shoe therapy

Every 30-something needs: comfortable shoes!

- Mel

It seems like every year, I’m asking all my fashion and beauty people for good recommendations for shoes — I’m talking comfortable boots for women, appropriate for the 30-something city person who walks everywhere, even in inclement weather (hello, Fall!). Because I am a sucker for comfort above all things.

This is where I insert a picture of a stylish, comfortable-looking boot. One that fits all my criteria. Notice how this space remains noticeably picture-free.

An uncomfortable foot is an uncomfortable person. FACT.
Hashtag, shoe therapy.

My checklist is:
No heels.
Real leather — footwear that will eventually “mold” to my foot. Not patent leather either. Nothing plastic-looking.
Low- or mid-calf height — that will. not. sag.
Not ugly.
And not those fuzzy UGGS, for that matter. C’mon, I’m 36, not 16!
COMFORTABLE FOR WALKING SEVERAL CITY BLOCKS IN ONE EVENING.
No heels!
Bonus: warm.
Bonus, bonus: won’t upset my bank account too terribly.

But seriously, people. I AM WILLING TO PAY.

I typically get a few of those from the list, but never the full package. I don’t need a snow boot, since I rotate between my Hunters (with liners) and Sperry’s on wet and flurry days. The Hunters are stylish, yes, but not easy on the feet for long walks — even with insoles. I love my cross trainers, but I haven’t signed away my life to yoga pants and tennis shoes. Yet. I find a cute pair, but they’re cheap; I find a slightly-expensive pair, and they’re ugly. Most often, I succumb to the cheap, but then I get one season out of them.

Why can’t I be stylish AND comfortable? And why can I still not find the right pair of boots? So, spill it, 30-somethings: what boots are your fave?

As told through shoes…

- Mel

This blog is a story — at least one part — about shoes. 

Every pair of my shoes has a story: where or why I purchased them, when I wore them… what weird things were stuck to the bottom of them when I arrived home. 

And when I have to give them away… 

Funky Steve Madden Shoes

I’ve always been a fan of funky heels.

When I was in my early 20s, I worked at a Steve Madden shoe store (NATURALLY feeding the addiction). During that time, I acquired a lot of footwear, with several pairs of shoes and boots going the distance (I still have at least four pairs of heels and one pair of boots). Which means, I’ve had these things for over TEN YEARS.

Alas, while Instagram breathes new life into old things, these pointed toe, silver-heeled pumps have become stiff (almost creaky), dirty beyond repair and past their prime. They’ve seen no less than three trips to the shoe cobbler for meticulous laundering with satin cleaner (which doesn’t exist, by the way) and heel retipping. And I’ve never been able to un-smoosh the points (since being stepped on circa 2004).

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t grown out of “funky.” But seeing as how I haven’t worn these shoes since our move to Pittsburgh last year — and honestly, I can’t remember wearing them since moving to my condo in 2006 — I can toss with good judgment. 

Man, these shoes were always a conversation starter in my 20s. I need to embrace that again with my wardrobe choices.