I am about to admit something terrifying. Well, to me.
This Time Next Week
This time next week I will likely be in the Boxing Day Sales *sobs*. You see, as you probably know from my amazing Kmart gift guide, I don’t really like being around busy and pushy. That’s why I shop at night on weekdays where possible. But I have had a problem this year. Shoes. You see, I have size 10 feet. Wide feet. I think a high arch too, though I’ve never bothered to really look that up and understand exactly what it is. Put it this was, the shape of my foot is such that I can’t wear espadrilles.
So on a good day, it’s challenging to buy shoes. Size 10 has morphed to size 11 in recent years as shoes get less wide. Stores sell out of size 11 pretty fast. (Size 10 too!). Earlier this year (or maybe late last year) I bought some Frankie4’s on sale. The first pair was great, but decoration kept breaking off and I sounded like a fucking elf. So I posted them back. They couldn’t re-affix the decoration so they sent me a new pair. Only the new pair was less comfortable somehow and then also didn’t last very well. I could have returned them again but I was cranky so they’re probably in the back of my cupboard somewhere.
Most of the year I was wearing my sometimes-ok fill in shoes. Big W comfort range ballet flats. Big W seem to be the only ones who make a size 10 or 11 that actually stay in stock. Problem is that these shoes don’t last too long. I get that, it’s Big W. I’m not expecting them to last years. But for $30 I want them to last just a bit longer than they do. Still, they’re ok. And I am a bargain shopper so I try to only nab them when they’re on sale for $15-20. The problem is that they suddenly get uncomfortable and then it really hurts. When the padding goes, you’re walking on VERY hard rubber. That killed me feet for a while this year (even less great that this happened while I had an injured ankle).
Soo…Eventually I found a really comfy pair of Dianna Ferrari super comfort soft babys bottom shoes.* OMG so good. So comfy. Wore them to work. On weekends. EVERYWHERE. So good.
Only, one month and three days later I investigated a noise I had been hearing in my shoes. Sadly, the sole had broken and was falling out and catching as I walked. Return and refund time it was. Which has left me wearing a fairly uncomfortable pair of Kmart “comfort” ballet flats that feel too awkward to drive in, which means I’m driving in the old Big W shoes that are hard rubber and painful to walk in (though thankfully not painful to drive in).
The thing is, I really hate shoe shopping. I always have. And I keep having to do it because every pair I’ve bought is either too cheap in both price and quality, or too cheap in quality. When I bought the Diana Ferrari shoes it was a quiet Thursday night in my local Mathers and the shop assistant was really helpful. But still, they had barely anything suitable. I wasn’t even looking on price!! All I want is a supportive, flat (and when I say flat, I mean FLAT) shoe that is partially enclosed (across the toes/top of foot/around the back of foot – I guess ballet shoe but good is what I mean) and has no of what I think they call “toe cleavage”. I don’t like sandals. Do you know how hard it is to find a basic shoe? I don’t want anything fancy. But nooo…all of womens shoes have to be decorated and have extraneous stuff that I don’t want. Just give me simple, supportive shoes! That’s it!
And all of that is a long, long winded way of saying SAVE ME I DON’T WANT TO GO SHOE SHOPPING IN THE BOXING DAY SALES AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. (TAKES BREATH.) AAAAHHHHHHHHHH.
*May not be official range name of the product.
What will you be doing this time next week?
I have a size 10-11 long. Walked into a Croc Shop. I normally don’t like Crocs. They had their new work styles. For $45 I picked a 1/2in heel dressy slip on. Soft, comfortable light wear all day. Usually when I’m not looking is when I find them.
I’ll have to check them out, I think there’s a Croc shop not too far from my work. I’m at the point that apart from avoiding big chunky ones (because I like to be able to feel the pedals when I drive and sneakers/big shoes I can’t) I don’t really care what they look like so long as I’m comfortable.
