saturday shoe review: lower east side oxfords

This pair of oxfords is the dark horse winner of my HH shoe search.  I picked them up at Payless two years ago, when I was looking for more standard oxfords to wear to work.  Something about them appealed to me, and I decided that less than twenty bucks was worth a risk.

Am I ever glad I did!  Here's the rundown:

Color - Being cheap plastic shoes, they don't change color when they get wet at all.  This is great considering that they're such a light color.  Normally I have to avoid light colored shoes like the plague, but these have no issues

Squish - They're high vamped enough to be worn with no show socks.  All of my no show socks are synthetics instead of cotton, so they feel a little uncomfortable by the end of the day, but with proper cotton socks the combination of wicking from the socks and airflow from the perforations makes these ideal for sweaty days.

Comfort - They're cheap shoes.  They have no insole whatsoever.  But I usually wear them with a pair of Dr. Scholls insoles, which more than does the job.

Style - I have gotten more compliments on these shoes than almost any other item of clothes that I own.  They hit that perfect quirky but understated and practical balance just right.  They work with casual rolled up jeans and t-shirts.  They're cute peeking out from under a flowing maxi skirt.  And as the funky punch to a otherwise tame office outfit, they're great.  

Sadly, as I said, I got these from Payless a while back, and I haven't been able to find another pair of them.  But here's some similar ones I'm going to look into when these wear out:

Anna Rosy Lace Oxfords

Anna Missy Perforated Oxfords

The teal!  So cute!

DbDk White Oxford

Bar III Oxfords

random: hh goes to the beach!

 I'm heading out to the beach this weekend to spend time with my family!  Huzzah!

Here's the rundown of what I'm packing for 4 days at the beach:

Bosley cat wants to be packed, but isn't going.

 I like packing clothes that mix and match well for trips, so that I can have lots of options without carrying a huge suitcase.  I've got 1 dress, 4 shirts, a pair of shorts, a pair of pants, and 2 pairs of sandals.  Of course, I'm packing my favorite hot weather dress!

 I've got 3 tees - black, white, and dark blue, and a grey tank top.  All of them do reasonably well at hiding sweat (though ironically the black is the worst at it, it's pretty faded).  I like carrying extra shirts to the beach because I know I'm going to change clothes more than once in a day as I get sunscreen on things or go in and out of the water.

For a pop of color, I've got a new pair of pink shorts!

And my trusty linen wide leg pants.  I'm not packing much in the way of jewelry, I probably won't even wear what I pack.  But it makes me feel a little more put together just to have the option.  Add a few bathing suits, pajamas, and undergarments, and I'm ready to go!

While I'm thinking of the beach, there are two awesome things I've figured out over the years that make the HH beach experience much better.

I *hate* the feeling of having sand stuck to my feet.  I can stand it when I'm actually walking in the sand, but the rest of the time it just makes me cranky, and of course with my sweaty feet I have sand caked to them the second I take my shoes off, or even before if I'm in flip flops.

1st trick:  spray on suntan lotion.  Spray lotion is great because you don't have to rub it in.  You can just spray it right over your sand covered toes and not take your skin off by rubbing in sandy lotion.

2nd trick:  bring an extra water bottle.  I take a full bottle of water with me to the beach, just for pouring on my feet!  I'll rinse my feet off to sit on a blanket or a beach chair, and the minute I get off the sand heading back in.  It's ironic that the answer to sand sticking to your feet is to get them wetter, but it makes the experience so much better!  I'll even refill my water bottle with seawater if I run out before I'm ready to go.  I'm just rinsing off with it after all.

Happy beachgoing!

daily outfit: waist not want not

Pants - Banana Republic

Shirt - Banana Republic

Shoes - Earth Shoes Wisteria
Earrings -Kendra Scott via Rocksbox.com
Necklace - Gorjana via Rocksbox.com (similar)

I tend to go for clothes that emphasize my waist, but for some reason this completely waist-less outfit is one of my favorites.

