Sandals

Dressing for a heat wave

/ edebock / 8 Comments

Logo by SamAs a Canadian, I know all about dressing for extreme cold, but dressing for a heat wave like we experienced here in Alberta recently is much more challenging for me. If I lived where these temperatures were the norm, I’m sure I’d have a wardrobe full of cotton and linen, but alas, I do not.

Day after day, I wore shorts and sleeveless tops on repeat. Thankfully, I have plenty of both and was able to mix and match to create numerous different looks from casual to dressy.

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Of course, there are those who say that women my age shouldn’t wear shorts, but you probably know by now that I don’t follow fashion rules, particularly those related to age. When I was younger, I was self-conscious about my skinny legs and knobby knees, but not any more. I actually don’t think they look too bad for 70!

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Most summers, I wear shorts mainly for golfing which is why I have several pairs. I prefer them to hit just above the knee and to be loose enough to move comfortably. For a dressier look, I wear those, like this black pair, that  are slightly more tailored looking.

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In addition to shorts and sleeveless tops, I’ve been living in sandals. Again, I have several pairs. My new Ecco walking sandals have been getting plenty of use as have my golfing sandals. In addition to those, I have dressier as well as casual pairs to choose from.

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Perhaps the most important thing that I wear during a heat wave though is sunscreen. Before I leave the house to play golf, go for a walk, or work in the yard, I slather on a good layer of a broad spectrum SPF 50+ lotion to protect my delicate skin from the sun’s damaging rays.

It doesn’t look like I’ll need to do that as often for the next few days though. As soon as I started working on this post, the weather changed! It’s much cooler now and we finally got some of the rain that we’ve been needing so very badly!

New walking sandals

/ edebock / 10 Comments

Shortly after returning from our latest trip to Mexico in February, I found myself dealing with metatarsalgia in my right foot. At first, I didn’t know what it was. It felt like I had a pebble in my shoe and was particularly bothersome when I walked barefoot on the hard floor. Thankfully, the symptoms didn’t show up until after we got home, but they were likely caused by the amount of walking that I did on uneven surfaces in less than adequate footwear. I had my good Asics sneakers with me which I bought specifically for walking, but on hot days I chose to wear sandals or flats instead. Unfortunately, they didn’t have as much cushioning or support.

My foot is better now, but it became very obvious that I needed to buy a good pair of walking/hiking sandals, especially since I’ve challenged myself to try to walk 350 km between May 1 and October 31! This week I found exactly what I was looking for.

I’m a frugal fashionista and I love thrift store shopping, but good quality footwear is something that I’m willing to spend a significant amount of money on. I first saw the right sandal at Atmosphere, “Canada’s Outdoor, Hiking, Camping and Adventure Store” but they didn’t have my size, so I went directly to an ECCO store. Not only did they have the right size, they had it in six or seven different colours including a couple that don’t even appear on their website! I wanted something neutral that I could wear with anything and, as the very helpful salesperson pointed out, the ones I chose look great with my gold summertime toes!

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Most of the hiking sandals that I looked at had closed toes which would definitely be an asset on a rugged trail, but I’ll continue to wear my trusty Merrell hiking shoes for that. The sandals will mostly be worn to pound the pavement in and around town and on easier trails.

Musing about sandals

/ edebock / 11 Comments

Logo by SamWhen I took my sandals out of storage this spring, I realized how worn they were getting. That’s not surprising considering the fact that the newest pair is at least five years old! I only know that because I’ve been keeping track of all my clothing, footwear, and accessories purchases since the beginning of 2018 and there aren’t any sandals on the list!

I have a couple of pairs that are still quite serviceable, but really, it might be time for this girl to be thinking about buying some new ones!

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Fishermans sandals are very much on trend for 2022, but something about a closed toe sandal just doesn’t sit well with me. They’re great for women who are self-conscious about exposing their toes for any reason, but when I wear sandals, I want my golden summertime toes to show.

Then there’s the recent popularity of fishermans sandals with socks. That one is a definite no for me! I haven’t spend all these years teasing hubby about wearing socks with his sandals to succumb to that fad!

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What about you? Are you a fan of this look? I always say that, first and foremost, we ought to wear what makes us happy.

I’m not a girly girl, but if I do go shopping for sandals, I’ll be looking for something a little more feminine looking than the closed toe fishermans sandal; something more like this pair from Naturalizer. I like a sandal that’s casual, but a little bit dressy looking, and something that I can comfortably walk a long way in.

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Sadly, the Naturalizer stores in Edmonton closed last year and I’d have to order these online. Not only do I much prefer shopping in person, but I have very narrow, difficult to fit feet. Ordering shoes online just doesn’t work for me. So, for now, until I have an opportunity to shop and try on, I’ll just continue wearing my old sandals and musing about new ones.

And then…

As usual, this post was written earlier in the week so that it would be ready to post first thing this morning. Yesterday, after getting my monthly injection, I stopped at one of our local thrift stores to drop off a bag of books that I’d finished reading. Of course, I had to take a look around and guess what I found? Sandals! Almost brand new Clarks in my size for $2.00! Similar sandals online sell for $110 and up. I’ll still be keeping my eye out for a dressier pair similar to the ones above, but in the meantime, I’m delighted with my find. They’re comfortable and supportive and the soft sage colour goes well with my summer wardrobe.

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On a totally different topic, I recently had the privilege of writing a guest post for the parenting blog, Leaf and Steel. I hope you’ll pop over and check it out here. 

Keeping my promise

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-03-18 at 11.07.24 PM 3It was Norman Vincent Peale who penned the words, “Promises are like crying babies in a theatre, they should be carried out at once.”

This week, I carried out a promise that I made here on the blog just three weeks ago. It was then that I wrote about the New Missions Give Sneakers campaign to provide new shoes for each of the 10 000 children who attend New Missions schools in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I promised that if I bought myself any new shoes during the drive I would make a matching donation to the Give Sneakers campaign.

So what did I buy?

In a recent post, fashion blogger Susan Street of Fifty, Not Frumpy, wore this pair of strappy sandals.

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As she often does, Susan, who loves wearing heels, included an alternate shoe that might appeal to those of us who prefer flats.

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I immediately fell in love with her suggestion, Cob Hill’s ‘Gabby’ lace up sandal featured on the Nordstrom website, but frugal shopper that I am, I did not love the price! I added the look to my fashion wish list, however, and when I was in Edmonton last week, I found these at Payless ShoeSource.

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True, the uppers are not genuine leather, but at approximately one-third the price, I’m delighted with the ‘Zoey’ ghillie low wedge by Brash.

I wasn’t really looking for a second pair of shoes on this particular shopping trip, but there was a BOGO (buy one, get a second pair at half price) sale happening at Payless! How could I leave with just one pair? I couldn’t, of course! I had in mind a pair of casual flats in a neutral colour and when I tried on the ‘Clover’ skimmer with its cushiony memory foam insole, I knew I’d found what I was looking for. They are so comfortable that they will, without a doubt, become a go to shoe this summer!

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Whether you’re in the market for new shoes or not, why not join me in covering the feet of children who might otherwise have to walk to school barefoot? You can make your donation at givesneakers.com. You’ll be glad you did. I promise!

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