I bought a pair of these tonight, in a gray-purple color:
They make my feet look like crazy little pods, but I got them for a few good reasons:
1. They’re incredibly comfortable but they’re NOT BIG UGLY SNEAKERS.
2. I can pack them for my summer trips and wear them on long walks so I don’t have to pack my BIG UGLY SNEAKERS.
3. They’re waterproof — hey, walks on the beach! Great for your calves! And these have better support than my Tevas.
4. In ten years from now, they’re going to be so out of fashion that just peeping at them in a box in the closet is going to send me into gales of laughter, but in 20 years they’ll be wildly fashionable again.
5. For no good reason I’ve just been lusting after them for two years. When I saw SisterBang’s new pair I knew I was going to give in and get some of my own.
6. They’re darned cute and they’re not BIG UGLY SNEAKERS or frumpy, hideous flat canvass summer shoes.
P.S. They’re not for ministry. They’re for Regular Person Life.
These are extraordinarily popular in the NW.
Don’t worry, PB–you’ll probably wear them so often in your “regular person” life that they’ll be well-worn and shot in a couple years. I know mine are–I go through a pair of Teva sandals every couple years, I wear them so often in the summer.
And the Keens will never be out of style when you go hiking in them. Trust me.
Okay, I totally get the Keenes. But I also noticed that you said some pretty unpleasant things about my own favourite comfort brand, the El NaturaListas. I have these:
http://www.rawshoe.co.uk/Shoe%20Images/El%20Naturalista/N029%20MUSGO-CUERO.jpg
and they are the best things I’ve ever put on my feet. They’re handmade, fair trade (for those who care about ethical consumption), made from natural materials, and two days after purchase came with me on a vacation that involved heavy-duty five days of walking with NO blisters, bumps or squeezies.
I’m not ordained–I’m a theological educator in England. I work across the street from Canterbury Cathedral. My daily journeys involve cobblestones and gravel paths.
I don’t wear any of my three pairs of El Nats (the green ones, some brown ones, and some fab purple ones) to the office or for our teaching times. But weekends, retreats, travel? You bet!
(Actually, a lady priest asked me where she could get my purple ones so she would have a pair of shoes in the proper liturgical colour for Lent…)
[Still BLOODY UGLY, I say! However, with testimonials like that, don’t bet that I won’t buy a pair for upcoming travels. They sound heavenly! – PB]