adventures in shopping

[lizziebelle]

The shoes I bought before I went to NYC blew out the other day. The rubber in the heel just blew out, like a tire.




As you might imagine, I was a little miffed. I'd had them only two months. I took them back, and the gal at Kohl's agreed that this shouldn't happen. I got my money back. But they didn't have anything I liked in my size, so I had to go shoe shopping, which is like torture for me. I am not a typical American female, in case you haven't noticed. *g*

After work yesterday, I decided to try the Kohl's in Enfield. No luck. Then I hit a shoe store in the same plaza, which had the shoes I'd liked at Kohl's but at twice the price.

*sigh*

So then I went across the street to the maul, where neither Sears nor Target had anything in my size.

Grr.

So today, I went to the maul in Holyoke after work. Sears was similarly bereft of anything I liked, so I headed for DSW. Which has moved since the last time I was there. They also had the shoes I liked, in my size, for $50. Not in my budget. Seriously, when did DSW get so expensive? I've had good luck there in the past.

Argh.

On a lark, I went into Payless on the way out of the maul. I've never had good luck there, but I figured what the hey. Can't hurt. The sales gal handed me a $3 coupon as I browsed. After not finding anything good, I turned around and looked at the men's shoes. My last two pairs of sandals were men's; I have wide, flat feet so they usually fit pretty well. I ended up getting a pair of men's Dexter sandals that another shopper told me looked "earthy-crunchy, but not too masculine," and they were even on sale. Plus the coupon. Score.

I took them on a test drive on my evening walk, and they feel pretty good. Hopefully these will work out for me, because I don't want to have to go shoe shopping again anytime soon. Why is it so hard to find a comfortable pair of sturdy walking shoes or sandals that don't cost a fortune?

*sigh*

Comments

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

Mine cost the fortune, so don't look at me. I haven't been able to find shoes both economical and non-crippling in years.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

That's why it takes me so long, too. I need something that has some support, and most summer shoes and sandals don't.

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

*Sigh.* Which is why the ones I buy cost so bloody much. And then I feel constrained to buy conservative neutral-colored shoes that won't go out of style and go with a lot of things, instead of the flowered, striped, day-glo, or Crayola-colored things I'm more inclined to like. But the becoming crippled is not a happy thing and forces the serious shoes.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I buy all my shoes online now from a company called Hotter. They're not cheap, but they do wide fittings and the shoes wear really well, so end up being good value because a pair will last for at least a couple of years. I don't know whether you have a similar company over on your side of the Atlantic?

I was wary of buying shoes online at first, but their sizing is consistent, so once I worked out which size I needed, I didn't have any problems with fitting.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I'll buy online if I'm familiar with the brand and how it fits, but my feet are funny and don't always take the same size in every brand.

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

OnlineShoes is a good site if you're trying to replace a pair of shoes whose fit you can predict. You can return them if they don't fit, but that's kind of a pain in the tuchie.

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

I like the fitting guide, which is useful even for shoes in the US as many good ones are imported and have EU sizing.

[writerjenn.livejournal.com]

One night at a college party, when someone spilled beer on my winter coat, a male friend lent me his coat so I wouldn't be cold walking home. I couldn't believe how much heavier and better made his coat was. From looking more closely at the clothes of male friends and boyfriends, I realized their sweaters were also heavier and better made, while a lot of the women's sweaters were lacy and thin and insubstantial. No wonder women are always cold!

Since then, I've always bought men's winter coats. It wouldn't surprise me if the same sturdiness rule applies to shoes.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

Oh, definitely.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I had a pair of sandals like that. They were fine until they got wet while walking across a newly washed floor - the water seemed to destroy them.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

These just seemed to wear out. :(

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Things aren't built to last these days. For most folks, we live in a throwaway culture:-(