south of the loop

Shoe Junkies: I Need Your Help

Dear Internet,

I need to replace a pair of shoes. I’ve been looking for months (and months!), and I just can’t find anything that does it for me, and I need your help! I know I could just get the old shoes resoled (and maybe clean them up a bit), but I think I can do better. I love these shoes, but they aren’t the most comfortable—there’s very little support, and the leather across the toes starts to pinch after awhile. The brand is Tabarca, but all I can find online in that brand are sandals.

I’m looking for an everyday shoe that’s mostly black. It doesn’t have to be dressy, but I should be able to fake it if I wear them with a pair of black pants. (I work in a pretty casual office). I love love love the red straps on these—enough to make the shoes fun, but not enough that I worry about them not matching. Here are my other requirements:

- Must have at least reasonable support. I live in Chicago and walk a lot—I don’t need to be able to walk all day in them, but I need to be able to walk a couple miles at a time.

- Must be flat or very low-heeled. I have enough knee problems already, thank you.

- No loafers.

- No ballet slippers (I have lots already, including a particularly beloved turquoise patent pair), and no Mary Janes (I have lots and LOTS).

- I thought about something like these, but they are just so dreadfully boring.

- I wear size 10 shoes but am only 5′6″. Things that look cute and dainty in a size 7 often look like boats on me. I’m not overly concerned about this, but really chunky shoes and shoes with long pointy toes (that extend the size of my foot by several inches) are usually no-gos.

- Reasonably priced. I’m going to leave that definition open-ended, but no $400 Taryn Rose shoes.

Okay, internets, whaddaya got for me? Leave links/suggestions in the comments. Photos of my poor beat-up shoes below.

shoes

New Blue Shoes

new blue shoes

I bought these in Austin over the weekend and have worn them every day since. Unfortunately, I don’t have a very good grasp on how to use natural light to my advantage. The flash makes these look unnatural. I mean, more unnatural than turquoise patent leather is already.

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current book: More than halfway through with Kavalier & Clay.

current music: The Spinto Band, nice and nicely done; Neko Case Live from Austin TX

current socks: Stripey SmartWools. Freakin’ blizzard out there.