I have really, really, really bad feet. No, no, no. Don’t try to compete with me on this. They are dead odd. The worst many podiatrists have ever seen. I have high insteps, high arches, bent toes and when I walk it’s a constant challenge to stay upright. My feet touch the ground at two small points – one on my heel, another on the ball. My footprint on a beach is seriously weird if you were to walk behind me one day.
I’ve written about my love of fit shoes before. My love stems from the fact they keep me upright. Mostly.
So, intriguingly, my life is split between wearing fit shoes/sneakers/no shoes. And wearing ridiculous heels for work, which make my feet swell and are slowly dislocating the joints in my toes. Totally serious medical diagnosis. (BTW, I was spotted in Syd Confidential’s “ispy” section wearing this outfit, striding through the city…but in sneakers…while carrying my heels).
But surely there’s a middle ground?!? A heel that heals?
Well. A few weeks back Sally from Children of the Revolution contacted me to chat feet. I wound up meeting her at her Rozelle store in Sydney, which stocks a hand-picked selection of the world’s best hot-but-sensible shoes that are also ethically sound (there’s also a Brisbane store). Here are some feet factoids we shared, before choosing some hot-but-sensibles:
* most people don’t need orthodics and inserts. (But if you do have to wear them…she has tips.)
* it’s important to have a “first thing in the morning shoe”... a comfy little number for schlepping around the kitchen in making porridge… so that you don’t have to go from a warm bed to a cold tile floor. The reason for that is that in Eastern philosophy, you never do anything in extremes. Which is a big deal for people who suffer from Plantar Fasciitis for whom getting out of bed can be very painful.
* it’s good to buy shoes that haven’t been chemically treated because said chemicals leach straight into the skin. Many of the styles at Children of the Revolution are clean and ethically sound. Dansko and el naturalista and Groundhogs are shoes that care and sustain and give back to the community.
* if you wear heels, go for strappy numbers. More straps, more stability, less toe clenching. Straps can look bad (create kankles where you had none). So my tip: get straps that incorporate a T-bar (a line that goes up the middle of the foot…this will elongate and counteract the kankleness).
Which is why I walked out of the shop with a pair of these by Miss Mooz:
They feature extra support/room in the ball of the foot, which, if you’ve got a wide foot like I do, is just plain heaven. Strapped in, but not scrunched.
They also stock Think!, Aetrex and Allegria, Naot and a dozen or so other brands. A few I liked:
Do you remember when you were a kid and you had shoes fitted by a jovial woman who measured your foot precisely and snugly and really cared about the health of your feet? I still remember the lovely, kind feeling of having my feet fitted at the Clarke’s shop in Belconnen Mall in Canberra.
Well. That’s Sally.
Check her out here. Or do your feet a favour and get them fitted in something pretty that will also keep you upright.
