Just got feet, don't got SHOES

ah hell, it's not that big of a deal. just doing a little bit of online fretting. I'm gonna #DWI.

If the length is correct, order a wider size - you'll be way more comfortable in a EE. Wider boots can be laced tighter, narrow boots are probably never going to stretch enough to be really comfortable.

tho if it's only on yr pinky toe and not the side of your foot, well, i've had that before and the shoe has stretched pretty quickly after some walking around

also OMG I LOVE those carlos campos shoes! i want them for meeeee

and those moccasins are great, jim, but i would say that - i actually really now have to find a new pair of the clark's moccasins i bought in the spring bc i was wearing them all the time and then somehow they became my camping and rain shoes and i have a feeling are teetering on the edge btwn acceptable and decrepit

I want these: http://www.zappos.com/product/7847563/color/59

cuuuuuuute

i have boot angst

because my #1 desire right now are rag and bone harrow boots, but I do not have $550 to blow on such loveliness

http://www.rag-bone.com/store/productimages/regular/1885_black_fa.jpg

i might just get these from topshop, which are like $100...

http://media.topshop.com/wcsstore/TopShop/images/catalog/32A03ABLA_large.jpg

basically acne pistol knockoffs. but i have no shame.

http://www.zappos.com/product/7847563/color/59

i like how these are modern-looking yet you could probably go in a time machine to almost any time in the last 400 years and not look out of place

I liked the boots Jim posted too.

Amanda, I knew you would like those! They are really calling out to me. I need a new pair of Oxford-ish shoes...

I found a really solid pair of longwing brogues this past weekend -- they are of good quality leather, fit great, are nicely broken in with lots of 'character' -- though they look like they've been shined with a few different colors of polish over the years. i'm thinking of stripping the polish to figure out what color they ~really~ are but don't want to damage the leather. anyone have experience doing this?

someone must have loved them for a long time because they've been re-soled and the foot pad has been replaced -- sadly this means I have no idea who the original manufacturer is.

the only boots i can find that i like are brown, and NSFW (in the more palatable sense). black ankle boots that are cool and also double up as work shoes just don't seem to be comign past my radar.

elmo, someone I know who has worked in luxury shoe sales for many years has a story about RE-polishing a different color over a brown shoe, but he didn't mention taking the old stuff off? Not sure what would do it, maybe acetone? I imagine you'd have to recondition the leather right away b/c of dryness but it might remove the old stuff? Test with a q-tip on the inside arch or something.

lol got the courage to wear my boots out for the first time today (no pain!) and scratched the leather. fml

shoulda gone with roughouts I suppose

aw cmon, they are s'posed to get beat up! they look better that way imo

hah yeah I always agonize over the first little scratch but w/e they're mine now!

anybody got tips for a good leather conditioner or protector. styl3f0rum geeks go crazy over obenauf's but I think that's too fancy

Obenauf's is cheap, though, if you can find it locally.

Mink oil should be available at Wal-Mart, etc., but I've heard differing opinions on using it on good leather.

http://www.ironheart.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=208
^^^^
now this is too fancy

i live in the bear and leather district of sf. this place is around the corner from me and they are fucking hardcore http://www.stompersboots.com/

they suggested i get a tin of this stuff http://www.huberds.com/shoe-grease.html (~$6)

they told me to put it on once, and then probably once a season or after a heavy rain.

thanks jaxon, place by me carries huberds and it works great! spent the afternoon conditioning three pairs of boots. turned my desert boots into an exclusive, one of a kind dirty gunmetal grey (ugh) but otherwise it's great

Update on Culture Phit heels:

I danced like a wild maniac last night in these shoes, and not only did my feet not hurt, they feel fine today. RECOMMENDED if you are looking for cute, comf women's heels that don't cost $100.

http://img1.prosperent.com/images/125x125/www.zappos.com/images/z/1/3/1/1310459-t-THUMBNAIL.jpg

They are not the world's sexiest shoes, i know, but they are also pretty much as comfortable as any other shoes I have, which is saying a lot.

I just ordered these, having found that shoes.com has size 11s AND ships to Canada! I hope Aerosoles are comfortable - I bought them mostly because of the hell (which I see, are similar to Lech's Culture Phit ones above!)

Aldo sells size 11s that are 41s, and I'm noticing online most 11s are marked as 42s. FUCKERS. No wonder I've been having such disastrous luck in-store! And the higher-end shoe stores? Just plain don't carry 11s, or only a small selection. It's the age of the INTERNET guys, can't you pick up 20 or 30 size 11 Franco Sartos and let me buy them off your website? I know there might not be much demand in store, but seriously!

