Ugliest Shoes

I've long had a theory about ugly footwear, that the more ugly, then the shoes had to be really comfortable.  

One of the lasting side effects from my cancer treatment is a reduced range of movement with my legs.  It's hard now to put on socks, even harder to tie shoes, so I often would just step into my old yard shoes when going out and being told several times that my shoes were untied."Yes I know, thank you".  That got old fast, I had my neighbor order a pair of Crocs for me.  Wow, now I want six more, each a different color for each day of the week.

These shoes are grotesque and horrible to look upon, but I love them!!

Peace

(I'm not old, I'm a heirloom)

I don't know what it is about crocs. They are very handy. But as you say, there must be something wrong with the aesthetic. My chickens want to attack me any time I walk near them wearing crocs.

A picture would be worth a 1000 words ...

Deane Adams wrote: I had my neighbor order a pair of Crocs for me.  Wow, now I want six more, each a different color for each day of the week.

These shoes are grotesque and horrible to look upon, but I love them!!

Haha - when I was nursing my bedridden uncle about a dozen years ago crocs were my lifesaver. In particular the cheap mock-crocks that were available. I had all sorts of different silly colours, some complete with glitter! Have you noticed yet that no matter how hard you kick them off, or throw them, they always land the right way up? Perfect for slipping on to your feet when you are barely able to stay upright and don't have a hope of bending over to adjust them or help them on to your feet.

They are also so easy to clean by sticking them under the tap, BUT they are slippery on smooth surfaces, including wet grass, when wet. Don't forget that else you'll go arse over tit after unexpected rain. Been there, done that...

These days I've upgraded slightly to sports sandals with the back strap cut off. The soles are a little thicker and stronger, so I don't get thorns working their way in and then suddenly spiking my foot if I happen to stand on a rock. Also the soles don't wear out so quickly if I walk on hard top roads. Still very easy to slip on without bending though.

Hi Burra,

Yep. My wife has a pair she wore once. She stepped on wet grass, slid, and never wore them again.

Tamara,  now I wonder if your chickens know something that we don't.

Burra, I may have to work up to glitter Crocs.  I'll look for the sport sandals, in case I decide to keep chickens!

Thanks

( I'm not old, I think the term is VINTAGE)

Peace

My partner and I were looking for some kind of yard shoe that we could get messy and not worry about.

We have a little station in our mud room to store our messy outside shoes and not track who knows what into the house.

I have found that the Muckster II do the job rather well.



Easy to pop on, easy to clean. Has decent traction. Chicken poop is easy to remove!

They might not be pretty, but I have worn uglier.

I appreciate Crocs -- they seem eminently practical, fairly durable, and from what I've heard are extremely comfortable -- but the story behind them is like watching sausage get made. Thus I won't wear them. "I can't, I just can't!" hahaha

(For anyone who's curious, it has to do with the movie Idiocracy: the production was on a shoestring budget (yes yes I know) and they needed shoes for all the extras in the "idiotic" future, so they partnered with a startup company making ugly molded shoes that are super easy to put on and take off...Mike Judge worried "what if these shoes get popular?" [I don't remember why this worried him; he told this story in a Joe Rogan interview so if you really want to know you'll have to find it and watch it] and the wardrobe person assured him "Don't worry, there's no way these hideous things will catch on.")

Crocs are amazing for those of us who have mobility/joint/ musculoskeletal issues, when we must be on our feet, and I love them, for so many things. But, on our terrain, they can be very hazardous, too. Here, we have steep hills, super sharp, widely variable-sized rocks, loads of wild blackberries that leave hard thorns, as they age & die, bits of metal that seems to simply surface out of the ground, and if any moisture gets inside, while I'm outside, my feet will slip&slide around, and I've rolled my ankle and fallen so many times, I've lost count. I finally broke down and got some Sloggers, on clearance. Now, I'm trying to get used to the MUCH narrower sole (narrower than my foot!), which has also caused my ankle to try to roll...  

My happy dream shoe for outside *and* being on my feet for long periods with be a slip-on with a wide-ish sole(maybe a little narrower than typical crocs), with the crocs material everywhere except the outsole, which would be more protective against punctures and have better traction, and do better at preventing water from being inside, while they're on my feet. Yup. It's probably never going to be more than a dream, unless I can engineer it...

I remember a quote about lady’s slipper from an excellent book, The Secrets of Wildflowers by Jack Sanders:

Not everyone would want them in the garden. Alice Morse Earle, who wrote books about life in colonial times, said that “I have never found the lady’s slipper as beautiful a flower as do nearly all my friends, as did my father and mother, and I was pleased by Ruskin’s sharp comment that such a slipper was fit only for very old and gouty toes.”

I do disagree with the attitude and also think lady’s slipper is a wonderful flower. If, however, they were magically magnified, I imagine they would be quite comfortable, but flop hopelessly around most people’s feet. As a slipper per se they would be fine, but going out and gardening in them would be a nightmare. I suppose the ideal is probably a shoe which at the toe is flat-ish and slightly slanted, because our feet are naturally widest at the tip of the toes, not rounded as shoe designs would suggest. Barefoot advocates talk about the toes being deformed by shoes, but people have odd ideas of what makes a good looking shoe. I think if people actually made them to fit human feet and not Martians then the problem would lessen significantly.