When is it time for men to buy new shoes? This isn’t sexist, but in my experience as a podiatrist men generally only buy new footwear when they really need to or get a gentle nudge to do so! This does tend to apply to older males (not saying what age), but men don’t seem to enjoy shoe shopping as much as women, except for my husband who given the opportunity would buy a new pair of shoes every month! We then have a podiatrist colleague whose ‘sloppy Joes’ were literally squeaking. Despite several hints he waited for his girlfriend to take action; “But they are not as comfortable as my old ones”.
Why is this? Is it the cost factor, the reluctance to part with old favourites, feeling they don’t need new shoes, rather spend my money on something else or just don’t enjoy shoe shopping? Maybe I need to do a questionnaire on this subject or is it simply just all of the above?
I get patients who come into clinic complaining of lower back and hip pain, whose knees are knocking and feet rolling in at precarious angles made worse by their inadequate and badly broken down footwear. One gusty blast of wind they could topple over with no sound footings, foundations to keep them supported. I try diplomatically to point out that their footwear could be a potential etiological factor, in the equation of poor biomechanics and bad footwear equaling subsidence.
Begrudgingly, I get the recognition I could be right, but then there in the deep sigh of; “Well what do do suggest?”. I can see the cogwheels of their minds having to compute the tiresome logistics of having to think about and action the task of seeking out, hunting the ‘right’ well fitting shoe!
It is so much easier these days as one could sit in the comfort of the armchair and go online, or order from a catalogue, but this can result in them failing at the first hurdle. They get distracted by price; “Oh, that looks like good value”, and order a sub-standard mass produced shoe which isn’t up to the job. Buy cheap , buy twice. They then order the wrong fit, but can’t be bothered to send them back so squeeze their feet in and literally ‘break them in’, a podiatrist’s worst nightmare. This then becomes part of the reluctance to part with them, because they are; “now comfortable!” A vicious circle which can lead to foot and other foot related problems.
I cannot stress enough if a patient has a particular foot issue and has struggled in the past to get good fitting footwear then they should always try them on first in a shop or speak to a podiatrist who will recommend exactly what it is they need. Podiatrists are the experts in understanding how a foot functions with regard to walking and it’s relationship with the rest of the leg. The best people to sell you footwear are podiatrists or individuals who are trained in podiatric footwear fitting.
When the old ones wear out or start looking tatty!!!
I buy new shoes when my 2 main pairs can no longer be decently repaired. They are Loake and the firm will effectively re-build them for a couple of iterations at least. They are strong shoes and I tend to wear down the outside of each heel. Cost is a consideration but you spend a long time walking.
I only buy shoes when my existing one has worn out. They need to be comfortable but not conspicuous. I only buy when I have to. It is like clothes, only buy when you have to!
I only buy when I need to or have to because existing ones have worn out. they need to be comfortable and not conspicuous
The key thing is to be smart, but shoes that are comfortable and suitable from the off. Invest good money on quality shoes. More often than not they will last a lot longer and actually look better for longer. Classy/intelligent women can tell a man by his shoes(to a degree). If you want a good woman, and good shoes – get out and spend good money. Your feet and body will feel better for longer, and the misses in your life a bit happier. As they do care about how not you respect them, but to look good by their side. As they usually put a lot of effort into looking good on a regular basis
Is this you John Campbell of Swindon?