1) Leather linings are key to the comfort of your footwear: they absorb moisture away from your feet, meaning your feet should not feel sweaty.
Leather uppers are important, but your foot will only be able to “breathe”, if the lining is as breathable as the upper.
Ensure you let your leather-lined footwear dry naturally, preferably allowing a day between wears: this ensures the leather does not begin to rot, and prevents odours. Shoe-trees can help to wick the moisture away from the footwear, allowing the leather to dry more thoroughly.
These symbols next to each other on a shoe label indicate a full leather lining.
2) High-heels can look fabulous at work with a well-tailored trouser or skirt-suit.
3) Don’t buy shoes that do not fit. If shoes are too big, no amount of insoles or heel-grips (often sold by shoe-shops) will ever make them fit properly. You can tell just by looking that someone’s shoes are too big for them, and it is not a flattering look.
Correctly-fitting footwear should hug your foot, and neither pinch it nor slip up and down as you walk. The friction caused by footwear which slips around too much on your foot as you walk, can often cause blisters to form.
It is common for sales-people to promise customers that their footwear, which feels too tight when tried on in the shop, will “give”. What actually happens to footwear after a number of wears is that the upper will soften, and crease, being effectively customised by the wearer’s foot contours. This should make the footwear more comfortable.
The length of the shoe (from toe to heel) is restricted by the length of the sole. This will not change. Shoes do not “give” in length. In the short-term, shoes which are too short can cause foot numbness, and sometimes pain. They may also make you scrunch your toes uncomfortably. More serious long-term damage can also be caused by ill-fitting footwear.
Select footwear that does not pinch the sides of your feet. If the leather does give, it will show unsightly bulges, where your feet are wider than the width of the sole.
When trying on pumps, court shoes and Mary Janes, after having walked around a little, look at your feet when you remove the shoes. If red crescents are visible on the top of your feet around where your big toes meet your feet, then the shoes do not fit. They are too shallow for the depth of your foot, and are unlikely to become more comfortable with time.
4) Please please always remember to remove the labels from the soles of your shoes before striding out in them.
5) When buying any shoe with a higher than flat heel, ensure it hugs the contours of your foot. When you can feel that the insole/footbed/insock touches the entire ball & heel of your foot, and perhaps even supports the arch, this will ensure good support and comfort.
If the shoe only touches a small area of the ball and/or heel, and leaves a large gap at the arch area (most noticeable when wearing court shoes, or sandals), then the pressure on the ball of the foot will be increased. That uncomfortable burning sensation will be focused on a smaller area, and is therefore likely to be more intense.
No comments:
Post a Comment