Louise decades ago I too gave up heels!! 30 some odd years later I’ve given up my Beloved Birkenstock’s and open helped vlogs!!! Now I only wear Hike Footwear likely only found in the US, they have a wide rounded toe box which allows for complete toe comfort and they possess this magic ability to reduce my sense of being off balance and allow me to feel everything under foot with no discomfort or pain!!! It’s like being a barefooted kid again with none of the hazards!!
Ooh - those shoes sound intriguing. I've been looking at barefoot shoes a lot (Facebook now shows me nothing else but it's so hard to decide what to go for.
Thanks for the recommendation for shoes. 👞 I prefer to be barefoot as much as possible but shoes are necessary. 🤣I am moving towards zero drop and wide toe box shoes. I need to find some non athletic ones.
I have been mostly lucky with happy feet as I go through the years. They have given me rather excellent service when I consider how little attention I give them. I tend to wear slippers in the house to avoid tracking dirt in. This said, I had an unusual thing happen last spring that taught me how our feet and our backs are connected. For some years I had been ignoring a lower back ache whenever I worked at the kitchen sink. Taking care of a lot of veggies or cleaning up after a big bout of baking was no fun because of the pain in my back. Then one day I was working in the garden in my funky cheap but waterproof outdoor clogs and decided to take some planters inside for a good scrubbing. My clogs were relatively clean so I left them on while I was in the house and that was my bit of very good luck! I discovered that I had no back-ache when wearing the clogs at the sink!!! Since that day I always wear a comfy pair of clogs in the house and have vanished that lower back ache. Hope this helps someone suffering similar back aches.
All so true. I watch those TV ads for corn plasters in incomprehension, the ones showing how they allow women to carry on wearing high heels as if this is the normal response to pain and injury. Wouldn’t it just be easier to, you know, not wear the stupid shoes?
I gave up on heels once I stopped wearing proper shoes to school. For a long time my smart shoes were a pair of pink Mary Jane style DMs, I bought them from Mum's catalogue with my hard earned Saturday job money lol. They were the most I think I've ever paid for a pair of shoes. They kept going and going, I even took them to the Cobblers to have the buckle sewn back on again to stretch them just a bit more. In the end they were too old and started to fall apart properly. I went to eBay and found another pair same style just different colours (and had like a hexagon pattern on them). But again they lasted me years - I'm not sure what happened to them in the end.
Over the years, I've ended up reliant pretty much on 1 or 2 pairs of shoes. At the moment I'm gearing up to go and buy new trainers. I spent 400DKK on the last pair (£46 which feels like a lot but I'm here...) and after 3 months they are giving up. I keep meaning to look at my Apple Watch stats and see how many miles/KM I might have walked in them to see if I've just worn them out rather than them being poorly made. I read somewhere that runners often look at replacing their shoes around 300/400 miles.... so back to the new shoes, do I spend more money (maybe even a brand name) at the risk that I could wear them out in 3 months again or do I buy the same brand shoes knowing that they'll last 3 months and then I'll need new ones?? I keep eyeing up Hoka trainers - they are proper running shoes rather than everyday pottering around shoes but they are so colourful and like 3 times the price of those 400DKK ones....lol. (And I must be verging on walking almost a marathon a week-ish!)
Life is far too short to suffer unnecessary pain! I’ve transitioned to big knickers, flat, comfortable shoes and looser waistbands in the past 5 years. I don’t care if ‘trends’ are different, I need to be comfortable.
I agree with you totally on this! I still have a few beautiful pairs of shoes with heels that I can’t possibly wear again that I really need to let go of. I live in a pair of barefoot trainers bought a couple of years ago that are frankly quite ugly but I don’t care because they are so comfortable. The pain of blisters and uncomfortable feet isn’t worth it
I too learned to appreciate my feet, when I worked as a retail assistant. I stood for many hours a day, so I had to be comfortable, hence the flat shoes! I buy Clarks wider fitting shoes and walking sandals as they look good, but better still they don't hurt my feet!
It’s funny, once I turned 40 I switched over to loafers. Classic loafer. I don’t like the thick sole ones as I think they are ugly. The prices currently are out of this world. The $200 is just stupid. In fact I now look on eBay and Etsy for things like shoes, purses, yarn, funny how things change. I wear sandals a lot, the heat here this week will be over 100 degrees all week, not included the heat index. I noticed a change in my buying habits after 9/11. If I have to walk to get away from danger, I want comfortable shoes to walk all the way home.
