Josef Siebel - shoes that I can walk in...

Over the years, I have griped much about the pitifully limited range of shoes available to women as opposed to the vast range for men. By “shoes” here I mean items that you can actually walk in, items that don’t pinch, chafe or irritate when you put them on your feet, items that don’t threaten to trip one up, catch in gratings or fall to pieces as you walk along. Hearken to this older post of mine: There are plenty of shoes out there that look good…if you lead the Jolie/Kidman lifestyle, tripping from chauffeur-driven car to movie set, and then home again. Mock-croc patent and suede ankle fringes over impossibly spindly heels are useless on rough, urban terrain, bedevilled by the elements…plenty that are no doubt comfortable…but what if you don’t want to negotiate the world in fleece-lined, slipper-like booties that flap around your ankles like a pair of toothless gums? After a while searching (in a shoe store) I thankfully grasp a streamlined, leather walking shoe, only to be told: those, Madam, are for men…

All that may have changed. I may have found the answer in Caspian,(left) by Josef Siebel, a pair of comfortable, leather lace-ups with soles that actually touch the ground as you walk along – revolutionary, eh! There are no finicky embellishments attached to the uppers, just a clean and lovely styling that teams beautifully with contemporary feminine clothing. By the way, the Josef Siebel company has been making shoes since 1886, ensuring its status as Europe’s largest footwear manufacturer. Now, a fourth-generation family business, its shoes, sandals, boots and clogs for men and women offer the “highest level of comfort” – but don’t ask me…