Anyway. Here's hoping on these bad boys - my legs are freezing and my personal rule is footless leggins under skirts/dresses are okay, but ONLY if you have a boot to cover up the footless part - I do not abide visible socks tucked into leggings, ankle-high boots or sockless flats (my only current options). And it's getting pretty cold to be bare-kneed and sockless in Toronto! I blame my Grandmother who influenced my style rules. I practically have anxiety attacks if I wear dark blue with black, or brown and black - to the point that I own almost 0 brown because I like black so much.

http://www.shoes.com/ProductImages/shoes_iaec1113569.jpg

dark blue with black, or brown and black - to the point that I own almost 0 brown because I like black so much.

These are old rules!!! You can totally mix all of these since they're nuetrals. I love black and brown together but it has to be a light sort of tawny shade of brown - like this:

http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/245454114_V47ih4oU_c.jpg

I have boots that same color that I wear with black a lot. I usually add a similar shade of brown belt and or bag and it works well, I think.

Sidenote. I WANT THAT DRESS SO BAD! I have no idea where it's from though. :[

Oooh fuck yeah I love the look! And I know those are old rules.. it's silly.. it's not like I'm not wearing white after labour day.. and I am actually wearing a navy & black dress right now.. but I feel so ~wrong~ and I pick it out of my closet less often because of the colours! I am crazy, I can't help it :(

No, you're not crazy. It took me a while to be able to come around and mix dark neutrals but now I love it.

I will try! One day. For now, I'll stick to my gawth look.

i love black with tan shoes/accessories. i actually really love that outfit you posted enbb! cute dress.
i'm briefly visiting toronto for the art fair in a few weeks - i always seem to buy shoes when in TO! so we'll see...

I really like that dress too! However, the caramel color of boots has become overwhelming to me as a style. Cannot do. It is too everywhere.

I'm sure the fact that I look like someone's Portugese grandma today is intolerable to someone else, too, but just...there are things I can't look at on myself in the mirror and take remotely seriously and warm tan boots are one of them.

what are you wearing (shoe wise) that's making you look like a Portuguese Grandma?

other than my not-so-warm-tan moccasins, i haven't actually owned a pair of tan shoes for at least 15 years, but i think about it... dark brown though, yes!
xp
that was also my question

lol @ portuguese grandma

All of my shoes are black or red.

Well, these. With a white shift dress and a giant scarf tied like a grandma's shawl, and my hair in a bouffant/bun.

http://cot1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/P11667111.jpg

xp lol otm

there should be more blue shoes imo
for me

I agree with the blue shoes. And round toes instead of pointy. My feet are so big I do _not_ need a point to accentuate them. Unless maybe those fabulous Mexican cowboy boot things, hah.

I like those red shoes! But I can see what you are saying. I think my coworkers would tease me mercilessly if I tried the scarf trick, unfortunately.

laurel that sounds p amazing

And round toes instead of pointy. My feet are so big I do _not_ need a point to accentuate them

HELL TO THE MOTHERFUCKING YEAH

I am so tired of pointy shoes. I need more round toed pumps but they don't make enough of them! Boo.

Guys, if you see that black dress anywhere or anything that sort of resembles that black dress please tell me asap. I NEED that dress. Thanks in advance.

i don't wear pointy shoes for the same reason!

i like the caramel/tan boot thing but i just haven't been able to find a pair that's the right shade/style yet.. though i did put a pair on preorder that i hope will work out whenever they arrive

have not seen the black dress anywhere but i like it too. where's the image from?

I found the image on Pinterest and reverse GISing it seems to land you on some french fashion blog. The post with that pic was from 2008. Never gonna find it. Sigh. Still would be v interested in anything that sort of looks like it though.

i have a dress shaped kinda like that from uniqlo, it's a little frillier though. it's black and has the drop waist with gathered skirt, but instead of buttons up the front it has two kind of mermaid ruffles. i think it was part of some ridiculous "alice in wonderland" series. i love it because it's totally all seasons, and i can dress it up or down depending on mood. also super comf.

that dress does look like it's by a french label but it looks a little too simple to be one of the one's i'd recognize.. maybe it's comptoir des cotonniers..

i made the most practical shoe-buying decision i've made in years today: i bought black Blundstones. i needed something i could walk a lot in, hike a little in, are waterproof, can get dirty, etc. and looking at all the ugly walking/hiking shoes out there, these were the best option! i haven't worn boots like this since my doc marten 90s days! they are quite comfortable. if i roll my skinny jeans up, they look cuter. at the same time, chunky boots, ohboy. i do feel tough tho!

i also think they will look cute with big wooly socks and legwarmers. both of which i need to go find and purchase. but they are out there; i have seen them. eesh, shopping!

i just don't want to fall into that particular aesthetic that is a mainstay of more expensive outdoor-gear stores - it's like outdoorsy+hippiecool+$$. i'm not really worried.
also, the sales guy was so cute. and he said he was studying physics at school. aw.

I basically bought the same pair of shoes x3 the other week.

These, for one.