Definitely agree on being comfortable. I actually miss heels sometimes but I never had to wear them (worked from home for about twenty years now) so they were always just an occasional thing. I fractured my ankle a couple of years ago and have never felt steady on them since.
I stopped wearing heels other than for special occasions, when I moved to a village that has a lot of green and dirt lanes! I am 5'10" or so, so never needed the heels for height but I did used to love them anyway. Now I mainly wear tretorn ankle wellies, flitflop ballet pumps and sandals and, also fitflop, some lovely pink leather lace up trainer shoes. I do recommend fitflop in general as they've gone beyond what they were famous for (flip flops) and now have a really great range. Life is too short to be uncomfortable, I feel the same way about clothes too. Stretchy fabric, things that keep me cool or warm depending, natural fabrics, elasticated waists and sleeve shirrings, nothing that will dig in.
I gave up heels long before covid! However I did rummage a pair out as just about the only smart black shoes I own to go to a funeral recently. Ironically it was the flats I wore into London not long ago that left me with blisters on both heels.
I'm like this too now. I abandoned heels long ago, but in the past few years have given up many other things as well. One of the outcomes of the pandemic for me was realizing how much what other people thought of me had weighed on me everyday. Once I wasn't being seen everyday, a huge weight lifted off me. I care way less now and am more about what I want to wear and how I want to act. (not rude, of course, but not conforming for the sake of)
When I was working I ran around in Manolo's, Jimmy Choo, Prada and Gucci heels. As I got older the heels got lower. Now I'm a free woman (in terms of work) I wear an ancient pair of cork-disintegrating Birks in the house all year round. Outside I wear trainers in the summer, Reike ankle boots in the winter. I've recently discovered casual flat lace-ups called Mod Comfy - I think they're from the USA and are available on line. Soft, soft, soft. For sandals I try to find Reike flat no-back sandals and wear them to death! You can often find them cheaply on Amazon, and often styles not in UK shops.
Louise decades ago I too gave up heels!! 30 some odd years later I’ve given up my Beloved Birkenstock’s and open helped vlogs!!! Now I only wear Hike Footwear likely only found in the US, they have a wide rounded toe box which allows for complete toe comfort and they possess this magic ability to reduce my sense of being off balance and allow me to feel everything under foot with no discomfort or pain!!! It’s like being a barefooted kid again with none of the hazards!!
Ooh - those shoes sound intriguing. I've been looking at barefoot shoes a lot (Facebook now shows me nothing else but it's so hard to decide what to go for.
Thanks for the recommendation for shoes. 👞 I prefer to be barefoot as much as possible but shoes are necessary. 🤣I am moving towards zero drop and wide toe box shoes. I need to find some non athletic ones.
I have been mostly lucky with happy feet as I go through the years. They have given me rather excellent service when I consider how little attention I give them. I tend to wear slippers in the house to avoid tracking dirt in. This said, I had an unusual thing happen last spring that taught me how our feet and our backs are connected. For some years I had been ignoring a lower back ache whenever I worked at the kitchen sink. Taking care of a lot of veggies or cleaning up after a big bout of baking was no fun because of the pain in my back. Then one day I was working in the garden in my funky cheap but waterproof outdoor clogs and decided to take some planters inside for a good scrubbing. My clogs were relatively clean so I left them on while I was in the house and that was my bit of very good luck! I discovered that I had no back-ache when wearing the clogs at the sink!!! Since that day I always wear a comfy pair of clogs in the house and have vanished that lower back ache. Hope this helps someone suffering similar back aches.
I have a pair of yellow crocs that I wear around.
All so true. I watch those TV ads for corn plasters in incomprehension, the ones showing how they allow women to carry on wearing high heels as if this is the normal response to pain and injury. Wouldn’t it just be easier to, you know, not wear the stupid shoes?
Absolutely agree. It's just not a price worth paying is it.
Agree 🙌 Bad shoes destroyed my feet. What a waste.
I gave up on heels once I stopped wearing proper shoes to school. For a long time my smart shoes were a pair of pink Mary Jane style DMs, I bought them from Mum's catalogue with my hard earned Saturday job money lol. They were the most I think I've ever paid for a pair of shoes. They kept going and going, I even took them to the Cobblers to have the buckle sewn back on again to stretch them just a bit more. In the end they were too old and started to fall apart properly. I went to eBay and found another pair same style just different colours (and had like a hexagon pattern on them). But again they lasted me years - I'm not sure what happened to them in the end.
