Fashion footwear

[watervole]

I needed a new pair of trainers as my old ones were getting pretty thin on the tread after a decade or so...

I've been starting up aerobics classes at the gym after a gap of five years or so. Several reasons. I need to get more exercise to see if I can improve the asthma and I need to strengthen my arm muscles to help the RSI.

I went into Poole hunting trainers. I knew what I wasn't looking for. One woman in my class had a new pair, reduced to £90 from £140!

Cheep and cheerful - that's me. However, my one big criterion when it comes to footwear of any kind is that it must fit properly. You'd think that would be easy, but I've worn properly fitting shoes all my life, and the result is that I haven't squashed my toes and thus I have wider feet across the toe than most women.

Trainers don't seem to come in width fittings, you just have to keep on trying different styles until you find one that happens to be the right shape. I'm not fussy: I tried men's trainers, women's trainers, size 6, 7,8 trainers. I tried ones that were sold as gym wear and ones that were not.

Finally, after trying on virtaully every pair in three different shops, I found a pair that were supposedly men's trainers for hiking. With 10 mins to spare before I had to catch the bus back to teach a math lesson, I tried them and they fitted!

And they were only a tenner.

And they worked great in this morning's awrobics class. Comfy and flexible and just right.

Stuff fashion.

Comments

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Ten years? That's good. Mine always split across the sole in a non-repairable way within two years. This is probably a consequence of their being cheap and cheerful, but then my principal demands of trainers is that they're as plain as possible, preferably black, with the maker's name as inconspicuous as possible. Oh yes, and fitting is good, comfortable is better. The only make that seems to fit these requirements is the one that splits across the sole within two years.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I hate wearing anything with a visible brand name.

As far as paying extra for a brand name goes, I feel they should pay ME to promote their product.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! And it would have to be an awful lot of money to compensate me for the embarrassment of wearing some of the more conspicuous logos!

[paranoidangel]

In theory, as everyone keeps telling me, more expensive clothes and shoes last longer. I've found that to be entirely untrue, though. The trainers I had that lasted the longest cost me £5.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

These days, high price stuff which is widely available is usually marked up for a famous brand, and produced in a sweat-shop.

[peaceful-fox.livejournal.com]

Yes, they put a name brand label on it, and it's exactly the same as somethign without the name!

[paranoidangel]

That explains a lot!

[peaceful-fox.livejournal.com]

I've bought expensive trainers and inexpensive trainers. I've had good and bad in both and you're right - it's the fit rather than the cost that's important. My favorite pair right now are a £4.00 pair I got from Blackbush Market. I also wear a £30 pair of walking shoes that I got in the States. Both are fine. However, when I can find a cheaper pair that fit better, I go for it. I am all about saving money! :-)

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I've worn exactly the same style of HomyPed sandals since I was 20, because I have wide-at-the-toes feet too (years of going bare whenever I can); if they ever stop making them I'm in deep trouble...

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I actually buy a pair of sandals every other year by mail order from Sweden as they're the only ones that are really comfortable for me. I don't know what I'll do when the woman who makes them retires! (I bought the first pair when I was on holiday there many years ago)

[alex-holden.livejournal.com]

About seven years ago Morrisons started selling a new line of socks. They were the most comfortable socks I've ever worn. They only stocked them for a couple of months, and despite searching high and low and buying many other pairs that appeared similar, I've never been able to find another kind quite like them. I bought five pairs and wore holes in them all in less than two years, then learned to darn socks (badly) just so I could stretch their life out a bit longer. If I could go back in time I would buy a lifetime supply of them.

A similar thing happened with a particular kind of walking shoe I bought years ago, probably the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn - they went out of fashion and I can't find anything remotely similar now!

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I know :) As I get older (mutter grumble), more and more I think "if you find something you like but it in bulk, 'cause it'll vanish..."

[jomacmouse.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to have to take that to heart when winter shoes and boots start coming in properly in the shops. I wear them all year round because I can't stand sandals. And I have watervole's unsquashed feet problem on a broad foot to start with :(

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

And I wear sandals all year (part of my official and unique 'look' is blue toes in winter...)

Width fittings ...

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

... I know they are available, because my favourite pair of "trainers" were a pair of New Balance I bought in Sydney (Australia, in case there are other Sydneys around) ... they weren't *that* cheap (probably around 35 pounds) but they had them in several width fittings so finally I could get a wider pair of trainers that weren't too long (I'm about an 11/11.5 length but I need to buy UK 12s to get the width, and the pair I'm wearing at the moment are US13 (roughly UK12) and are a little too long but are very comfortable!

And the New Balance were pretty much all black (I'd gone to Sydney in the height of Australian summer, so I took work shoes and sandals, and then it was UK summer weather (18-22 centigrade and raining) so I needed something to "tourist" in.)

They lasted for a couple of years of nearly continuous wear until the soles basically wore smooth (I still have them somewhere but they are trecherous in the rain!) ... and I would buy them again like a shot! Something a fair bit like these (http://www.newbalance.co.uk/2005/Product/Walk-M574BK.shtml) though only two widths are shown for this particular model ... women's walking shoes are available on the same site.

I have several pairs of "sandals" (the kind with the manmade sole and the click buckle (fastex) fastenings, what I think of as running sandals.) which I've picked up cheap when I've been to the US (plus one expensive pair of Rock sandals c.£35 I bought in Sidmouth which lasted for ages and were very comfortable but then the straps pulled up through the sole material ... I keep hoping they can be repaired which is why I haven't thrown them away yet)