Jerry52
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2006
- Messages
- 329
- Reaction score
- 0
OK, in the past month, I've bought two diametrically opposed pairs of shoes- and I'm NOT a wealthy man that can forever do this! Therein lies the dilemma...
One pair is a beautiful pair of Sutor Mantellassi lace-up cap toe leather dress shoes from Italy. $400, regularly $1 grand. I'd post pix except I don't have a digital camera. Trust me, they are drop-dead gorgeous, almost as sexy as some of the avatars around here, LOL!
The second pair, a pair of ridiculously cheap Clarks walking shoes, throw-away types with the neoprene heel/sole, designed for comfort. Closeouts, practically a steal at $35. But not worth a picture, they look like damned goloshes/ snow boots!
The problem: I WANT some style, some luxury, some flair. But I NEED support for my feet because I have flat feet, and one of my feet tends to bend inward at the ankle and also when I'm walking turns outward. OK, I SHOULD go to a foot doctor, but I don't like going near any doctor, another story.
The most I can spend on "one more pair" of lace-up dress shoes is about $200-300 and then I must be DONE!
But what's really frustrating is that the beautiful, sleek dress lace-ups seem NOT to be the answer for ten hours of standing on my feet, whereas the clunky "walking" shoes ARE somewhat more comfortable, but seem to uniformly be the rubber or neoprene bottomed non-repairable types.
I've had brands like the Clarks, Ecco, SAS and Birkenstock strongly recommended to me as good "comfort" shoes but these are non-repairable and most look like "clogs" or snow boots.
A couple of more traditional dress shoes such as Minor and Mephisto are evidently repairable, with the leather or leather/rubber soles, and have a special reputation for orthopedic support, but these also seem to lack real pizazz. Even the Alden orthopedic shoes such as the 757's I've owned for about 15 years (still available) aren't really ultra stylish, although those 757's aren't too bad.
So, my guru friends, IS there an answer? Some nicely-styled cap toe or split toe or plain toe blucher/derby lace-up that is repairable, has decent leather (not the faked-up corrected grain), has some style finesse AND is quite comfortable to stand in and walk in for long hours, nearly every day??? AND available around $300? My preference would be to a British or other European shoe, but I need a 12 C shoe as my foot is at least medium-width, which seems to rule out many of the imports.
I had thought about stuff like Sanders & Sanders or Tricker, but I'm really not sure if they are supportive and comfortable.
Bottom line, I know I can't be an idiot and ruin my problem feet because I want a sexy-styled shoe, yet I keep hoping there's one out there with beauty AND "brains!"
EEK! OY VEY!
Jerry
One pair is a beautiful pair of Sutor Mantellassi lace-up cap toe leather dress shoes from Italy. $400, regularly $1 grand. I'd post pix except I don't have a digital camera. Trust me, they are drop-dead gorgeous, almost as sexy as some of the avatars around here, LOL!
The second pair, a pair of ridiculously cheap Clarks walking shoes, throw-away types with the neoprene heel/sole, designed for comfort. Closeouts, practically a steal at $35. But not worth a picture, they look like damned goloshes/ snow boots!
The problem: I WANT some style, some luxury, some flair. But I NEED support for my feet because I have flat feet, and one of my feet tends to bend inward at the ankle and also when I'm walking turns outward. OK, I SHOULD go to a foot doctor, but I don't like going near any doctor, another story.
The most I can spend on "one more pair" of lace-up dress shoes is about $200-300 and then I must be DONE!
But what's really frustrating is that the beautiful, sleek dress lace-ups seem NOT to be the answer for ten hours of standing on my feet, whereas the clunky "walking" shoes ARE somewhat more comfortable, but seem to uniformly be the rubber or neoprene bottomed non-repairable types.
I've had brands like the Clarks, Ecco, SAS and Birkenstock strongly recommended to me as good "comfort" shoes but these are non-repairable and most look like "clogs" or snow boots.
A couple of more traditional dress shoes such as Minor and Mephisto are evidently repairable, with the leather or leather/rubber soles, and have a special reputation for orthopedic support, but these also seem to lack real pizazz. Even the Alden orthopedic shoes such as the 757's I've owned for about 15 years (still available) aren't really ultra stylish, although those 757's aren't too bad.
So, my guru friends, IS there an answer? Some nicely-styled cap toe or split toe or plain toe blucher/derby lace-up that is repairable, has decent leather (not the faked-up corrected grain), has some style finesse AND is quite comfortable to stand in and walk in for long hours, nearly every day??? AND available around $300? My preference would be to a British or other European shoe, but I need a 12 C shoe as my foot is at least medium-width, which seems to rule out many of the imports.
I had thought about stuff like Sanders & Sanders or Tricker, but I'm really not sure if they are supportive and comfortable.
Bottom line, I know I can't be an idiot and ruin my problem feet because I want a sexy-styled shoe, yet I keep hoping there's one out there with beauty AND "brains!"
EEK! OY VEY!
Jerry