June 24, 2005
All about footwear
I'm in the market for a new pair of shoes. Sandals, specifically. The ones I'm currently wearing are going on four years old and are close to falling apart.
Four years is about average for me and shoes. I mean, for how long a pair lasts me. I tend to spend a lot of money on my footwear and then expect it to last me a long, long time. This particular pair of sandals was made by Ecco. I bought them to replace my previous pair of sandals, also Ecco, which had also fallen apart after about four years. God, I miss that first pair. They had these criss-crossy straps that always burned diamond patterns into my feet every summer, and they buckled, and they fit perfectly, and I just loved them. Ecco doesn't make them anymore. The pair I'm about to get rid of was an okay substitute, but Velcro just isn't the same as a real buckle, you know?
Anyway, early this summer I decided that maybe my whole "spend lots, keep them forever" philosophy was flawed, and that maybe I should just get some of the cheap disposable shoes I see everybody else wearing. Sheeplike, I went to Target and picked up a couple of cute pairs of flip-flops. Everybody is wearing flip-flops right now. Have you noticed this? It is a nationwide epidemic. I gotta tell you, I don't know how people wear these things every day. Within a few days, I had blisters where the stupid thongs rubbed against my feet wrong, and the CONSTANT thwack-thwack thwack-thwack sound was about to drive me insane. And I couldn't walk properly! Try, just try, to run, or even jog across the street, wearing those damn things. It is not happening.
Luckily, I'd only spent a total of about $15 on the two pairs, so it won't be a major loss to toss 'em in the trash, which frankly is where they belonged in the first place.
So, with that little experiment over with, I'm in the market for a good pair of sandals again. I'll be looking at Ecco, probably, but I'm open to giving other brands a shot too, especially if they have real buckles and not just stupid Velcro. And if they have criss-crossy straps. I miss the diamonds on my feet!
Posted at June 24, 2005 9:28 AM
Posted by: Melissa at June 24, 2005 11:22 PM
Hi -- I'm totally with you on the $pend Lot$ have forever...and the one pair of sandals I found that are comfortable to hike in and also dressy are Naots, the Tahoe style. Zappos had them for more than anyone, but I remember googling "discount naots" and finding a few places. I hate sandals that strap across top of foot....good luck -- always good to have new challenges!
Posted by: sally at June 27, 2005 1:01 AM
I'm in the same sandal boat as you- with the same brand, even! My Echos bit the dust at the end of last summer. I found that I really like the new Keens. They are ugly as sin, but they're good in salt water, any water, dry, and sand. I hiked in them around a riverbed, too, and they were great climbing rocks. Good luck!
Posted by: bibiana Powell at July 2, 2005 2:16 PM
I love Doc Marten sandals!!! A little more costly 50-100 a pair. But I have a pair going on 5 years and they still look great. They have some very classic looks that are always in style. http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/338516/c/1868.html