When I was in my twenties I couldn’t understand why old ladies wore such ugly shoes. I swore that I wouldn’t ever wear ugly shoes when I got old. I would wear elegant and fashionable shoes. Well, the years have passed and I’ve now learned why many old ladies wore ugly shoes – because they were COMFORTABLE.  I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, so this challenge theme was very apt. Today’s purchase is these Bared shoes. They are SO comfortable, and I think that they’re also rather lovely*.

I love pointy toed shoes with elegant mid-height curved heels. They are so pretty! As are high heels and strappy sandals. But I simply cannot wear them anymore. Over the past year or two  I have been wearing my fashionable shoes to work only to find that they now pinch, hurt and rub my feet and I can’t wait to get them off. My shoe collection has been reducing at a rapid rate as I send pair after pair to the op shop. Life is too short to have sore feet. Gradually my shoe wardrobe has changed and I am now shod by the likes of Birkenstock, Hush Puppies, Naot and now Bared. Shoes with lots of cushioning, shaped footbeds, lower, broader heels or a gentle wedge, rounded toes, that don’t cause pain. My bunion and fallen arches are thanking me. My wallet is not.  But I have officially become an old lady wearing sensible shoes. Well, a middle-aged lady. However, I don’t think that these shoes are ugly – or maybe my perception has changed over the years!

Mind you, I remember that in my twenties I thought that all shoes should come in the colours of black, navy or brown.  That was it.  I thought that those colours went with everything and didn’t see why the shoe manufacturers would waste their time making shoes in other colours.  Now I do my utmost to find shoes that are green, red, orange, metallic……

* And isn’t that tin that the shoes come in gorgeous? Much prettier than a cardboard box.