You don't have to sacrifice comfort for style

My feet have basically no arch . I am flat-footed and so are many members of my family. When I stand for long periods my ankles,calves,knees, and sometimes lower back start to hurt. God forbid I try to jog or run for exercise on a hard surface like the sidewalk. On top of that , on both feet I have bunions . A bunion is a bony bump on the joint at the base of the big toe. I was born with mine (thanks again mom and dad) and also predisposed already because of having flat feet which puts pressure more on the toe joints and also causes my feet to roll inward when I walk. This imbalance of pressure in my foot also causes calluses on the bottom top portion of my feet when I stand or walk for long periods. The bunions on both feet make my foot wider at the top also ....helloooo corns. Then I picked the wrong day job as a pharmacist since we stand all day and are required to wear closed -toed shoes in most retail environments ( good thing I work at home now). I want to wear all those sexy high heels  I see you ladies sporting at social events , but I don't have the arch to support them.

Enough of me whining, what I am trying to say is that with 30 years of these issues, I'm pretty much well versed in shoe comfort. I've become a flip-flop fanatic since I don't have to work in a formal environment anymore and get bi-weekly pedicures so what should be ugly feet have graduated to be pretty nice feet. However, I know most of you ladies still have to go to work and be on your feet a lot. In addition, like you I love a fine looking sexy pair of shoes. So in this section we are going to discuss all the options I know to achieve comfort and still stop traffic.

LETS TALK ABOUT SHOE BRANDS

Mephisto

Mephisto was originated and developed by Martin Michaeli in 1965 and the company is still run by him today. In 1965 Michaeli’s goal was to make the World’s most Comfortable Walking Shoe, and this still holds true today. The factory and headquarters are located in Sarrebourg France where they make shoes that are sold in 46 countries. Mephisto shoes are designed and built to to be perfect. They use more than 140 different operations and take over 90 minutes to manufacture a single pair. Their shoes are a benchmark of perfection around the world and the company has won numerous quality and design awards .People consider Mephisto to be very expensive and they are if you compare to other brands.However, Mephisto is an investment in comfort. The technology, materials, construction and quality components used to make every pair are never compromised. It is not uncommon to get years of wear from your Mephisto's. To enhance your investment, most of their styles are completely recraftable and can be reconstructed to original specifications. The consumer can rest assured that every pair of shoes, boots, sandals, sneakers and loafers meet strict production standards that yield the highest level of quality.













Some other brands I own and really like are Aerosoles, Soft Spots, Sofft, Dr. Scholls and of course the infamous Birkenstock/Tatami. You can find these brands at


Dr. Scholl's Zodiac Patent Leather Thong


Aerosoles Dame Time Double Strap Leather Sandal

Half of the sandals I own are from Easy Spirit. The great thing about them is that they offer shoes in narrow,regular, and wide-widths. Most of their shoes are really fashionable and up to date trend-wise. My favorite new shoe they have out now is the POMONA in yellow shown in the picture above.

Speaking of wide-widths this shop specializes in women with bigger feet and also carry the brands "Sofft" and "Soft Spots"

I have to of course mention again the infamous skechers shape-ups . People who have worn these do say they have better posture, less joint pain through the reduced stress on knees and ankles.

Orthotics

I am only going to touch on this a little since the subject is beyond the scope of this blog. Orthotics are devices that are used to alter or modify foot function and are designed to treat, adjust, and support various biomechanical foot disorders. Some are simple, commercially-made devices, such as cushioned heel cups or insoles for shoes that are sold over the counter in drug stores or other retail establishments. The best are custom-made for an individual through seeing a podiatrist. Below are a few items I've come across with good reviews:

The orthotic I hear the best reviews about is from Walk Fit.
You can get them from the company itself or click here to
Get Walkfit Orthotics from Amazon

Recently I came across this awesome site that has all these cute additions for open-toed shoes and high heels. Their stuff has been featured in a few magazines. I'm going to try some out and let you guys know . Try using this search box below by picking your problem and then pressing solve to see what kind of items they have.

The straps slide down the back of my heels My boots don't have enough support The soles of my shoes have no traction My flats cause blisters on my heels My toes get scrunched in the front of my pumps