New shoes

The other day I put on a pair of new shoes. They are beautiful castellanos (if you don't know what this is... google "Zapatos Castellanos". They are fantastic shoes for walking around that aren't trainers and are reliable and will last a long time. But because they're made of very rigid leather it means that they need to be broken in.

Usually, I never buy shoes that need to be broken in, except a few high heels (and my experience with high heels is as follows: if they kill your feet within the first five minutes of putting them on, no amount of breaking in will help, they will kill your feet. The only thing to do is to accept that pain is something you have to accept to look good in those heels and look a few inches taller. That said, I have bought a few heels that were not painful to start off with, and only needed getting used to. Still to find a pair that I can wear for longer than 4 hours without my feet being in pain though), but these were an exception, because I know that once they're broken in they will last me for at least two or three years, and they are shoes that I can use for pretty much any occasion that doesn't require a dress (or exercise).

Now, why do these shoes need to be broken in? Basically, because of the rigid leather, which means that they are a bit tight on the toes. In a way this is a good thing: if they were tight at the heel and caused blisters there, that would mean they were too small and I would probably not succeed in breaking them in, however, because they are tight on the toes, I know it's just a question of wearing them enough and making the leather a bit more flexible. So I have come up with a few rules as to breaking in of shoes.

1. Plan the day. Make sure you will not be wearing the shoes for so long that if they actually hurt they'll cause blisters, but also that you'll be wearing them for long enough that you'll make a difference to how they feel.

2. Wear thick socks. They will both protect your feet and also make the shoes give away a bit.

3. Make sure you walk in them. Despite point 1, what you actually want is to be able to walk in the shoes. So walk in them. Going on the bus, and then on the tube, and then sitting down for coffee, and then going back isn't really breaking in your shoes. You can take breaks, but make sure you walk in them quite a bit. I recommend about 20 minutes walking between every break.

4. Smile through the pain. Yes, it hurts, but nobody else should know about it. (This doesn't apply to other times when you're in pain, but for some reason, when you're breaking in shoes it really helps to just smile and pretend it does not hurt).

5. Give your feet a break. At the end of the day your feet really need to just rest after trying to break shoes in. Check that they're not damaged, get a good foot massage if you can (or give it to yourself) and don't wear shoes if you can help it for the rest of the day.

6. Finally, keep on at it. I've found with my new pair that one day hasn't done it completely, but they feel a lot better than when I started, so there. Don't give up on the first try.

PS: This is probably a post that is out of character for me, but I really felt like writing it after walking around central London with a stupid smile on my face trying to forget about my feet hurting. If you were expecting something different... well, maybe next time.