Maryl puts: Her better foot forward

That would be my right foot. More on that in a moment but first did you happen to see Habitually Chic’s post last month about the latest must-have Charles Philip slippers. Those who left comments were drooling over them, and that’s how I found out that they ran wide. Yay! I found a selection online and ordered the ambrosial shoes right up.

The slippers are handmade from shirting material in a variety of solids and stripes and reasonably priced but it’s the packaging that really blew me away. They arrived in a reusable lined box with a magnetic flap closure and with an embroidered cotton shoe bag, a beaded and satin toe cushion and bamboo shoe tree. The packaging just might be more beautiful than the shoes themselves. 

I held my breath as I slipped them on. I’m in love but heartbroken at the same time, and I’ll probably have to return them. Can you guess why? It’s my darn bunions, especially on my left foot. There’s no heel but the shoes are stiff unlike my Repetto ballet flats that are like being barefoot (but probably worse for your feet without any support) or my Tory Burch’s signature flats that feel fine for the first three to four hours before the rubbing against the sides of my toes becomes really annoying.

I go back and forth with the big question those of us with bunions consider -- whether to have surgery or not. I’ve been to two podiatrists and one orthopedic surgeon over the years. The first podiatrist dissuaded me from having the surgery for the usual reasons—the real possibility the bunions could reoccur and the long and painful recovery time. He wouldn’t even allow his wife to have the operation. (They had two small children and who would take care of them!) The second one gave me inserts but had her scalpel at the ready. She is a regular contributor to network news, a number of women’s magazines and the book, Bad Shoes and The Women Who Love Them (I’m afraid that’s me). Her overall mantra is that high heels destroy your feet. The surgeon I saw advised against surgery all together for the most reassuring and persuasive reason—my type of bunions wouldn’t keep me from being active later in life.

Strappy sandal

So medically, I’m good to go, jog, run, Zumba! But aesthetically, my feet are not so good to look at and it’s not that easy to camouflage distorted big toes. Numerous pedicures are not a cure for toes that deviate in the wrong directions. Shoe shopping—once fun—has now become a soulful event as I eliminate designer shoes because the toe box isn’t wide enough and pretty sandals because a strap cuts across and puts too much pressure on the knobby area. Must I reject my Charles Philip slippers too? Is there nothing I can do? 

Thong sandal

I went online again where you can find non-surgical treatments such as toe spacers, night splints, bunion booties, padded inserts, shoe stretchers and more. Do any of these work? I don’t know, does anyone?  I also found a very helpful discussion board at YouLookFab.com, which addresses some of these recommendations. In addition, a search will return BarkingDogShoes.com that specializes in “fashionable finds for fussy feet.” It’s an attractive and informative site but you won’t find any Manolo’s or Jimmy Choo’s here.  

Even my Tods
hurt after an hour!

At least for summer, I have my gold Italian thong sandals and another black pair where the straps just miss the bumps on the sides of my feet….as long as no one stares at my feet for too long. I have  flats and some heels that I can wear for limited periods of time and for as long as the bunions don’t get any worse. I’m going to look into those non-surgical devices more seriously and would welcome comments as to which ones are more successful. But that still leaves me with what to do about the Charles Philip slippers? Well . . . if nothing else, they make a nice still life.