I do like gal shoes, a lot, but I have this need to not want my feet to hurt after standing in them for 10 minutes. Oh, if men knew what we did to our feet in order to make our calves look all hot.
But I digress.
As you can see, my normal run around shoes are in severe need of replacing. As I steer my footwear to a more vintage slant, I remember buying these Bass shoes from Mervyn's about 4 years ago for all of $8 each pair. I LOVE them. They have a 50s vibe, and the thick soles are so comfortable. I've tossed these bad boys in the washer and none of the rubber ever came unglued.
I love the denim pair, nice and broken in. Too broken in. They have holes at the creases now. Yeah, it's time to replace them.I wanted some basic canvis kicks that I could walk a long time in and not have to worry about my toes. Some that I could wear thick socks with. Some that were not so thin that I'd feel pavement after 6 months.
I have a couple pair of old Converse, pre Nike. I'm kind of over this shoe brand. I know it seems kind of silly, but the magic of chucks faded when Nike bought the brand.
I decided to look into PF Flyers. They were bought by New Balance.
PF Flyers have been around for ages, and lo and behold, they came out with a reissue line a few years ago. I have a pair of canvas wing tips from them I got nearly 4 years ago and I could not get over the awesome kitschy vintage box they came in. I store sewing stuff in it now.
Gotta love Zappos. I picked up a pair of their center-los that are styled from their early 50s sport shoe.
I LOVED them the moment I tried them on. So awesome and comfy because PF Flyers have a removable arch support in all their sport shoes. I'm not a total arch support needing person (I have regular arches), but these are just like walking on clouds.
The rubber soles are thick and the canvas is lined. They are great.
Gotta love Amazon even more.
I found a 40s styled Grounder-Lo version that the PF FLyer website discontinued a few years ago.
I expected only super tiny sizes to remain, as I'm a pretty standard 9 1/2-10 in women's, 8 in men's. That size was there! I was shocked! I bought two pairs!
When they arrived I squeeded like a kid when I found they were in the same kitschy vintage box my Flyers wing tips came in! Not to mention they were half the price of the ones at Zappos. Sorry Zappos.I made a pledge to myself a while ago to invest in shoes, not simply buy them. I was tired of getting 3 cheap pairs only to not wear them because my feet hurt, and forgoing that three figure pair of shoes because they were too pricy. As a result of this pledge, my shoe selection is pretty skimpy.
It's always been skimpy. I'm picky. I haven't bought leather shoes in probably 10 years. It's the vegan in me. Don't get me started on my own personal hypocrite soap box. I figured I had done my part, paid my dues and decided on getting some cow skin for my feet after all these years.
*sigh*
Every girl needs a pair of saddle shoes. I think it's written somewhere. Of course when I decided to get some saddies, I went to Muffys. I selected a pair styled from the 30s with a white rubber sole. They came before Christmas, but the left one was damaged, and just like the champs they are, they promptly sent me a replacement shoe.
I haven't worn leather shoes in years, so I'll have to get used to the braking in process. I'm most likely going to do the alcohol soaked socks and wear them around the house for 30 min. In any case I'm excited about them. I'm just excited about new shoes.It's not like I don't want girlie shoes to go with my dresses. I do! I tried on a few pairs of dance shoes (thanks Zappos) because they are often styled from vintage designs with a workable heel, but didn't find any that were to my liking. Im saving to get some Re-Mix shoes. Their showroom isn't too far from me (don't judge the shoes by their horrible website). For all those in the 'scene', Re-Mix is the place to go for vintage styled shoes. *sigh* Their 30's shoes DO something to me, if you know what I mean.
This adventure is far from over. I have a lot of shoes to try on and if time is on my side, I'm more than willing to take up the cause.
If not for me, for America!
Shoes. yea. I haven't bought shoes in years. It is hard to find shoes, like bras, that fit well. i generally don't have good luck with cheap shoes or mail order shoes but I would rather spend the money on a well made pair of shoes and maintain them. I'm not even going to tell you how jealous I am that you live near the Re-mix showroom. I have my heart set on a pair of red sandals for the summer and the Kilties. Whoa, the Kilties. I haven't been able to decide on a pair of saddle shoes since I was 5, we have a love hate relationship. Good luck and talley ho on the shoe adventure! Can't wait to see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteCute tennies! Keds has been doing some vintagey reissues the last couple years too. I doubt they'd meet your comfort/quality standards, but they're real cute.
ReplyDeleteIf the owner's there when you go to Re-Mix, he might give you a discount if you pay cash...he's offered to that to me before. He's an odd dude, but obviously cares about his craft. One thing - the padding in the Re-Mix heels doesn't last, so you might need to add insoles. (The wedges seem better with padding.)
I believe in spending that extra bit of money on one's feet. Same as you, whenever I buy cheap shoes, I end up never wearing them because they hurt my feet after 5mins and I'm not prepared to destroy my feet while breaking them in. I recently handed over my lovely new aqua Converse to my daughter (who age 10 has the same US sz 11 feet as me!) so I'm in the market for a replacement. Those top ones are fab AND they have arch support (the arch in one of my feet having given up on me a couple of years ago). I'll have to see whether it's possible to find them in the UK (if only Amazon.com would ship shoes internationally... they do books, DVDs, and CDs, why not shoes?).
ReplyDeleteLove the new shoes! I, too, have given cheap shoes the boot (ouch, bad pun). I'm wearing my Dansko boots right now and I can't believe I survived a dozen winters without them - what was I thinking!?! I am frugal with most of my wardrobe, and I don't think I'm taking up cobbling any time soon, so better shoes it is.
ReplyDeleteI love 6pm.com (the Zappos clearance site). They have some reduced services (nothing I can't handle) in exchange for GREAT clearance prices.
My mom used to patch her canvas sneaks as a kid. If you still love your Bass shoes, and the insoles/outsoles are holding up, and you are so inclined, I think they would look awesome with some new canvas on the toe section. Maybe red and white striped ticking, or floral print?
How did breaking in the shoes go? I have a pair of Muffy's too, my first pair of leather shoes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had change to brake them in yet! *sigh* its been a suckie week.
ReplyDeleteI found an awesome pair of shoes that I feel have a vintagey vibe to them:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.6pm.com/seychelles-watching-the-clock-mushroom
I wore them for the first time today and they were very comfortable. I never wear heels because I hate being uncomfy, but I was surprised at how these didn't hurt my feet!