Nice Skate Shoes

[fenchurch]

I just bought new shoes!! Squee!!

And those who have known me for any length of time realize exactly how weird it is for me to squee over shoes. For the most part, I don't wear them. At all. I've got one pair of shoes and a couple of different types of "slip ons" that I use for times when they're required, but otherwise, I prefer to leave my feet free.

Beyond the personal preference aspects (which I blame in large part on a mother who spent most of her childhood in the islands and didn't see why I should wear shoes -- especially when we were living in the islands during *my* childhood), I have funky feet. They're wide from not wearing shoes (which is why I own no women's shoes -- apparently I missed out on the ritual footbinding that would have made my feet elfin enough to fit into women's shoes). I had a fairly serious injury to my right ankle when I was 11... that then went through a series of misdiagnoses from various military doctors. When I was 14, the doctors at Shriner's Hospital finally figured it out... I'd essentially torn all the ligaments and tendons around my ankle and it had healed wrong. End result: I wore a leg brace and walked with crutches/canes until I was about 22.

At that point I discovered that if I didn't wear shoes, I generally didn't have any problem with pain in my ankle. Near as we could tell, when I wear regular shoes with the interior molded to the "shape of the foot" it tries to push my foot in a direction it no longer goes... and I sprain my ankle (that may not sound too horrible, but just imagine if every single time you wore shoes, you sprained your ankle... over and over and over again).

So, add up wide feet with an injury that requires me to find shoes with as little internal molding as possible and the fact that I have two VERY different sized feet (in women's, I wear an 8 on one foot and a 10 on the other -- for some reason, in men's it varies a lot more depending on the shoe), and it can be tortuously difficult to find shoes that work. A few years back, I discovered Nice Skate Shoes (NSS) and fell in love -- they're perfect... wide and flat. My last pair are on their last leg (no pun intended) and I've been scouring local shoe and sporting goods stores for more NSS shoes... with absolutely no luck.

Then tonight we stopped by our local Fred Meyer (sort of a grocery/department store) to pick up a copy of LEGO Indiana Jones and I dashed into the shoe section to look at their selection of men's sandals... when rackham said "Hey, what was that brand of shoes you've been looking for?" And there, behind me, was an entire aisle of NSS shoes. Yes, after all this time of searching, I found them at my local grocery store. For a pretty decent price, too (the only thing that would have been better is if they'd been Buy One, Get One Free). I may have even done the Dance of Joy in the aisle when I saw them, too.

I can't wait to start breaking them in! (Once again, embrace the weirdness of that statement.)

Comments

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

Enjoy your new shoes. You certainly deserve them.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I sprain my ankle (that may not sound too horrible, but just imagine if every single time you wore shoes, you sprained your ankle... over and over and over again).

Oh, wow, that sucks. They always make sprains sound like nothing on TV, but if you've ever had a few of them (or torn a ligament in the ankle) you know, it's not a small thing. It's hella painful.

Glad you found nice skate shoes.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I've always had trouble with wide (EE) feet and bunions, ingrown toenails and the like, but I CAN at least fit into some shoes (or I force myself to). Condolences, and congrats on finding the Right Shoe! I can at least commiserate!

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah, shoe shopping has been such a horrible and excruciatingly long process that I have a really hard time making myself do it.

I think after next pay day I may go back and get another, slightly different pair, just so I've got a spare. I'm keeping my old beat-up ones, too, to use when I'm working in the yard and such.

Now I just need to box up the "odd shoes" and ship them off to the National Odd Shoe Exchange (http://www.oddshoe.org/) -- something else I was very happy to find a few years ago. I'd been carting around several pairs of odd shoes for years, simply because they were new and it felt *wrong* to just throw them away (I often had them sitting in storage long after the other, usable set had bit the dust). Now I can simply send them off and they're gone and they're also going to be used by someone somewhere!

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

I recently discovered those plastic clogs (Crocs, and their knockoffs); for plastic shoes, they're surprisingly comfortable - wide and flat and roomy. I also found I like wearing Converse (plain ol' Doctor-style Chucks) - also wide and flat.

[gab.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I always wondered why you didn't wear shoes! I don't like them much, either. It's a big deal for me to wear my sneakers (which are men's sneakers, mind)... if I *have* to wear shoes, it'll just be giant flipflop sandals. So much more fun.

Well good! You keep not wearing shoes and enjoy it! Glad that you found some that you like, though. :)

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Wow, they're sort of like Vans, aren't they? But better, probably. I'm glad you found them.

Have you ever tried Zappos.com? My mother has really wide feet, and I've always been able to find shoes for her there. I'll bet they'd even have your NSS there. The best part about Zappos is they take everything back and immediately refund or exchange, no questions asked. They have the best customer service in the world.

[meyerlemon.livejournal.com]

Ooh, excellent!

Have you ever seen those “shoes” people sew for babies? Something like this: http://www.bobuxusa.com/baby_shoes/girls

They're just… flat. A tiny bit of protection from the sole, but no shaping, no “arch support” (which I sort of think is the devil, and I don't even have any issues such as you do- I can't imagine how painful it must be in your situation!)

I keep hoping someone will catch on and make them for adults. (Or that I get off my duff and fool around with my sewing machine and see if I can't construct some.)

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

Heee - I can imagine your squee from here! :)

They look great in the website - some really nice designs there too!

[tomte.livejournal.com]

I just bought new shoes!! Squee!!

FLEE! FLEE MY CHILDREN! THE SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE HAS COME!!!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Those NSS do look very nice and comfortable - I think if it were me I'd have bought three or four pairs in case they didn't get any more in!

[jerusha]

Good for you! I'm actually a fan of shoes, but then I was born in Montana, and we've lived in colder climates for a good part of my life. And I have really narrow feet, which helps.

Finding a good pair of shoes that's your favorite brand, and for a good price, is the best, though!

[sp23.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loathe shoes, too. Those do look comfy. I'll keep an eye out for that brand just in case it's in this area.

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

Indy LEGO!!!! :)

Hooray for new shoes at a good price!

My ankles are pretty much screwed. I've sprained both of them over and over again, so I have to wear ankle braces all the time now.

[jedihealer.livejournal.com]

My son loves these shoes too, but then again, he does skate.

Glad you found something that works on your feet.

[ljs-lj.livejournal.com]

Hee, one-stop shopping strikes again! :)

I have the worst time with dress shoes as I have feet that are a bit on the wide side and something odd with the shape of the back of the ankle/heel where shoes rub and give you blisters, but I can usually try on a couple of tennis shoe styles and find something. Mom, on the other hand, is so particular about the shape of the arch and the toes and everything that we have to hit every sale and still might not find anything for her.