Sunday 26 May 2013

I am rapidly acquiring ...

... Old Lady Feet.

One of the advantages of moving between cottage (winter) and house (summer) is that I am forced to acknowledge what in my wardrobe I am and am not wearing.  Lugging armfuls of clothing up and down the drive every six months or so between cottage and house gets very tedious, especially if half the armfuls are never being worn.

Sometimes I just shove everything back in the wardrobe and shut the door.  But this time, after weeks of cleaning, tidying and repainting I think the bit of me that is my grandmother's genes is still looking for something to do.  So I open a few shoe boxes that have collected an inordinate amount of dust to see what's inside. Good heavens, slim black "crocodile" patent leather shoes bought from M&S more years ago than I care to remember.  How did I ever squeeze my feet into those?

We're not talking the odd half size or so here you understand, but a whole half a foot's width and length.  While the rest of me seems to be shrinking, my feet are definitely still expanding and growing.  I blame it on the sandals in summer and trainers and wellington boots in winter - foot attire not designed to keep feet under control, unlike the tight leather of "proper" shoes worn at work.

Even the trainers that I bought, what, no more than five years ago, are feeling a bit tight. Some of my toes are grumbling as I sit and type this. The next pair will have to be (yet another) half size larger.

Those ads for wide velcro fastened Old Lady Shoes in the back pages of the Daily Telegraph colour supplement are beginning to look very attractive.

8 comments:

  1. I have a pair of velcro fastening sandals which are absolute bliss....and console myself for my old lady feet by comparing 'fashionable' shoes to victorian corsets.

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  2. Footwear has been a problem for me since we arrived back in France 2 weeks ago. It's been too cold for sandals....the fur boots look ridiculous, and trainers or those wonderful velcro things I bought from Decathalon last year don't look right with anything but track suit bottoms or jeans......added to that chemo induced feet numbness, and I'm really struggling ! I'm hoping for heat soon, so the sandals can be worn with everything......and to be honest, they are pretty much fit the description of old lady sandals.....so I understand ! J.

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  3. Wise words Helen. :) But there's still a bit of me that hankers after those slinky suede high heeled boots I wore in my twenties that looked fantastic with culottes. :)

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  4. Hi Janice, this in-between season is dire isn't it! I'm itching to get back into sandals - heavy duty route-march type sandals mind you - nothing strappy and flimsy :)

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  5. You and me both, Sue. :-) Like Helen's, my sandals now fasten with Velcro and high heels are a thing of the distant past. Comfort has always figured high on the list for me and it's just getting higher.

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  6. Hi Perpetua, I know what you mean about comfort. :) I wonder if it's possible to have elegance AND comfort though? Or is that too much to ask?

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  7. Once upon a time style before comfort, handbags to match and my 6 1/2's looked very smart. But that was when I worked and had a few pounds to spend on such necessities.
    Now: no heels, boots from Decathlon for dog walking and I look forward to the espadrilles in the shops for €5 and the summer/dry to wear them in. I still have a pair of 30year old Uggs for the winter. All with jeans now.

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  8. Hi Lesley, I wonder, does anyone find high heeled shoes comfortable? Those Uggs sound good! :)

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