Round two on the toesies.
Don’t get me wrong, I just loOoOoOove wearing Crocs. *ahem… liar… ahem* But after a long day of standing in the salon, even all the squishiness of the Crocs couldn’t support my sensitive, pregnant feet.
My darling client-turned-friend, Mary Kaye, took pity on me and insisted that I head to The Walking Company and treat myself to real-deal, even-nurses-wear-them, not-messin’-around-this-time kinda shoes. She was so adamant, in fact, that she graciously blessed me with a gift card to help with the cost (as good, supportive shoes usually run no less than $100).
As soon as I stepped into the store, an employee, Crystal, began attending to me. In retrospect, I felt a little embarrassed at the vibe that I must have been giving her. Ugly shoes make Square Piece very hesitant; and I was surrounded by ugly shoes. Awkwardly I wandered around, eyeing the selection. Seventy-five percent of my options were nixed as they were open-toed shoes. Being that 1) I plan on wearing these into the fall, 2) I haven’t had a pedicure in months and 3) I wear support hose now, it seemed best to opt for some closed-toe shoes.
Crystal is a lucky lady. Had I opened my options up more, I likely would have needed to try on 20 pairs. Alas, I think she only had to scrounge up a modest five pairs for Hesistant Square Piece.
The first pair that I tried on were these red, sassy clogs by Dansko. (Yes, I can find a way to make red shoes work with anything.) I was sure that they’d beat out all the other shoes as they were quite comfortable for walking.
But wait…
My feet…
They were sensing something…
“Hold it,” my feet said. “We can’t settle on these yet.”
Nope. My feet have expensive taste and they could sense that a pricier shoe was lurking. Looking over my shoulder, I spotted a brand called MBT.
Oh, I’ve heard of those, I thought.
There was one pair that seemed work appropriate. Crystal brought them out for me.
“Yes,” my feet agreed. “These are the ones.”
“But what about the red Danskos?” I asked them as I tried them on once more and walked around to compare.
“No,” my feet insisted. “We neeeeeeeeeeed the fancy, expensive ones! Look how they’re shaped like a ship’s bottom, all curvy and weird in the sole!“
Well, my feet DID have a point. Strangely enough, when I was walking, it felt like I was gliding. There was ZERO pounding or pressure on my heel OR my toes. I wore these suckers allllllllll day yesterday (and I even stayed later to do a coworker’s hair) and my feet felt perfectly fine at the end of the day. This is unusual in that my toes usually feel like they’re on fire once I point them upward during my four minute drive home. Once home, I’m usually hobbling around and asking Brian to bring me things.
That didn’t happen yesterday.
Here’s hoping I’ve unearthed the miracle shoe.
Thanks, Mary Kaye, for getting my butt into that store!
You rock those shoes! I love my Dansko’s too! I just found a pair of New Balance running shoes that make my feet and ankle feel great! On sale for over 1/2 off at Dick’s.
its not fair that you even make those shoes look hott. how do you do it?
Pffff… Puh-lease!
I LOVE the Walking Store. But this probably isn’t surprising to you because I wear ugly shoes 😉
So glad it all worked out for you and that brilliant woman made you go!!
scary how much money I spend there a year! Happy feet though!
So happy your feet and toes are happier. 🙂
I have owned and worn through 2 pairs of MBT’s. I absolutely loved them. I just am to hard on shoes to keep spending that much on shoes. but I have old knee issues that left when I was wearing them. so I loved them . i’ll have another pair some day. you can also have them re soled. if the uppers are in good shape that was my problem I wore out the uppers and got
holes in them. I loved those shoes.
I’m so glad that you found something you like. Next time, the clogs. They’re wonderful!
Have to check out MBT for Winter. I wear my Birks in the snow, but maybe I can find an alternative. I usually go to Next Step in Brambleton but don’t remember seeing there.
Use them well ! Hope your comfort continues.
Nothing like comfortable shoes! I’m a dansko girl myself. Even have a pair of maryjane clogs in red. 🙂
I may need to get you to check out some for me. Are they really super expensive?
Yep, really super expensive. Well, mine especially b/c they weren’t the sneaker look w/laces. Those were still expensive, but less so. I just needed mine to look more professional, so I got the feminine, black ones.
That’s awesome! I wear sketchers “shape-up” shoes for my work. They too have the rounded sole. It felt weird the first time I had them on but I will NEVER wear another shoe to work. $100 bucks well worth it! You feel taller too right? lol
Definitely taller.