Finding Fancy Flats

In my last post, I mentioned discovering Katy Bowman and her theories on Healthy Movement for long-term health and function. Katy recommends flat, minimal footwear to restore foot function and health. I have read a few of her posts related to footwear: "Are High Heels the Cigarettes of the Future?", "Your Child Might be Wearing Heels, Right Now" and "Sitting (in Heels) is the New Smoking". Katy's explanations make sense to me. 

Now that I know how shoes with heels affect posture and foot function, I have decided to stop wearing them. I have a few relatively flat casual shoes good for transitioning to more minimal shoes, but no fancy flats to wear with dresses. I expected it would be easy to find a comfortable pair of ballet flats to meet my needs. I was wrong.

On Saturday, I visited all the shoe stores in Masonville Mall finding nothing. On Sunday, I targeted shoe stores at the South end of town checking out Marshalls, Winners and The Shoe Company. I was almost ready to give up when my husband suggested we go to Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) across the road. 

DSW has a huge selection of flats. I tried on almost every pair before finally buying Audrey Brooke ballet flats for $75. The soft leather felt wonderful on my feet, nothing rubbed. They stayed on when I walked. They were perfect ... or so I thought.

 

The next day I took my new shoes to work. I lasted about 10 minutes before realizing my toes felt pinched. There was no 'wiggle' room. My new flats were going back. My search was not over.

I asked a coworker who swore by her comfy Claire Scrunch flats she bought last year at Payless Shoes. I tried them on. They were super comfortable with plenty of 'wiggle' room. After work, I went to Payless Shoes to buy them for myself. Unfortunately, none of the shoes available this year were made with the same flexible material. The shiny, stiff leather heel cup hurt my feet. My search was still not over.

The next night, I went back to DSW to return my 'perfect' flats with pinchy toes. I tried on a half size larger, but they slipped off my feet. Audrey Brooke flats didn't work for me. I continued my search at DSW looking for something similar to the Claire scrunch flats, but with a softer heel cup. 

Finding Fancy Flats took longer than expected, but I finally found them. Elastic around the edges of these shoes makes it possible to wear a full size larger leaving plenty of wiggle room. Check out my new Me Too Shoes from DSW in the photos below. I LoVe them.

 

 

 

I bought these shoes at DSW for $70 less $10 for completing an on-line survey less another $10 for prior purchases on our account. 

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