The shirt is loose and comfortable in the heat, and the pale cream doesn't show sweat too badly.  The pants are actually a berry color.  I could not get a picture that did them justice.  They're a little tight, so they balance out the loose shirt nicely.

Also, the shirt has this awesome keyhole in the back that makes it feel a little more stylish and less like I'm wearing a box.

Here's a closeup of the jewelry.  I like wearing a long necklace with this shirt.  It makes it look a little less huge.  I also like pairing odd colors with these berry pants.  I feel like adding this pale blue green makes the outfit more summery.

hh care: sandal cleaning

If I can find a pair of sandals that meets all my funny requirements to be comfortable, I want to wear them all summer long.  Sadly though, that leads to really funky, smelly, gross sandals.  I mean, really, check this grossness out:

Three pair of sandals that really need cleaning.

 Wet feet means dirt sticks to my feet and my shoes.  Wet feet means that skin sloughs off onto my shoes.  Both of those mean that my sandals get downright sedimentary.  Layers and layers of goo dried onto them in just a few wears.  Ick.

That black stuff on the sole shouldn't be there!

 I find the easiest way to handle this for me is to do one big cleaning of all my sandals about every two weeks.  After chipping off the worst of the sedimentary dirt, I break out my secret weapon: saddle soap.

Saddle soap is glorious.  All hail!

For some reason, I didn't learn about this stuff until a few years ago.  Up until then, my sandal care consisted of occasionally wiping them down with a wet rag and maybe some dish soap.  But it makes sense that a product made to remove all the sweat and dirt from horse tack would work well for my sweaty shoes.  So here's the routine:

The supplies.

First, get your saddle soap and some old WET rags.  Yup, we're fixing the water with more water.

Take one wet clean rag and get as much of the dirt off the sandal as possible.  Get it all damp while you're going.  Not super wet, just damp.

Rinse that rag out, and rub it in your saddle soap.  Yes, I've used this much of that stuff.

Now rub it into that shoe!  It will lather up some.  Really massage it into the shoe and let it sit for a few minutes.  Then use that other clean wet rag to wipe it off and let your shoes dry.

After

And ta da!  Clean shoes!  Notice that it didn't remove the discoloration on the shoes in the middle.  It can't do that.  But if you keep it up, it makes a huge difference.  The shoes on the right are two years old, and even though they're getting to the end of their lifespan, they still look pretty good.

This also makes a huge difference in how the shoes smell.  It can't get rid of really deep funk that's developed over a long time, but if you do this regularly from the beginning, it keeps that from happening as fast.  Saddle soap removes the oil and dirt from leather, and it's those foot oils and dirt that lead to bacteria and then to funk.  So regular cleaning like this goes a long way to preventing the funk.

Happy sandal wearing!

outfit: heat index of 104

Dress - Lucky Brand (similar)
Shoes - Payless (similar)
Cuff Bracelet - gift (similar)
Green Amber Pendant - from the Museum Store (similar)

Summer is here folks!  It's hot as blazes today, so I grabbed my favorite hot weather dress out of my closet - this awesome Lucky Brand t-shirt dress.  I actually bought it last year to be a bathing suit cover up, but it's become my go-to hot weather dress.  It's loose and comfortable in cotton, and the dark but busy pattern means no sweat spots are going to show on it!

Since my feet started sweating before I even made it out of bed this morning, I grabbed my favorite pair of shoes-which-can-be-worn-with-socks, these grey oxfords.  I know what you're thinking - it looks like there's no socks in there, which is a big no-no for HH.  But I'm wearing no-show socks with them, and the construction of these shoes makes them great for HH.  I'm going to do a full review of them tomorrow, but for now lets just say that laser cut p/leather is the best stuff on earth.

