Soleful (Soulful) musings on shoes.
I have been thinking a lot about shoes lately. Shoes and boots have always been an important and colourful accessory for me. Not so many years ago I used to only have a very small collection. Not now…they seem to have grown and multiplied in my cupboard. I am sure they get up to hanky panky after dark!
High heels have never really been my thing….except for in the 70’s and 80’s when platforms were in. I could just walk in these, I think because they had a greater surface area in contact with the ground. Sometimes, I even came into contact with the ground myself when I feel off them and twisted my ankle or grazed my knees. High heels and I have never really worked well together.
Practicalities
So, for me, shoes and boots had to be comfortable. I have very small feet, size 5 (or 36) so finding comfortable, colourful and interesting shoes was always a problem. When people used to notice how small my feet were I would tell them, my parents used to bind them when I was a baby! This wasn’t true of course, but made for a great story and usually extracted looks of horror! It did mean however that I could shop in the children’s shoes section. (I even bought a pair of children’s size 4 school boots that I still wear in the garden)
Travel has been the culprit in my ever increasing shoe collection. Each new country offers up a veritable cornucopia of amazing shoes to choose from. As I like to travel light, fitting them into my luggage has sometimes caused problems but hey, really, I seemed to have managed! I also like teaming my different shoes with an expanding collection of socks and stockings so it gives me an endless array of choices.
The long walk
So, why am I thinking about shoes lately? Because I am about to embark on a very big trip. A very big walking trip. I am walking from Canterbury in England to Rome. Over 2000 kilometers, so shoes are very, very important!
My thoughts have been on the finer details like:
- what part of my foot hits the ground first when I walk?
- how are my knees affected when walking?
- what are the best socks to wear?
- is it better to tie your laces tight or loose?
- how flexible should the soles be?
- what is the best configuration for tying shoe laces?
This may sound particularly boring but the answers to these questions are critical for my survival on the walk, especially my legs and knees. Unfortunately, colour and pattern does not really enter the equation, as all good walking boots are boring colours!
As the Goddess of Colour this is devastating but something I have to come to terms with. I could however, change my laces to bright red ones. With my walking boots its’ all about comfort, comfort and more comfort. Oh…and durability.
Thankfully, I will not be wearing my boots every waking hour. So, I needed to secure a spare pair of lightweight shoes. They too had to be comfortable, durable and handle some mileage so I opted for a pair of walking sandals. These luckily, came in some bright colours but all I could get in my size was an aqua blue!
So there you have it. I will be reduced to a choice from 2 pairs of shoes. From fashion shoes to practicalities, walking a long trail on the other side of the world!
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Kaye xx
PS. Stayed tuned for more about my up and coming trip!
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