since my foot started really hurting after christmas, i've been on a desperate hunt for comfortable but still-cute shoes. i took to the internet to find out if such a thing exists, and furthermore, for recommendations of said footwear, and the resounding response was "clarks!" i mean, yeah, i know. i've had clarks shoes since i was a kid. my mum wears clarks. i wore them right through school. my mum wears clarks. i have a pair of brogues from clarks... somewhere.
my mum wear clarks. do you see what i'm getting at? my mum wears clarks, and she is on her feet all damn day, has had surgery on her feet because of the same thing that's terrorising me at the moment, and is nearing retirement age. i guess what i'm saying is, to me, clarks are a mum shoe. and no amount of pain was going to make me wear matronly footwear. but then: i actually had a look online to see what their selection was like - remembering this was the brand that's collaborated with orla for the last couple of seasons, so couldn't be totally old-fashioned, just a little retro - and fell in love.
the taylor palm t-bar shoe is made from buttery soft cracked silver leather, and is totally adorable. there's a teeny-tiny elastic insert at the widest part of the shoe, meaning that there's a little extra give around the sorest part of my foot, while my other foot doesn't lose out with an unnecessary wide shoe when it doesn't need it (only my left foot is wide!). the t-bar and pointed toe makes this style super flattering too, something i wasn't really sure about until i tried them on; because there's a slight heel as well, the t-bar helps to create the illusion of a longer leg, unlike a regular brogue that just makes me look stummmpy.
there's definitely something a little 'retro' about these shoes, but thankfully they're not too school-girl like or too similar to what my mum would choose to wear, so i'm pretty happy with that. i wore them to work for the first time last week, wanting to wait for a dry day to break them out - soggy tights is not the one, and got loads of compliments at work too! i've since worn them to brunch with the girls and out and about shopping, and i have to admit, they've totally changed my perception of comfortable shoes!
paired with this high-neck floral dress, i felt like an extra out of a mod-film - except for the totally era-inappropriate hair, of course. the bell sleeves are giving me liiiiife, it's just a bit of a shame at how short it is. like, i know mini dresses were a big thing in the 60s, but come on; a couple more inches would have been my saving grace in this ensemble i think. nevertheless, i'm intent on finding more gems in my wardrobe like this that will totally compliment these metallic life savers, because while the left foot is behaving so poorly, these bad boys are staying firmly on.
