Sole Searching or why I bought 4 pairs of shoes in as many weeks

I love shoes but usually they don’t love me back. I have hard feet to fit and last fall I couldn’t be bothered buying anything new so I wore the same pair day in and day out all winter and the first part of spring.

Enough is enough. My son’s Bar Mitzvah was last week and it was time to buy some new shoes and sandals for my otherwise pampered footsies.

I found a great pair of dressy Franco Sarto sandals at Capezio even before I had a party outfit. Whew! They were a perfect complement for my new Anne Hung dress. I still needed pumps for everyday. I found a great pair of mock croc stamped leather ones with pointy toes and a spiked heel at Town Shoes.

With the other new shoes I bought last summer (I bought lots then too) I thought was set for the warm sunny seasons of ’08.

Then the unexpected happened… I injured my hip dancing at the Bar Mitzvah party. Even after x-rays, I’m not entirely sure what the problem is but it includes partial dislocation, at least one torn ligament and some other hip socket damage. Six weeks of taking it easy, a few days off work, and no high heels. Doctor’s orders!

One problem, I don’t have any flats except for running shoes, flipflops and a hot pink pair of crocs I wear around the house. They won’t fly at the office.

So, today I had to rush around finding new fancy, flat footwear for my new limpy lifestyle. I scoured four stores in my ‘hood but nothing really grabbed me nor was it on sale. A friend suggested I check out Prada* on Bloor because shoes were 40% off! I didn’t really feel like heading downtown.

I ended up at Yorkdale and must have checked out every descent shoe store in the mall. Most stores had horrible service and a salesperson at the least busy one just threw shoe boxes at me - it wasn’t because she had other customers on the go either.

Wouldn’t you know, the first store was the one where I ended up buying a snazzy pair of Nine West patent leather peep toe flats and a bronze pair of Naots. Both have the support and comfort I need without sacrificing style. Unfortunately, everything was regular price but I bought both for less than one pair of discounted Pradas. ;) And as for the service, Capezio had the best by far and they got my business. No surprise there.

*Browns has all their designer shoes on sale right now, including Prada.