What the hack is with the heel?

   I am back on a high heel rant again.

   It may have been started by an article I read. Or maybe it was an ad that popped up in my Facebook feed. It could be lingering resentment to the media that projects high heels as ultimately feminine to my daughter in the cartoons. Perhaps it was yet another unsuccessful shopping trip to find a pair of comfortable, nice looking shoes that I could actually wear AND walk in without killing myself.

   I didn't used to be this sensitive. After all, pictured above are a pair of my shoes. Ones I used to love to wear. Shoes I miss and seem to be unable to give up, even though I can no longer wear them and expect to do more than just sit or stand. Due to the stereotypes that we are both exposed to on a daily basis, I have a daughter who loves them as much as I do.  They now live in the play room where I can visit them and reminisce about the good old days when shoe buying was as easy as walking to the store, picking out a style, and walking out with them on my feet. 

   I miss those days. So do countless other women, who like myself, find themselves unable to adhere to social style guidelines and norms due to feet that won't cooperate. I miss the days when articles like the one in the Wall Street Journal from Feb 21, 2016 titled "Why Dressing for Success Leads to Success" didn't grate on my nerves. I actually thought the article was pretty good until I got to the part that indicated for a woman to look professional, she needed to wear heels. Okay, the actual quote from Annie Brumbaugh (founder of AB Wardrobe Works) was "Wear heels when it's important, like when going to a meeting. One option: Those who don't want to walk in heels all day can keep a pair at the office."

   If I did that, I wouldn't make the meeting as I would have to be transported in an ambulance for my efforts.  Why that comment after all the good advice I read? Surely I could be professional without the high heel? On a quest, I googled women's professional work shoes. Guess what I saw? If you said a lot of images of high heels, you get a gold star! Many of these high heeled shoes certainly didn't strike me as suitable for an office. Perhaps the internet has a different kind of profession in mind for me...

   You could say that I am jealous that I can no longer wear high heels and you would be correct. As much as I hate the stereotyping, I enjoyed wearing high heels. I miss the ease of coordinating my wardrobe. I also miss the extra height they gave my 5'3" frame. Moreover, I am depressed that my options are so incredibly slender when it comes to footwear. Options that are made even more limited by an orthopedic insert I use to add support where my feet need it most. Orthopedic inserts do not typically work with shoes that have a heel. They don't generally work well with ballet style flats either as most of them are too shallow to accommodate the insert itself.  Which is a shame, as this is a prevalent shoe style that comes in many varieties to suit all types of tastes and fashion needs. Some styles are quite professional looking while others are more dressy and suited to formal occasions.

   Unless you plan on attending a very formal event, like the Cannes Film Festival, where the fashion police are out to dictate a woman's every choice, including flats. Just as recently as the 2015 festival, security reprimanded producer Valeria Richter for wearing flat shoes despite having a partially amputated foot. Other reports indicated that she was not alone. Apparently a group of women in their 50's were also barred from entering the festival for wearing rhinestone flats. Some of them evidently had medical conditions. Valeria told the BBC "Obviously, I could wave my foot at them and that would make the situation a little less awkward for them, because I had a visible explanation."

   Gee, that only leaves all the people without visible evidence in a lurch. Literally. Add a set of high heels to my outfit of choice and my gait resembles Dr. Frankenstein's assistant Igor's walk. Yeah, you can't un-see that! I suppose it is a lucky thing I am not a film producer.

   Determined to find a shoe that fits , I took to the internet again to try and find a suitable footwear solution for me. Since I do not have too many formal events on my calendar, I was just looking for a casual shoe I could wear from day to day. Something that could accommodate an orthopedic insert, was not too expensive, but dressy. Something that didn't scream orthopedic shoes the way clunky black shoes with velco fastners did!

  The internet seemed to think that athletic shoes were dressy. They even popped up when I entered formal into my criteria. I have a pair. I would not define them as dressy and certainly not formal. They might be suitable for the gym or hanging out in the yard or even a walk around the block, but not really what I had in mind to accent a skirt and dressy top for an evening out. Did I mention that I don't particularly like athletic shoes? Refining my search brought interesting results. There were shoes out there for women that were not athletic or clunky black shoes with velcro straps, but after culling out the flip flops and high heels (yes, there are orthopedic flip flops, but how they accommodate an insert is beyond my humble intelligence) I was left with an interesting array of shoes that on average, cost more than my monthly grocery bill.


   Yes, I know shoes are expensive. Yes, I put aside money for shoes, but I was really hoping to get shoes - plural, so that I could change them out according to the occasion. Thinking I had better stay on task and settle for one pair of shoes to start with, I began selecting shoes that appealed to me. This took me to a website that sold the shoes. However, turns out that the shoes I selected were not actually ones that would accommodate an orthopedic insert, they were just a shoe variety that the company happened to make. The ones that they made that actually would allow you to put in an insert...well, they looked an awful lot like athletic shoes. I had much better luck with the sandals I selected. They came in several styles and would allow you to take out the foot bed and replace with your orthic, but many were rather pricey. Less so if you ordered on-line.

    To make on line purchases seem less scary, I came across the website Barkingdogshoes.com put together by shoe reviewer Kirsten Borrink. Her website markets her as a reviewer of comfortable shoes, but she goes beyond that with a user friendly website that allows you to pick and choose between problems, styles and brands. Prices are also not a mystery, as I found so common on orthopedic shoe websites. Although I have multiple issues to deal with, I found this site helpful in my research quest.

My kids shoes - current formal dress shoes

   Still, I am leery of shopping on line. If it is anything like shopping in stores, I would have to purchase and try on dozens of shoes to find the one that had the right fit and the right look. Making things more complicated, many of these shoe manufacturers I had not encountered before. In the shoes I own at home, I wear a size 7, size 7 1/2, size 5 kids (I am thinking this is a fluke) and a size 8. Just how many shoes would I have to order to find what fits? While some of the prices were better than I would find in a store, many were just as expensive or more so since there is shipping to consider. Not to mention that I would sure need a heck of a lot of credit to ship all those shoes back and forth.

   Which brings me back to my original problem. Finding a store with shoes I could wanted to wear. A store that didn't focus on high heels or athletic shoes. One that had variety outside of ballet flats and flip flops. (I am still trying to figure out how flip flops will handle an orthotic.) One that carried some selection that might possibly accommodate an orthopedic insert. One where I could try the shoes on my feet with my orthotic. One where I could purchase shoes and still feel comfortable feeding my family next month.

My hiking shoes are looking pretty good these days.