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Added to the list of "things Sami should only do while ADHD-medicated": Shop. Historically, I HATE shopping, and have always had a strong tendency, after a quite short period of time, to have a brain spasm of argh hate must get away from this hideous shopping experience and, if I'm shopping for something I Need (which I usually am, because I hate shopping, and don't do it unless I have to), just get whatever Will Do and go. Which means I don't really get the best thing, as a rule.
This has generally interacted badly with my periodic need to acquire shoes, because my feet are wide and have a high instep; most shoes that are the right length are too narrow, too low, or both. In order to get shoes into which my feet can physically fit, I've often ended up buying shoes that are too long, almost clown-shoeishly long on occasion. (More than once, in past years, someone seeing me without shoes on for the first time has exclaimed: "Your feet are tiny!" They're really not, but in comparison to my giant shoes of yesteryear, it can be noticable.)
In the last few years, I've just always bought Skechers. They're expensive, and, I have to say, not particularly sturdy, but with Skechers I could consistently get shoes that looked okay and fit with only an inch at most of excess length at the toe.
However, my last wearable-for-walking-long-distances pair of Skechers have been falling apart; the soles are coming off in places, the lining has worn away and they get very uncomfortable if I walk too far in a day and threaten to blister. Setting aside that blisters are annoying and hurty, I was raised by parents (my father in particular) who are adamant about wearing shoes that don't damage your feet; I don't wear tapered, I don't wear shoes that are too narrow, I don't wear shoes that hurt. My feet have never been subjected to such things, my toes are entirely undeformed by tight shoes or pinchy toes, and I have internalised this as The Only Sane Choice. (Besides which, I have enough issues with pain without wrecking my feet or wearing shoes that cause me pain.) Wearing uncomfortable shoes feels like deliberate self-harm.
So yesterday I went shoe shopping. In the afternoon, when my medication was in effect. I tried a couple of places in town in passing, but really, I went to Harbour Town, a factory-outlet complex thing near City West. I wandered around feeling sort of lost and out of my depth, it's true, but I went to a few shops there; the first several had shoes I liked okay, but they had them in every size except mine; the difference ADHD meds make is that around the point where normally I'd be getting a size too big and just lacing them tighter, I was able to conclude that they weren't really right, so I'd keep looking.
And lo, at Transit, there was a sale table with a bunch of random shoes on it that were the last of their types, and among them were two pairs of walking shoes. (Boots? They're ankle height, the sort of height we called high-tops in the 80s.)
The first pair I tried were fractionally, millimetres too tight in the toes. The kind of tight where I'm not sure if it'll cause me problems, and maybe they'll stretch just enough, and...
But then I remembered an odd detail. The ones I was trying were (men's) size US 7, UK 7.5, Euro 41. But the other pair on the table were US 7, UK 7.5, Euro 41.5. So I tried the other pair, and they were an absolutely perfect fit. Sold! (For $70, marked down from $200; I'm not sure I'd actually pay $200 for them, but they were definitely worth $70 to me. So far they give every impression of actually being damn good shoes.)
Chas suggested that this meant the shoes were probably either made in Europe for Europe (unlikely), or just on either side of a machine retooling or something.
I think it means that the European sizing system is clearly deeply, profoundly superior, because half a European size is enough to make a difference between Right and Not Right.
Side-diatribe: Why are men's and women's shoe sizes different? I realise that there are good reasons for men's and women's clothing to be differentiated; male and female bodies are, on average, different shapes. Women are more likely to need a bit (or a lot) more room in the chest, men are more likely to need a bit more room in the pants. Women are more likely to have hips. Etc.
But I'm pretty sure there's no meaningful differences in the shape of feet. Feet are foot-shaped. A lot of the shoes I've worn in my life have been, nominally, men's shoes, because by the dictates of fashion it's sometimes been hard to get shoes for women that fit me. I've generally defaulted to wearing runners (sneakers, trainers, what have you), it's true, but my "dressy" shoes are theoretically men's shoes, because I needed something that was business-appropriate but Sensible and flat of heel, so I have a pair of plain black leather shoes that came from the men's shelf.
Meanwhile, some men want dressy, sparkly, high-heeled pumps I wouldn't be caught dead in, and some girls have to shop in transvestite-aimed places because they have bigger-than-average feet themselves. It's a bastion of unquestioned sexism and transphobia, and I'm only about 20% kidding, because there is this implicit message of they're not FOR you! about shopping in a section not compatible with your gender identity.Current Location: Arts: ALR9 Current Mood:  calm Current Music: a linguistics lecture *cough*
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Anyone interested in helping ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif) alias_sqbr out with Feminism 101, head here. I don't have the spoons for this one...
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