sneakers of the day

[cimorene]

The Onitsuka Tiger Mexico "Tigress" and Osiris "Cove".

Comments

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

I wish to make use of your shoe-knowledge. :)

I am looking for something comfortable and yet cute, but not so distinctive that I couldn't get away with wearing them most days with a wide variety of stuff, to class. (Like, some cute shoe designs you almost have to plan a whole outfit around, you know? But others sort of blend with all kinds of things.)

Any ideas? I need new everyday shoes for spring/summer, and I'm feeling uninspired. (Normal converse type things don't have enough padding in them for me - stupid arthritis in my ankles. I need something that has a bit more of a squishy padded sole.)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Hi!

First of all, the main problem in shopping for comfort shoes for everyday wear, if you have a special need such as ankle arthritis, is that different comfort shoes work for different people. If you don't need to be able to stay on your feet all the time but just go to classes and stuff, that's a plus, though!

For high summer, I advocate Birkenstock sandals, specifically the Gizeh thong style: it's multi-purpose and dresses up or down to any but the dressiest occasions, as long as your feet aren't about to get cold. I guess they're probably not going to work for spring wear, though (and being cold-blooded myself, I actually find the summers where I live now too cool for them). (Gizeh category (http://www.footshopping.com/main.cfm?MI=6&wgid=819&MID=19841))


After those, and presuming that you don't have to run, climb, etc, I personally prefer a slip-on shoe. If you need a larger amount of padding, perhaps a sneaker-ballet flat hybrid would work. Skechers and all the major athletic brands produce slip-on sneakers and mary jane-strap sneakers (usually slip ons with elastic straps) and I've posted pictures of many of them over the last month or so in my sneaker of the day posts. For example these (Skechers Bikers "Pacifica"):



If you don't like slip-ons, there are, of course, jogging shoes and walking shoes (especially from major sport shoe brands like Puma, Reebok, Adidas, Nike, and Asics/Onitsuka Tiger) with more padding in the sole.

For non-sneakers, I'd say the best bets were Clarks (http://cimness.livejournal.com/2650373.html?thread=8097285#t8097285) (which are very cute and comfortable, but pricey) and comfort brands Hush Puppies and Aerosoles. Or, if you don't mind Nordic clogs, Danish comfort brand Dansko have some great slip-ons with such cute prints as a skull-and-crossbones one that thefourthvine discovered.

In a previous shoe hunt I tracked down casual-cute flat comfort shoes in neutral colours for buddleia, so you can see a number of loafers, oxfords, etc in this thread (http://cimness.livejournal.com/2650373.html?thread=8096773#t8096773), though the links are to UK sites.