Soft shoe shuffle.....

 

Like the majority of people, I wish this pandemic was not happening. I wish that life would revert to a type of normal, at least. Like Priya Elan, fashion editor of the Guardian, I am fishing for fragments of treasure amongst the ruins. Mr Elan asserts that one good effect of not having to dash about office corridors all day is the re-discovery and recovery of those most basic of elements to human well-being, namely, our two feet. Recovery from corns and calluses, aches and pains. He goes on to extol the virtue of the Big Softies, such as Uggs, Birkenstocks, Crocs.....and I want to add my voice to his in the form of my box-fresh Ecco shoes (pictured), made of Nubuck, flexible, sturdy, insoled and bespeaking quality in that way that Ecco always does. Retailing at £90 and available in red, black, white....and you can order a pair by post....what's not to love? Happy New Year everyone.....

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jan/15/how-to-wear-ugly-shoes

Uggly Work Afoot

Just recently, I posted a piece on the difficulties inherent in buying ladies’ night attire. I’ve just been through another retail trauma, this time involving the purchase of ladies’ walking shoes – note the word walking. Judging by what was on offer in the normally sane Shoon outlet, you would end up believing that manufacturers live in a fantasy world as regards footwear for women – and think that we do, too.

All I wanted was a pair of shoes that looked good, felt comfortable and that one can actually walk in. There are plenty of shoes out there that look good, that is, 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.

And there were plenty that were no doubt comfortable, looking for all the world like cut-down Uggs. But what if you don’t want to negotiate the world in fleece-lined, slipper-like booties that flap around your ankles like toothless gums? After a while searching, I thankfully grasped a streamlined, leather walking shoe, only to be told: Those, Madam, are for men.

Aaasaagh! It was all I could do not to knock over the display. I finally found my quarry, a pair of quasi-boots that fitted my original criteria – and me. Great, but why do women have so little choice in footwear alongside the vast array available to men? Short of making our own, what can we do?