Shoe recs needed

[blamebrampton]

The world is depressing, I am turning to shopping in a bid to up my girlie cred. But I need help. I was raised by men and lesbians. From a grooming perspective, this is akin to being raised by wolves.

I have manky feet. To begin with, they're duck feet. Little heels and broad chimpanzee-like toes from a childhood of frequent barefootness. And then there's the mangling. After ballet as a young lass my toes are horrid. Which was bad enough in itself, but then I shattered one of my feet in a huge cycling accident, so now my already high instep is even higher on one side thanks to the rebuild.

All of this means that I find it very hard to find comfy shoes that fit. And possibly even look good. I can live with look ordinary if the comfort factor is high enough, as I can distract people from my shoes without too much effort. But I desperately need some more brands to choose from.

Currently my shoe wardrobe is Birkenstocks, Doc Martens, ethical Converse rip-offs, Brooks trainers and riding boots. It is the shoe wardrobe of a sexually unfussy teenager who spends her weekends at Pony Club, Goth Club or anti-apartheid rallies. I was that teenager, but a lot of my flist wasn't born then.

So, you lot shop like fiends. Any recommendations? Size 36 or 37, wide fitting preferred, fit a high instep, can be walked in for long distances by even the gimpiest, some connection to looking like a grown-up woman shoe appreciated. And able to be resoled, because I will walk through them before the uppers go.

Many thanks for any suggestions!

Still avoiding the Olympics, but a dear friend had a very worthwhile rant to me today when the Australian broadcaster cut the last 20 minutes of the women's hockey, a sport in which the Australian team is one of the top three in the world and a game in which they were winning, to show the men's water polo team losing. "Because god forbid women's sport be taken seriously! Unless it's an Aussie swimmer!" she ranted. And the male water polo players weren't even hot.

PS Happy Birthday EEYORE! (I have the memory of an idiot fish)

Comments

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Forest green, and I am thinking of some either dark red or possibly even burgundy (I have 4.5m of the latter, but it's a satin finish and so would be very slippy ...)

I like using silk for lining and details since it's so easy to make it look luxurious, and it's still pretty easy to work with.

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

I agree, though I hate actually lining things. I'm crap at it. Far too sloppy for the amount of time I spend making things, which really does make me an idiot, but doesn't make me any neater.

Burgundy could work very well - and if you're only doing details, would it matter if it's slippy? Or, oh, you were thinking lining as well? If it's tailored to fit the shoulder well it shouldn't be a problem, but of course, if you're doing strange deconstructed things it may be ...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of lining it, the weave on the cashmere is a bit open, though I am going to felt a sample this weekend to see how it turns out and what the shrinkage is. I'll probably only ever wear it overseas or in Melbourne, but I'll look good there!