/or shiny materials

Add a preference for real leather and some basic standards of construction, and a reluctance to spend more than a week's pay on basic footwear, and you begin to see the problem.

The sharp fall in the value of the pound this year is expected to hit consumer prices in early 2017, so I figured I'd better buckle up (so to speak) and do some shoe shopping before I regretted it. After some reconnoitering, week before last, I have managed to fill the gaps in my inventory, and now have the full complement of acceptable and practical footwear:

• black boots
• brown boots (wrong shade of brown, but I can do something about that, unlike items in the list above)
• black Oxfords
• brown Oxfords
• hiking boots, light (inherited from an ex-housemate)
• hiking boots, heavy (double as winter boots)
• sandals

How anyone could possibly need more shoes than that is beyond me – and the trouble of acquiring them; how can you stand it?

Comments

[out_there]

I genuinely like shoes and shoe shopping, but I have limited cupboard space and shoes need to be practical. If I can't spend a full day in them, out they go (every year I test my shoes this way because as much as I love shoes, if I can't actually wear them, they're a waste of space.)

My shoes are black boots, black flats, black heels (office shoes, basically), black and white heels that I love, casual flats (yellow, green, blue pairs), sneakers, casual heels (adorable tan platforms that are a nice dressy but not formal option with a summer skirt) and three pairs of thongs/flop flops for summer. Oh, and workboots for the garden.

Even typing that out I think I don't need so many casual flats, but I love having colour options.

[cameoflage]

My feet are a much more standard shape, although like everything else about me they're the smallest standard size available in the men's range. So it's easier for me to find shoes that fit. (Not guaranteed, thanks to the size thing, but easier.) And I'm somewhat less picky about zippers, and don't mind shiny/sparkly shoes if nothing else is wrong with them.

Most of the reason I have/want more shoes than your list is because I like having more colours of shoe and aesthetic variations on the theme of "boot" available; the rest of it is my fondness for Chuck Taylors. However I find secondhand and online shopping a lot more rewarding than most retail outlets in this regard.

[tealin]

Online is great if you have fairly standard feet – lots more to choose from, without the bother of the retail experience! I've tried buying online, and while I've had one or two successes, experience has made my mind up that I'm much better off trying the shoes on before buying them, despite the drawbacks.

It seems that range of colour is a significant motivating factor for large shoe collections ... that's not a prominent aspect of my wardrobe, so brown and black do me fine! :)

[in_the_bottle]

Ok, where did you get the boots and the oxfords cos for the life of me, I cannot find anything. The last pair of oxfords I got from Clarks, well, they're going to the charity after 1 month cos even though I have people swearing up and down how comfortable they are, the soles are too hard and its killing my knees with the impact and also gave me blisters even though they are the right size/fit. I ended up having to go to the podiatrist last Sat because the blisters developed into something else and now I'm basically limping on my right foot.

I have the same issues as you and its been a freakin' nightmare trying to find shoes that I can wear to work (ie. professional and smart without looking like granny shoes).

Urgh!

[tealin]

I've had terrible luck with Clarks as well – several times I've been in just for a look-see and didn't like anything they had on offer (usually being too heely or, lately, all non-lace-up styles); when I do like something and try it on it's too hard or the wrong shape or evidently not of the sort of quality for which I'd pay that sort of price.

My new favourite place for shoes is Deichmann. For the most part they do synthetic materials, but their leather shoes are quite good, and the selection is very broad. Generally boots last me about one winter before they start to fall apart: I got my black boots there when I first moved here, thinking 'I'll burn through them in a year but at least they're cheap and I can find some better ones at a January sale', but here I am THREE YEARS later and they're still going strong, especially with the new heels I got from Timpson (I'm very hard on heels but these are serious business). My only complaint is that they eat up shoelaces, but maybe that's relative as I've never had boots outlast their laces before...? That's where I went to get my black Oxfords, which look and feel to be of similar quality, and the minute I tried them on they were an instant and obvious yes. Maybe I have German feet?

The brown boots were a lucky find at TK Maxx (they'd just got a batch in from Fatface) and the brown Oxfords came from a charity shop (almost never buy secondhand shoes but these were hardly worn and just right). I'm afraid my style probably counts as 'granny' (in the old-fashioned sense, not the 'comfort shoe' sense) but Deichmann's selection is wide enough you can probably find something that works for you. And they're cheap! I don't know why they're not a bigger deal, shoe-chain-wise. People too wedded to their middle-class brands, I suppose.

Technically I 'should' be a size 6(40) but usually opt for a size 7(41) as that has more room for horizontal flipper-spread and so less of a breaking-in period, as well as room for inserts ... They can be a bit boat-like, and I often scuff the toe as it's about an inch away from my actual toe so it's hard to judge exactly where it is, but it's worth it for the comfort. If you can't stand or walk in your shoes, what's the point?

If impact is an issue for you I highly recommend gel inserts – sometimes I think my feet weren't made to be stood on, but those do help me a lot!

ETA: Looked it up, there's a Deichmann at Westfield, so fairly convenient for you!

[in_the_bottle]

I'd do gel inserts but I already have insoles for the flat foot and there are only so many insoles you can put in a pair of shoes...

Thanks for the tips on the store! I'm possibly heading to Westfield on Fri, will see if I can find it then and whether they have anything that fits. :)

[in_the_bottle]

I'd do gel inserts but I already have insoles for the flat foot and there are only so many insoles you can put in a pair of shoes...

Thanks for the tips on the store! I'm possibly heading to Westfield on Fri, will see if I can find it then and whether they have anything that fits. :)