I'm just coffee shop writing today, so a casual outfit is fine.  But I want to look a little more presentable, so I put on some jewelry.  The necklace is one that I got in high school, from a little store called the Museum Store that has long since gone out of business.  It's green amber, which I adore.  The bracelet is a simple silver cuff I got from a friend in college.  Bracelets can be very touch and go for me, because cheap ones get ruined quickly, but this one has really stood the test of time, both in terms of it's simple style and it's ability to stand up to my sweaty hands!

Stay cool today folks!

outfit: easy breezy

shirt - H&M Divided, thrifted (similar shirt)

pants - Old Navy (similar pants)

shoes - B.O.C Zita flip flops

I work from home most days, and I've found it's important to not schlub around in pajamas when I do.  Not just because someone might show up, or I might have to go out, but also because I work better when I don't feel gross.  

But I still want to be comfortable.  That's what working from home is all about, right?

Enter the elastic waist linen pants.  They're as comfortable as pajama pants, but a little more professional.  And great for the hot weather and the sweat.  Admittedly, they do get damp at the bottom from my feet and have to be washed a lot to keep them from getting stained.  But the linen dries very very fast, and they don't change color badly, so it's tolerable.

But to be honest, I don't wear flipflops when I'm working at home.  I wear socks.

The t-shirt is an old one that I thrifted a while back.  It's a nice loose cotton, and the combination of the pattern and the heathering on it make sweat a little less obvious.

saturday shoe review: born open concept sandals

My poor beat up sandals.

At the moment, these are my favorite shoes.  You can tell by the way they're all beaten up and in need of a good cleaning (a post on shoe care is coming soon!).  They're sandals by B.O.C. (Born Open Concept), and they're the fourth or fifth pairs of them that I've been through.

Despite the fact that my hands are the most obvious part of my hyperhidrosis to others, my feet are what drive me the craziest.  Especially in the summer, when I want to wear cute sandals.

Let me run down the list for you of all the issues:

Squish - Since they're made by Born, these are good walking sandals.  They're very comfortable if you're going to be on your feet for 6-8 hours.  Usually, I find that comfort shoes absorb the sweat and make horrible wheezing noises when I walk, so I avoid them if they're made to be worn without socks.  These don't have that problem unless it's a really bad sweat day.  They do make smacking noises from time to time, but that's almost a normal flip flop sound.

Color & Dye - These sandals have synthetic uppers, so they address two problems.  The first is that I don't end up with dye leaching out and staining my feet and my pants.  The second is that they don't change colors as they get wet.  Wins on both counts.

B.O.C. Averie - why yes, I can walk uphill!

Sliding - In almost any flip-flop, I slide out when walking on uneven ground.  The brown pair on the right have that problem, but the black ones don't since they have the heel strap.  Even better, sometimes B.O.C will make a pair that's a hybrid - the same as the black pair, but with an additional strap between the toes like the picture above.  Those are fabulous.

Longevity - With proper cleaning and rotation, these sandals consistently last me through two summers.  That may not sound like long, but summer is 8-9 months of the year here, and I wear my sandals hard - lots of walking, hiking, even light gardening.  So two years before the funk hits is about twice what any other sandals I've tried has managed.  One issue that has come up is that a strap will, after several months of wear, come loose from the footbed.  Ten bucks and a cobbler fixes that pretty quickly though, and it's understandable.  I doubt many shoe companies are expecting anyone to be sliding downhill with only the strap of their shoe to stop them!

Price - I think the price for B.O.C. is pretty reasonable, for two year shoes.  I got both of my pair at the local outlet mall, where they cost me about ~$25 each.

B.O.C Charel - Channeling Dorothy ... or maybe the Witch!

Style - These are good casual sandals.  I wear them with jeans, with shorts, and with casual dresses and maxi skirts.  Because of the heavy stitching, they are a little too casual to go with dressier clothes, but that's just my opinion.  Except for these red ones.  I think I'm going to get this sassy pair next!

So that's it, those are my favorite sandals!  This will be on ongoing feature where I work through my shoe closet and talk through what shoes are working for me (or not) and why.  I hope you enjoy it!

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