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glasmalerei...which I will not announce in multi-scented rainbow hues with a gleeful fox grin, for those that know what I'm talking about. If you don't, then please ignore. In joke. ^_^
But! Seriously, TOES! The most comfortable and funkiest shoes EVER. At least for those of us who spend all of our time indoors barefoot. 'Cus hey! now the barefeet can be taken out of doors!
I had seen reference to them before and thought "wow, that's weird". Then I saw a guy in our neighborhood jogging in them and thought "...huh. That looks utterly bizarre but strangely comfortable". Yesterday I went and did research on it, and when REI customers are raving about the things with page after page of 5 star ratings and the only complaint being that they're a bit difficult to get on and off... well. There's an REI just a few blocks from my house, I actually have a membership there. So I took myself there after work, determined to try a pair on.
Turns out, they only had two pairs of women's shoes left, and one of them just happened to be in a 36 (which is close enough to my european size in most shoes as makes no difference). So I said sure, I'd try them on, and they just happened to be pair of the KSO model in pure black. More discreet than OMG neon, my preferred color, and the kind with the mesh top so they're essentially water gear - could be worn when kayaking, or, y'know, when splashing around in puddles.
They weigh about as much as an ultra-thin pair of flip flops. Or less. They're snug - very snug, I might actually need a 37 (it rubs just a bit on my large toe on the left side) but they do stretch so I'm going to cross my fingers and sluff around in them for a week or so and see how it goes. Getting your toes into them? WEIRD. And hard, the first time. I had to forcibly shove my smaller toes apart because they kept trying to fit two to a pocket. If you've ever done the toenail painting thing with the little wedges between them to splay your toes out? Yeah. Kinda feels like that. And yes, they are just as utterly dorktastic looking as you might expect. I imagine I might stop feeling self conscious about my feet eventually. =P
I was meandering around the shoe section in them just to try them out and got accosted by a nice older oriental women who was utterly fascinated by them - what are they? are they comfortable? how much are they? could she take a closer look? are they good for your feet?? I had to admit that the toes were weird, but really, they were awful damned comfortable. Enough so that I bought them on the spot and wore them home (ok, admittedly, I was determined to get a pair if they were at all comfortable because I can't even express how much I hate tennis shoes, and they WERE comfortable, but after squeezing my feet into them when I'd been in my work shoes and on my feet all day - read: my feet were hot and swollen and sticky and it's humid and HOT - I just did NOT feel up to the task of wrangling them back off again. =P) The saleswoman at REI told us both that they're pretty much insanely popular and assured the woman she didn't need to remember the brand name - just as for "those shoes with the toes" and they know what you mean. (another salesperson interrupted to add that really, just saying "THOSE shoes" was enough. They still know what you mean.)
Remember the bit about being good in water? Yeah. Thank goodness for that, because I was two blocks from home when the storm front moved in. And by that I mean the brief but very intense rain storm, which came in like a solid WALL. I heard this weird hissing behind me and turned around to look and then watched a solid wall of heavy rain sweeping advancing towards me from across the street. I had enough time to boggle at it, go "oh, shit!" and then laugh, because really, what else was I supposed to do? Soaked! Utter deluge. And the shoes were fine with it - if you've ever worn any sort of water shoe where it's not MEANT to keep the water out, it's just meant to be permeable mesh that lets the water in and then sluices it back out again - yeah. That's what these did. Got 'em home, slipped 'em off (much easier now that my feet had been cooled off by rain) and then did some more boggling for the next twenty minutes or so as my toes insisted on being splayed out instead of curling in like they normally do. Also, the balls of my feet are somewhat sore with muscles going "...bwuhh?!" This is, apparently, the whole point - to make your feet use all of their muscles, instead of just clumping around in heavy shoes.
I wore them into work today, with a pair of regular sandals as backup for when my toes get tired (everyone who did reviews of them DID say to take it slow and get used to wearing them because your toes just don't know WHAT to do with it). Still feels weird (in the "omg, am I even wearing shoes? wtf?" way and "omg TOES!" way) but getting progressively more comfortable. Really good traction, too. And hey, it cures me of the "scuffing my feet" habit that I have.
