Friday, January 4, 2008

Shoe post; men, avert your eyes

So I'm walking down the street to my car and I'm just moving along, thinking my own thoughts, when suddenly I realize that my back doesn't hurt. In fact, nothing hurts. Walking is easy, and I feel good. I look down at my feet. What shoes am I wearing? CLOGS. Dansko clogs. Which I swore in college (30! years ago) that I would never wear, because they couldn't possibly be comfortable because they had a wooden base then, and because they looked good on my friend JoAnn, who was small and cute with small feet while I was large and ungainly with big feet, so I decided they would never work.

All my shoes now are both comfortable and supportive, but evidently the Merrill mesh clog-style shoe is no longer supportive enough. I must wear clogs, which seem to put my spine in good alignment, as well as supporting my very very flat arches.

Clogs are better than sneakers, which I wore for 2 years before my knee replacement last year, in terms of looking nice. And I do like them now. And I do have several pairs in really nice colors.

But really, is this what it's come to? Sneakers or clogs? Before you know it, I'll be in orthopedic shoes.

I'm feeling old.


2 comments:

StLmom said...

I was too cheap to invest in Danskos last year and so bought some Clarks that I thought were very similar -- when I wear them, though, my back and hip hurt worse than ever. My feet are very flat as well so your post has me reconsidering the Danskos. I wish I could take some for a practice run!

Catherine said...

Here's an idea to save some money. Get fitted for the Dansko's at Richey's (which we call Richey Rich) or some other "shoes that are good for your feet" place. Then you will know your size, and you can order from the Dansko Outlet:

http://www.danskooutlet.com/

They say the shoes are seconds or discontinued styles, but I've ordered several pairs from there (not discontinued styles, so presumably seconds) and could not find a thing wrong with any of them.

That being said, I did spring for the red brocade clogs a few weeks ago because I HAD TO HAVE THEM.