Oh I have small, broad, flat feet. I have nightmares about shoe shopping sometimes! I recently found some cute sandals in Novo and when they came in size 5 AND were comfy AND were wide enough I bought two pairs!! I’d gone YEARS without flat sandals because I could never find any.
I also am not a fan of toe cleavage. WHO IS??? WHY DO THOSE SHOES EXIST??
I hate those shoes too!! Why?!? Is everyone a giant foot fetishist? Do they know how much more strain not having the right coverage puts on a foot?! AAh!!
Oh you are brave to face the Boxing Day Sales! I’m lucky to be a Size 7 and they always sell out fast. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and look forward to reading more of you blogs next year.
I really don’t want to!! I don’t like crowds or shopping at the best of times and Boxing Day sure isn’t the best of times. But I’m tight on budget and need a new pair ASAP so it’s logical. just awful logical 🙂
I think we might be foot twins! My life hack is to buy like three pairs of a shoe once I find a pair I like – just to make sure I don’t have to go shopping again for a whole!
Haha I’ve started doing that with clothes. The shoes I did have were really perfect, apart from the falling apart thing. I would have exchanged them for an identical pair (to give them the benefit of the doubt) but none at all were in stock.
Toe cleavage is the worst. I have heard good things about these next-gen Crocs and will be investigating further. For me, although I have regular sized feet, it’s hard to find a good pair of thongs as anything with rubber strips rip my feet to pieces. Apparently the Crocs ones are the go!
Oh that’d be a good point – sometimes the regular old thongs are too harsh feeling on feet.
Haha. I hear you! I don’t like the sales rush either, I usually avoid but my son has a gift voucher he wants to use on Boxing Day … so … I may need to sacrifice myself for my boy …
Gah! Good luck!
Toe cleavage … ewwwww. It’s probably ex-y as heck, but my local podiatrist sells shoes – might be worth checking out what yours is like? They still have sales though!
Yeah I did want to see a podiatrist but getting in at this time of year is harder and I need shoes sooner than when people reopen after the break…
OK. I am going to give unsolicited advice. Go to a podiatrist. Get your feet needs looked into. Flats, from what I know, are almost as bad as heels. I have a small foot, with no arch at all. I have to wear something on my feet all the time (even tho I love barefoot) as the issues in my feet affect my legs and hips. I know have orthotics in my $200 Brooks runners and I am comfortable and enclosed. I also have Birkenstocks which are the best supportive summer wear. I pay a LOT but I value my feet and my ability to still be on them. This is not to nag you at all…but I did have to ‘give up’ any notion of looking good shoe-wise to be able to feel better.
Sorry…I hope you can get something that helps…and as Janet also advises see above..podiatrist!
Denyse. #lifethisweek
Podiatrist was on my list to do. My last shoes were $135 and that was as much as I could afford at the time, so hopefully I can save a little more and get something good. Good looking shoes aren’t an issue – I prefer plain – but I can’t drive if I can’t feel the pedals as much so that’s my main avoidance of clunky types. I’m not a patient enough person to swap shoes – I just want one pair that works for all.
That does not sound like fun! Shoe shopping sucks at the best of times, can’t imagine what it’d be like during the sales! I have the opposite problem to you — my size is too small and I can’t find it cheap. I’m a size 5. However, I recently bought two pairs of loafers and they are oh-so-comfortable and flat and provide more support around the ankles than ballet shoes. I’d recommend trying those. And good luck with the crowds!
I think either end of the spectrum is usually annoying if only for lack of stock!
Ah yes… I have size 10 feet as well and high arches. I tend to get a pair of shoes and wear them to death. I’ve bought two pair this summer (well spring) and though I love them both, neither are particularly practical.
There’s a place in Hawthorne Rd at Hawthorne that has large-sized shoes, but they’re fairly expensive!
That’s what I was hoping to do with the pair I had to return – wear them to death. I guess I did haha. It was just a very short life.