Over the years, I've ended up reliant pretty much on 1 or 2 pairs of shoes. At the moment I'm gearing up to go and buy new trainers. I spent 400DKK on the last pair (£46 which feels like a lot but I'm here...) and after 3 months they are giving up. I keep meaning to look at my Apple Watch stats and see how many miles/KM I might have walked in them to see if I've just worn them out rather than them being poorly made. I read somewhere that runners often look at replacing their shoes around 300/400 miles.... so back to the new shoes, do I spend more money (maybe even a brand name) at the risk that I could wear them out in 3 months again or do I buy the same brand shoes knowing that they'll last 3 months and then I'll need new ones?? I keep eyeing up Hoka trainers - they are proper running shoes rather than everyday pottering around shoes but they are so colourful and like 3 times the price of those 400DKK ones....lol. (And I must be verging on walking almost a marathon a week-ish!)
I’m the same, I tend to have a few pairs that I just wear to death.
Life is far too short to suffer unnecessary pain! I’ve transitioned to big knickers, flat, comfortable shoes and looser waistbands in the past 5 years. I don’t care if ‘trends’ are different, I need to be comfortable.
Yes, to looser waistbands as well. Vanity stopped me going up a skirt size for far too long, but now I'm happy say I don't care.
“The most important decision you will ever make is to be in a good mood.”
– Voltaire
I agree with you totally on this! I still have a few beautiful pairs of shoes with heels that I can’t possibly wear again that I really need to let go of. I live in a pair of barefoot trainers bought a couple of years ago that are frankly quite ugly but I don’t care because they are so comfortable. The pain of blisters and uncomfortable feet isn’t worth it
Exactly. I can't believe I put up with it for so many years.
I too learned to appreciate my feet, when I worked as a retail assistant. I stood for many hours a day, so I had to be comfortable, hence the flat shoes! I buy Clarks wider fitting shoes and walking sandals as they look good, but better still they don't hurt my feet!
It’s funny, once I turned 40 I switched over to loafers. Classic loafer. I don’t like the thick sole ones as I think they are ugly. The prices currently are out of this world. The $200 is just stupid. In fact I now look on eBay and Etsy for things like shoes, purses, yarn, funny how things change. I wear sandals a lot, the heat here this week will be over 100 degrees all week, not included the heat index. I noticed a change in my buying habits after 9/11. If I have to walk to get away from danger, I want comfortable shoes to walk all the way home.
Definitely agree on being comfortable. I actually miss heels sometimes but I never had to wear them (worked from home for about twenty years now) so they were always just an occasional thing. I fractured my ankle a couple of years ago and have never felt steady on them since.
Flat shoes! All the time!
It’s the future 🧡
I stopped wearing heels other than for special occasions, when I moved to a village that has a lot of green and dirt lanes! I am 5'10" or so, so never needed the heels for height but I did used to love them anyway. Now I mainly wear tretorn ankle wellies, flitflop ballet pumps and sandals and, also fitflop, some lovely pink leather lace up trainer shoes. I do recommend fitflop in general as they've gone beyond what they were famous for (flip flops) and now have a really great range. Life is too short to be uncomfortable, I feel the same way about clothes too. Stretchy fabric, things that keep me cool or warm depending, natural fabrics, elasticated waists and sleeve shirrings, nothing that will dig in.
All in for comfort these days. Plus, I can’t image wearing anything white in the country.
I gave up heels long before covid! However I did rummage a pair out as just about the only smart black shoes I own to go to a funeral recently. Ironically it was the flats I wore into London not long ago that left me with blisters on both heels.
Rocket Dog, Jazzin range. Oh. My. Goodness. So very very comfy.
I'm like this too now. I abandoned heels long ago, but in the past few years have given up many other things as well. One of the outcomes of the pandemic for me was realizing how much what other people thought of me had weighed on me everyday. Once I wasn't being seen everyday, a huge weight lifted off me. I care way less now and am more about what I want to wear and how I want to act. (not rude, of course, but not conforming for the sake of)
Me too. 🙌I just don’t care if I am fashionable. I prefer to be comfortable and sustainable.
When I was working I ran around in Manolo's, Jimmy Choo, Prada and Gucci heels. As I got older the heels got lower. Now I'm a free woman (in terms of work) I wear an ancient pair of cork-disintegrating Birks in the house all year round. Outside I wear trainers in the summer, Reike ankle boots in the winter. I've recently discovered casual flat lace-ups called Mod Comfy - I think they're from the USA and are available on line. Soft, soft, soft. For sandals I try to find Reike flat no-back sandals and wear them to death! You can often find them cheaply on Amazon, and often styles not in UK shops.
Love the recommendations. Thank you