Embracing the Manly Shoe

Those of you who know me personally will already be aware of my preference to style over comfort (apart from behind the closed doors of my flat, then it’s pyjama time: let’s let loose.) My penchant for high heels means that despite how cool the trainer trend is, I don’t actually own a pair of New Balance or Nikes. Don’t get me wrong, my wardrobe feels somewhat lacking in the sports-luxe department without them, but given the choice of spending £80 on a pair of soft comforting flats over a pair of sexy, daring, lacquered black leather heels or boots with a spikey stiletto heel… well… I think you can tell by the overuse of adjectives which one of those I would opt for.
Up until lately my wardrobe has also been lacking in the mannish shoe: a staple of the androgynous trend I’ve avoided like the plague in fear of appearing short and dumpy. Androgyny isn’t particularly the most short-curvy-girl friendly trend, and is most usually best reserved for the straight-up-and-down types. Plus after picking up similar style mannish-shoes from normal high-street stores I’d found my feet left so butchered and blistered it had me wondering where the liberation was in wearing flats. So I couldn’t help in thinking what’s the point in wearing flat ‘comfortable’ shoes when they’re so painful they make you walk weirder than you would after falling over and breaking your ankle in a pair of mules??
But after slipping my feet into these boyish burgundy brogues, I was genuinely a little surprised. The inner sole was padded (imagine putting on a comfy padded bra onto your feet- yeah, that’s basically it) and there was none of that digging-into-the-back-of-your-heel pain leaving you with the worst blisters.
Surprised, a little bit impressed, and a little bit more willing to embrace boyishness.