Thursday, April 29, 2010

In Search of the Perfect 10



No...not that Perfect 10.

After nearly 40 years of pounding the pavement, my feet are a little bigger than they used to be, which means they are no longer a perfect size 10. This has made my multi-year search for the perfect flat shoe a difficult challenge indeed. Really - for years I've been searching. I love all the cute ballet flats in the J.Crew catalog, but they're too small. Spent an hour trying on Nike/Cole Haan combos...to no avail. They're too narrow across the top and too big in the heel. And for those of you who think, just get a size 10 1/2, guess what? They rarely make them. It's really common for companies to offer half sizes to 10 and then it jumps to 11.

As a working girl, I needed a comfortable flat shoe that could take me the seven blocks to drop off my daughter at school, but still look appropriate with a dress. I was this close to giving up and single-handedly trying to bring back the horrendous-but-comfortable 1980s suit-with-sneakers look, until the day that this ugly stepsister finally turned into a Cinderella. I slipped into a size 10 Geox Respira Lola ballet flat and it fit!





I don't know if the guys can relate to this - because it looks like they're wearing fairly comfortable shoes every day all day, but these shoes - with their soft leather uppers and flexible rubber soles - have changed my life. I'm comfortable, I'm getting places faster, I don't have any blisters, I feel pulled-together, I'm not as tired, I'm in a better mood.

Finally, a perfect 10. Do you think I could braid that little bow into cornrows?


(Bo Derek - www.strangeoldpictures.com; beloved Geox - shopgeox.com)

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