Comfortable Shoes

I never knew I could do an entire post about shoes.  Three seems excessive, yet here I am talking about shoes once again.

To find shoes that would work with my orthotics, I really wasn’t sure what to do.  I like on-line prices, but my feet have always been difficult to fit so buying shoes that I’d never had a chance to try on seemed a bit risky.  Bouncing blindly from one store to the next is not something that I have the time, energy, or inclination to do.

Looking for a little direction, I phoned my podiatrist’s office and asked if they had any recommendations.  Armed with the name of an appropriate shoe store, I set out.  Replacing all of my twenty-one pair of shoes is far beyond my budget, but I hoped to get:

• a pair of black shoes that can be worn to next month’s semi-formal Christmas parties
• a pair of dress/casual neutral brown shoes to go with most of my skirts
• a pair of tennis shoes for everyday wear

Black:  The store had enough shoes that I had a choice.  $260 was the price tag on the black pair I liked best.  Not in my price range, so I chose the least expensive pair that fit well.  That style also comes in what looked to be purple.  I didn’t get them, but it was exciting to find something reasonably attractive that wouldn’t make my feet hurt worse.

Running shoes:  I just purchased the most expensive pair of shoes I have ever owned.  My foot wouldn’t fit in the first three pair that were brought out (even though the salesman had measured my foot).  Turns out I needed a double-E.  They are the most comfortable tennis shoes I have ever owned.  At this price, they better last a good long time.

Brown:  There was one particular pair of shoes that I liked best.  They’re not as chunky as the picture makes them look.  Unfortunately, the store did not have my size in stock.  They had my size in a different color (burgundy), so I was able to see how they fit.  At that point the salesman got really pushy and tried to convince me that “red” can be worn with anything.  No.  I wore brown slacks to ensure that I would purchase the right shade of brown.  The burgundy shoes were great, but would not go with anything I own.

If the salesman had stopped at that point, she could have ordered a brown pair in the style that I liked and shipped them to me.  She blew it when she brought out two pair of shoes that I’d already said I didn’t like.  Followed by something that looked like a brown tennis shoe.  Followed by a cute pair of shoes that comes only in blue.  I reminded her that I was looking for a brown shoe that I could wear with dresses.  Desperate for a sale, she then showed me a $285 pair of burgundy Mary-Janes.  No.

Thanks to Wren‘s suggestion last week, I knew about FootSmart‘s online store.  Now I have a specific brand name of a shoe that I know fits me well, so I’ve been able to come up with a few other sources (obviously I haven’t done business with these companies yet).  The brown shoes I want were $169 at the shoe store; online prices show below:

• Pegasus Shoes ( $144)
• Walker’s Warehouse ($145.95)
• Online Shoes ($145.95)
• Footwise ($146)
• Davidson Shoes Plus ($154.95)
• Natural Footwear ($155)
• Zappos ($149.95)
• Shoes Central ($155)
• FootSmart (carries a couple brands I liked, but not the exact shoe I want)
• Walking On A Cloud (ditto)

It was great to have people who knew what they were doing look at my orthotics, measure my foot, and help me find shoes that will work for me.  I was willing to buy my shoes at the store to compensate the salesman for the work that was put into it.  Now, however, I can get future shoes from the comfort of my own home!

Edit: Forgot the disclaimer.  I have not been paid to express my opinion about these shoes or the online shoe sources (or anything else on this site).  However, I would be happy to test-drive shoes and express my opinion if any shoe distributors want to send me free samples.