my hunt for hot-but-sensible shoes…(check out these hot styles)
I have really, really, really bad feet. No, no, no. Don’t try to compete with me on this. They are dead odd. The worst many podiatrists have ever seen. I have high insteps, high arches, bent toes and when I walk it’s a constant challenge to stay upright. My feet touch the ground at two small points – one on my heel, another on the ball. My footprint on a beach is seriously weird if you were to walk behind me one day.
I’ve written about my love of fit shoes before. My love stems from the fact they keep me upright. Mostly.
So, intriguingly, my life is split between wearing fit shoes/sneakers/no shoes. And wearing ridiculous heels for work, which make my feet swell and are slowly dislocating the joints in my toes. Totally serious medical diagnosis. (BTW, I was spotted in Syd Confidential’s “ispy” section wearing this outfit, striding through the city…but in sneakers…while carrying my heels).
But surely there’s a middle ground?!? A heel that heals?
Well. A few weeks back Sally from Children of the Revolution contacted me to chat feet. I wound up meeting her at her Rozelle store in Sydney, which stocks a hand-picked selection of the world’s best hot-but-sensible shoes that are also ethically sound (there’s also a Brisbane store). Here are some feet factoids we shared, before choosing some hot-but-sensibles:
* most people don’t need orthodics and inserts. (But if you do have to wear them…she has tips.)
* it’s important to have a “first thing in the morning shoe”... a comfy little number for schlepping around the kitchen in making porridge… so that you don’t have to go from a warm bed to a cold tile floor. The reason for that is that in Eastern philosophy, you never do anything in extremes. Which is a big deal for people who suffer from Plantar Fasciitis for whom getting out of bed can be very painful.
* it’s good to buy shoes that haven’t been chemically treated because said chemicals leach straight into the skin. Many of the styles at Children of the Revolution are clean and ethically sound. Dansko and el naturalista and Groundhogs are shoes that care and sustain and give back to the community.
* if you wear heels, go for strappy numbers. More straps, more stability, less toe clenching. Straps can look bad (create kankles where you had none). So my tip: get straps that incorporate a T-bar (a line that goes up the middle of the foot…this will elongate and counteract the kankleness).
Which is why I walked out of the shop with a pair of these by Miss Mooz:
They feature extra support/room in the ball of the foot, which, if you’ve got a wide foot like I do, is just plain heaven. Strapped in, but not scrunched.
They also stock Think!, Aetrex and Allegria, Naot and a dozen or so other brands. A few I liked:
Miss Mooz little neutrals...love these!
More Miss Mooz
And there's something about these "morning shoes" that are kooky cute
Naot Urbanica's - cute hightops!
Do you remember when you were a kid and you had shoes fitted by a jovial woman who measured your foot precisely and snugly and really cared about the health of your feet? I still remember the lovely, kind feeling of having my feet fitted at the Clarke’s shop in Belconnen Mall in Canberra.
Well. That’s Sally.
Check her out here. Or do your feet a favour and get them fitted in something pretty that will also keep you upright.
I’m so glad you wrote that post! A friend and I were talking about how we just can’t wear heels. Just cannot do it. I have a dickie knee and heels just cause me no end of grief so I only ever wear them if i know I’ll be sitting down! I will be hotfooting over there quicksmart!
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Thanks for the post Sarah, I care too much about my feet to wear heels mostly (plus my bf is barely taller than me, so it’s in his best interests I don’t), but I am often annoyed by how crappy the options are in most shoe stores. I will have to try and suss out where I can find the brands in Melbourne, if anyone knows please post!
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March 8th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Hi its Belinda from Miz Mooz. We recently launched in over 40 stores nationally!
Check out http://www.leisurelink.com.au/mizmooz/stores.html for your nearest stockist
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I find peep-toe styles work well for me – supportive and comfy.
And to avoid the burning feel you get on the sole of your feet from dancing the night away in sky-high heels get something with a slight platform. The chunkier the heel the better as well
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THANK YOU!!! I’ve been hunting for shoes that are comfortable, yummy and don’t bother my knees…..and now I can!
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i have terrible feet too (and they seem to be getting worse by the day)!! thank u for this!! xo.
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Oh Sarah, thankyou for airing this topic, it’s one of those hush-hush never-to-be spoken of topics, what happens to your feet as you get older. I watched a couple of Sally’s youtube videos & I have fallen in love with her.
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Thanks for this post Sarah. I thought I was the only one with dreadful feet which have to hide in frumpy but sensible shoes. Now I know there are places out there with great styles available – funky instead of frumpy!!! Yay!
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One thing I noticed about the photo of you Sarah is that you have great looking legs! So never mind about the funny feet
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Are you sure that there isn’t something more to your ‘funny feet’? My feet almost match the description of yours, and they led me to being diagnosed with a genetic peripheral neuropathy, Charcot Marie Tooth disease – even without any identifiable family history of it. Different people experience the disease to different extents, ranging from mild to severe (I’m somewhere in the middle of those two extremes).
I’m currently recovering from the second operation that I’ve undergone to reconstruct my feet – basically to lower the arches and make my feet more stable.
Don’t know if this information will be relevant for you – maybe I’m way off base here – but I thought it would be worth leaving you a quick comment on it anyway.
Anyway, count yourself lucky – even sensible heels are pretty much out of the question for me, so you may have met your match in competing for the worst feet!!
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I have just recovered from a foot injury and have become obsessed with shoes, as for the past 6 weeks, I have been wearing the same pair of Keds sneakers with orthotics.
I live in Melbourne and went to Ziera (formerly Kumfs) and have put two great pairs of shoes on layby. It took me about an hour to pick these and I feel like I tried on every pair in the shop. They measure both your feet, ask what you’ll be doing in the shoes, and know their product lines inside and out. They are happy to order shoes in from another store, and can even tell you when more will be made! I’d recommend Ziera any day.
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I agree with you on the ankle straps, they make a huge difference. I always wear a small wedge heel to work, because it looks more dainty but it still stable.
My darling grandmother once had the presence of mind to admire my high heels and in the same breath, uncover her badly mishaped and bunion-covered feet and say, “I used to wear shoes just like yours! Not any more though!” Bless.
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Thank you a zillion times over! Cute but good for my feet shoes are so hard to find. As I sit here with my left ankle on ice because of an ATF ligament tear I’m grateful that I can look forward to a trip to Rozelle for a spot of shoe shopping!
m
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Sarah – the first thing that struck me about this post is how gorgeous you look. Love your blog!
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Loved this post – will definitely look out for this brand of shoes. How nice it would be to wear compfortable shoes that look good without making me look like my mother!
Love the reference to the Clarke’s Shoe Shop in Belconnen mall. My son (now 35) got his first pair of shoes fitted there in 1976 and I still remember the lovely staff.
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Hi Sarah,
I was disappointed with this post. It’s lovely that there are shops out there that still give the kind of consideration to customers feet as Clark’s did when we were kids, and great that you can recommend one.
However, if you have such problem feet perhaps it’s time to break out of the “heels are the only hot shoes” paradigm and look for some gorgeous low shoes to wear for work instead of ridiculous heels (even if they do have straps)? As I’m sure you’d agree from experience, your health is not worth compromising.
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Loved the post and could break into a shoe-monologue to rival Hamlet, but may I just say – look at them legs!!! All that cycling clearly pays off, nice work
(Or is it a strategic choice in shoe…?)
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