Shoe Love.

I’m not, it has to be said, a girly girl. I don’t wear make up because who can be bothered getting out of bed a half hour earlier to slap paint all over themselves? Not me. I’m too busy fondling my snooze button. So I shop for clothes when it’s a dire situation, and I shop for shoes ONCE a year on average. I find a pair that fits, wear them till bits fall off them and then drag myself to the shoe shop to start the whole process again. I don’t care what’s fashionable, I just want a sturdy pair of boots with low or no heels. Done.

See, the thing about my feet is they are never bloody happy.  Shoes that fit right over the toes rub the hell out of my heels, shoes that make my heels happy make my toes UNhappy. Like most people, cranky feet leads to a cranky me, so once I break in a pair of shoes I wear them till they can live no more. It also means I spend a ton of money on expensive shoes. Not because they’re handtooled italian leather made by some hermit in a mountain by the light of half a candle, but because they’re well made and I don’t have to break in a new set for a loooong time.

Which is why  I’m so besotted with my Five Fingers shoes. So very in love with them. Yes okay they’re odd looking, but they’re so amazingly comfortable I could almost forgive them for being hot pink (almost).

They weigh hardly anything, they fit literally like a glove. There’s nothing to rub, chafe or bother the foot and I can wear these all day without a single pain in anything.

They’re marketed as like being barefoot, which is quite true. They have thin rubber soles, so if you stand on a rock, you’ll KNOW you’ve stood on a rock, but there’s not as much pain. They also offer no support to your foot whatsoever, which is actually not a bad thing. On pavement it gets a little tiring to the toes, but on grass or dirt the surface you’re walking on will support your foot more perfectly than any shoe can.

And yes, they’re fun to wear. They’re like being barefoot, so your step is lighter, your movements freer and the neglected muscles in your legs and feet will be working as they should. I didn’t believe that bit of marketing until I had mine on for a couple of days. Oh yes, you will work your legs in these things.

I don’t have socks for mine, but will order some when I’m back from the states, because I also very much need a red pair. Once I have my red pair, I won’t need any other shoes.

The Boyfriend asked me “you wear those on purpose?” because he has no taste in footwear. I told him I either bring these to Chicago, or he listens to me bitch about my sore feet for 2 weeks.

As an aside, when I wore these in Darwin I wandered past a group of Aboriginal men. One of them pointed at my feet and shouted “Hey, hey, what are those shoes??” I said “They’re like being barefoot!”. The entire group laughed and the guy said “Why don’t you just BE barefoot?”. I shook my head “I’m too white!” I replied.