wherein Liz suffers a wardrobe malfunction

[edenfalling]

I got to work this morning, wondered why my shoes were suddenly making odd spuff/squeak noises, sat down to investigate... and discovered that the soles of my brown professional-dress shoes have basically disintegrated since last week. :(

I suppose this is not entirely surprising -- they are old shoes, after all (purchased in late 2001/early 2002), and I hadn't worn them much during my years at the smoke shop so they evidently did not cope well with being pressed into regular service again -- but it's annoying and really not what I needed to be dealing with right now. Also, my winter boots date back to the 1970s, for fuck's sake, and they are still doing JUST FINE (bar some replacement laces) so it's not like old rubber is inherently unstable. It's just cheap and shoddy construction.

...

Well, I guess I know what stores I'll be visiting after work tomorrow afternoon. *sigh*

Comments

[the_rck]

I had a pair of dress shoes disintegrate under me at my cousin's wedding. They were about seventeen years old, and I hadn't worn them in more than a decade, but the possibility that the soles would go to powder never occurred to me. I was a little sad because they were the shoes I'd worn at our wedding, but I wasn't sad enough to do anything but throw the remnants out.

[edenfalling]

:(

Yeah, when shoes fall apart that thoroughly, there's really nothing to do except toss them.

[branchandroot]

Oh, argh; shoe shopping, not fun. And, truly, women's professional shoes always seem to be such pieces of /crap/. The pink tax strikes again.

[edenfalling]

Women's professional anything tends to be a crapshoot. *sigh* If possible, I'd like to get a pair of nice boots, since they can easily dress up OR down, but it's so hard to find things that A) are comfortable on my arches, B) don't cause excruciating nerve twinges in my toes, C) have heels of only one inch or shorter, D) look decent, and E) don't cost an arm and both legs.

[marmota_b]

I was incredibly lucky and found a decent pair of lacing leather boots in a thrift shop for a ridiculous price - they needed new buckles, which an old pair of sandals provided. I don't know what I would be doing otherwise, because the previous two pairs gave after less then two years each. Shoes of reasonable price are terrible these days; you're not expected to walk in them, apparently. It always makes me think of Sam Vimes and his ruminations on Lady Sybil's wardrobe, if you're familiar with Discworld.

[edenfalling]

I found some brown lace-up shoes that are very solid, but also clearly not sneakers, so they should be fine both for work and for walking to various places. I also replaced my black work shoes while I was at it, since my old pair were both uncomfortable to walk in for long distances and literally held together with superglue. (There was a crack in the left sole. I do not trust my repair attempt.)

So I am out significantly more money than I want to be, but at least my feet will now be dry and less sore. :/

(And yes! If you can afford to pay for quality, those items will last forever and be cheaper in the end. But most of us can't afford that kind of downpayment. *sigh*)