Now that I have mercilessly mocked J. for her HIDEOUS CPE SHOES, I invite mockery of shoes that I am considering for my month in London.
I am not a city-dweller. I drive everywhere. For walking in the city, I wear boots. However, since boots in July will likely be a bit warm, I need something VERY comfortable and a little bit kickin’ for getting around the city. Obviously I won’t preach in these, but I may walk to the Tube in them on Sunday mornings while carrying nice shoes in my bag.
One of my issues is that I hate wearing socks once the temperature gets higher than 65 degrees. I hate those little footie things that always slip off, and shoe liners are dumb and irritating to me. I wear socks with sneakers, of course (although I LOATHE sneakers and try not to be seen in public in them). But ideally I’m a bare foot girl in the summer.
Anyway, having done a thorough summer shoe inventory (when I’m home I exist in Tevas and other sports sandals) and realizing that I need a more covered up shoe for the city, I thought something like this might be a wise idea for long walking:
I like them in bronze leather, not this moss nubuck. They are the Clarke Wave Wheel. Anyone have them?
I’ll probably wind up just wearing Tevas everywhere and getting icky dirty city feet. Or just better breaking in my cute Alegria Mary Janes. (which I would never wear for ministerial leadership work). Yea, that. Okay, well thanks for letting me think this through!
Mephisto all rounders – a vaguely Mary Jane style don’t win any awards for chic but are extremely comfortable. I’ve walked a gazillion blocks in France and china in mine. Also easy on and off through security. Btw, tevas can get extremely nasty and smelly when it’s warm and the soles can get hot. Trust me on this; I live in central NC and my husband’s are horrible. [See, that’s so helpful! Because I mostly wear them walking in the woods and doing errands in suburbia, so I didn’t know. – PB]
Unless every minute of your time is scheduled (which sometimes happens), you might consider a little shoe-shopping sabbatical when you’re in London. Odds are that you’ll have a better idea of your routine, and you can check out how British women are negotiating the comfort/chic equation. Half a lifetime ago I worked in England for a year and bought a couple of pairs of well-made shoes that held up to a lot of walking (and looked pretty nice.) I know the shoe industry has changed a great deal since then, and your time may not be completely your own. Still, an afternoon in Oxford Circus may be just what you need.
I live in London. Depending on how far I’m going to be walking I:-
-where whatever shoes I would wear anyway and if they’re heels so be it, though that often ends up in blisters and tears
– try and find some decent flats that will work with my outfit
– wear trainers / Birkenstocks and change if necessary
Bear in mind it may well be raining when you’re hear. Or blazing sunshine. Or both.
Doh – here not hear of course.
(Actually, Birkenstocks have been pretty popular here in recent years – they may no longer be on trend with the hip’n’trendy things but they’re definitely acceptable as “get you around the city shoes” in the summer.)
Oh for goodness sake, it must be time for bed: please read wear for where in that first point!
For me, Clarks have been the only shoes that have been super comfortable, but it is so hard to find cute shoes from them. I have only been able to find two pairs that I like.
I really want a pair of flats that can be worn with dresses for GA but the only comfortable pair at Clarks were these http://www.clarksusa.com/eng/product/plush_madras/87674
I would get the pewter color. However, I worry that they are not cute enough. What do you think PB? Do you have a suggestion of comfortable flats that are a bit dressy?
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-Classic-Womens.htm
[You’re just trying to make me die of horror now. I can tell. – PB]
I second the buy-in-England. i still have one of my pairs of British booties that I bought while there. They know how to make great shoes that stand up to walking AND weather AND look cute.
When I’m working onsite in central London I often have a combined commute of lots of walking and a fair amount of standing up in trains. If I’m wearing a trouser suit I might well have flat shoes like loafers to wear all day, otherwise I usually wear Puma trainers for the commute and carry proper shoes in my bag. I find the Pumas supportive enough but they’re very small for trainers, without chunky soles and high sides, and come in plain dark suede options that don’t stand out.
I don’t recommend buying any routine shoes or clothing in London (rather than unique fun pieces) because our prices are astronomic, service is usually mediocre to truly appalling (Americans have been known spontaneously to combust with shock), and much of it is cut for flat-chested pear-shaped people only. Save your shopping time for the quirky bookstores, art shops, and other things we do much better; oh, and our food is much better now and continuing to improve.
the price will be a lot higher over there. . . .and when I’ve traveled in europe I’ve always regretted wearing shoes that were not either black or brown. Anything else just screams tourist, at least to me.
This is what you want: http://www.zappos.com/keen-naples-bison
I trekked through Tuscany in these last year. They are perfect! I noticed they had some other promising styles that don’t look stereotypically Canadian.
These too: http://www.zappos.com/keen-paradise-sandal-madder-brown
With the added benefit that your toe will be protected. You might also look at Gentle Souls. Pricey but oh, so comfy and cute.
The Five-Fingers?!?! Sweet Goddess, PLEEZ say you do but jest with us…….
Question: When are Alegrias ok to wear? Not Sundays I assume but what about everyday wear and could you wear the Alegria Felix style with skirts? What about for ministers retreats and GA?
I know this is super late for your trip to England (last year!), but as I was researching last fall what kind of shoes to wear on a trip to Israel, I stumbled across your suggestion of the Clarks Wave Wheel. I needed something sturdy, with good soles, that would keep my feet warm, that could traverse archaeological digs, and… horrors!… attend church in (but not lead worship). I really, really wanted to pack only one pair of shoes and, my goodness, did these fit the bill. They are super comfortable, roll with your foot, and met all of the requirements above. I would never wear them to church at home but it worked for what we were doing in Israel for the last two weeks. Thank you so much for the awesome suggestion… these are going to be my forever travel shoes!