[wiggles foot] I have TOES!
But! Seriously, TOES! The most comfortable and funkiest shoes EVER. At least for those of us who spend all of our time indoors barefoot. 'Cus hey! now the barefeet can be taken out of doors!
I had seen reference to them before and thought "wow, that's weird". Then I saw a guy in our neighborhood jogging in them and thought "...huh. That looks utterly bizarre but strangely comfortable". Yesterday I went and did research on it, and when REI customers are raving about the things with page after page of 5 star ratings and the only complaint being that they're a bit difficult to get on and off... well. There's an REI just a few blocks from my house, I actually have a membership there. So I took myself there after work, determined to try a pair on.
Turns out, they only had two pairs of women's shoes left, and one of them just happened to be in a 36 (which is close enough to my european size in most shoes as makes no difference). So I said sure, I'd try them on, and they just happened to be pair of the KSO model in pure black. More discreet than OMG neon, my preferred color, and the kind with the mesh top so they're essentially water gear - could be worn when kayaking, or, y'know, when splashing around in puddles.
They weigh about as much as an ultra-thin pair of flip flops. Or less. They're snug - very snug, I might actually need a 37 (it rubs just a bit on my large toe on the left side) but they do stretch so I'm going to cross my fingers and sluff around in them for a week or so and see how it goes. Getting your toes into them? WEIRD. And hard, the first time. I had to forcibly shove my smaller toes apart because they kept trying to fit two to a pocket. If you've ever done the toenail painting thing with the little wedges between them to splay your toes out? Yeah. Kinda feels like that. And yes, they are just as utterly dorktastic looking as you might expect. I imagine I might stop feeling self conscious about my feet eventually. =P
I was meandering around the shoe section in them just to try them out and got accosted by a nice older oriental women who was utterly fascinated by them - what are they? are they comfortable? how much are they? could she take a closer look? are they good for your feet?? I had to admit that the toes were weird, but really, they were awful damned comfortable. Enough so that I bought them on the spot and wore them home (ok, admittedly, I was determined to get a pair if they were at all comfortable because I can't even express how much I hate tennis shoes, and they WERE comfortable, but after squeezing my feet into them when I'd been in my work shoes and on my feet all day - read: my feet were hot and swollen and sticky and it's humid and HOT - I just did NOT feel up to the task of wrangling them back off again. =P) The saleswoman at REI told us both that they're pretty much insanely popular and assured the woman she didn't need to remember the brand name - just as for "those shoes with the toes" and they know what you mean. (another salesperson interrupted to add that really, just saying "THOSE shoes" was enough. They still know what you mean.)
Remember the bit about being good in water? Yeah. Thank goodness for that, because I was two blocks from home when the storm front moved in. And by that I mean the brief but very intense rain storm, which came in like a solid WALL. I heard this weird hissing behind me and turned around to look and then watched a solid wall of heavy rain sweeping advancing towards me from across the street. I had enough time to boggle at it, go "oh, shit!" and then laugh, because really, what else was I supposed to do? Soaked! Utter deluge. And the shoes were fine with it - if you've ever worn any sort of water shoe where it's not MEANT to keep the water out, it's just meant to be permeable mesh that lets the water in and then sluices it back out again - yeah. That's what these did. Got 'em home, slipped 'em off (much easier now that my feet had been cooled off by rain) and then did some more boggling for the next twenty minutes or so as my toes insisted on being splayed out instead of curling in like they normally do. Also, the balls of my feet are somewhat sore with muscles going "...bwuhh?!" This is, apparently, the whole point - to make your feet use all of their muscles, instead of just clumping around in heavy shoes.
I wore them into work today, with a pair of regular sandals as backup for when my toes get tired (everyone who did reviews of them DID say to take it slow and get used to wearing them because your toes just don't know WHAT to do with it). Still feels weird (in the "omg, am I even wearing shoes? wtf?" way and "omg TOES!" way) but getting progressively more comfortable. Really good traction, too. And hey, it cures me of the "scuffing my feet" habit that I have.
[wiggles foot] I have TOES!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-30 11:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-31 05:31 pm (UTC)Hee. Toes!