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

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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