2021 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Liverpool_Anne

I once bought 2 pairs of shoes from Clark's on sale as I had a similar pair that were very comfortable and seemed to be wearing well, thinking they would see me out as my fil used to say, 4 years later I took them out of their boxes thinking I fancied a change and found both pairs had literally fallen apart. I naturally complained and even still had the receipt but nothing could be done as who leaves 2 pairs of shoes unworn for 4 years. I won't do that again.

maryb

I remember reading that can be an issue with H*tter shoes.  They tend to have really good sales but not such a bargain if the sole disintegrates before you get to wear them.  I don’t know if they’ve fixed the problem to be fair.  A pity because they are comfortable and made in the UK which I like to support 

PollyWollyDoodle

I’ve had Hotter shoes and boots and not had a problem. They’re one of only a few ranges that suit my very-wide feet. By the way thanks for the info about foot anatomy @Laura_Elsewhere, that was very interesting. My feet have been a problem most of my adult life, and they have not only got wider but gone up by nearly two sizes since my teens!  (I got measured for running shoes a couple of months ago and was very surprised to find I’m now a size 7. It used to be 5.5!) 

DrCarrie

Morning, so tha fabric I was eyeing up last week, I bought it. 2 coupond used, for 1 metre of non wool. 

Cherryfudge

PollyWollyDoodle said:

(I got measured for running shoes a couple of months ago and was very surprised to find I’m now a size 7. It used to be 5.5!) 

Some people's feet get bigger when they run - I wonder if this has been taken into consideration, hence the larger size. Mind you, you might feel they were looser when you first put them on.

Laura_Elsewhere

There's also been a change in the shape of women's shoes - if you think about it, no women in the 1940s wore anything even remotely like a trainer! There are some foot pathologies that used to be really uncommon, now far more common, caused by feet moving around inside shoes which are no longer really foot-shaped, whereas (ignoring winkle-pickers, etc.) the lace-up brogue, for example, was foot-shaped and also laced so as to hold the foot snugly in place. A lot of people nowadays are effectively wearing slippers or trainers all the time - there's even an increase in a particular kind of knee ligament problem because of the people wearing absolutely-flat shoes - if you walk barefoot, your foot behaves as a bare foot, but if you wear those totally-flat pumps that have been around for 20 years or so at a few quid a pair in every colour you could want, then your foot can no longer function as a bare foot, but it also has no support, no cushioning and the heel is so low it causes a strain on the knee-joint. 

TwibbleDee

If you don't hear from me for a few days, I'm in the part of Texas where they won't even say when we might get power back.  It's been out since yesterday morning about 3am.  Luckily, we have a camper (travel caravan, I think you'd call it) that we can run off a generator and propane tanks, so long as we can get fuel.  The current temperature inside the house is 46F.  We're supposed to get up to 36F this afternoon, but then won't be above freezing again until Friday.

Laura_Elsewhere

@TwibbleDee I hope you're back on soon! A friend elseforum in Texas is in the same situation and has had to construct a place for her pet tarantula's terrarium at the foot of her bed under the covers to prevent her freezing to death...! 

PipneyJane

@TwibbleDee, my friend in Houston is reporting snow on his FB feed!  Has any fallen down your way?  (He's also reporting the complete failure of the electricity grid in Texas, due to decades of underinvestment and state Governor who puts market forces above everything else.)

@Laura_Elsewhere, thank you for the fascinating information about feet and shoes.  In the <gulp!> nearly three decades since I stopped nursing, I do wonder if there has been a decline in toe and foot deformities found in elderly women.  I think they were due to cramming their feet into too-small-but-fashionable shoes.   (When I worked in a well-known London hospital's A&E, I lost count of the number of elderly women we treated with toes bent and hooked over other toes, as well as bunions, etc.)

@Nonnadiluca, I am another one who shops in advance for certain items of clothing.  The trainers I ordered the other day are a good example; I know I will need a new pair in a couple of months, so attempted to purchase them now at a good price.  (I say "attempted", because they sent the wrong size.  It wasn't their fault.  The box was labelled for the correct size.  I think I'll wait until I can buy in a shop.  Fewer potential c0ckups.)

- Pip

joedenise

@TwibbleDee what you call a camper is what we would usually call a motorhome; the smaller van based versions would be called a campervan.   We generally think of US vehicles as RVs (Recreational Vehicles) which are much bigger than their European counterparts.

@Laura_Elsewhere - that's very informative about feet and flat shoes.  I can't walk in very flat shoes as they hurt my calves too much - I have to have a very small heel; can't walk in high heels either though!