Before moving to NY, I bought my ballet flats from Old Navy and my kid's shoes from Target. It suited us just fine. But since moving here and getting rid of our car, I learned really quickly that our shoes weren't cutting it. The life of cheap shoes was too short. Just walking the kids to school is .6 miles one way! So on top off all the playing and running around at school and after school, we add another 1.2 miles onto their shoes. My kids were wearing out their shoes before they grew out of them. It was so hard for me to buy new shoes in the same size. It felt wrong!
At lot of my friends joke that a few weeks into moving to NY, they realize they need a complete shoe make over. Not to keep up with the fashion pressure, but to survive! I look at shoes completely differently now. Did you do the same thing?
Good news! Remember this post I did about these Clarks shoes I bought for the boys? 50% off at Amazon now!
Only $30! I'm stocking up. Classic example of good solid cute NYC approved shoes.
This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.
Absolutely! In Manhattan, shoes are your #1 mode of transportation. They don't call it the urban jungle for nothing - it's rough. Most important are rain boots - so essential in the city!
ReplyDeleteTotally. I used to buy lots of cheap shoes, but now I have very few shoes but they're the best quality I can afford. Just plunked down money for my first pair of Frye boots, which really hurt, but I think they'll last forever! Those shoes you bought for your boys are adorable!
ReplyDeletegood idea. i better dust off my camera and start shooting pics.
ReplyDeletetotally! good rain boots! I bought cheap rain boots from Urban Outfitters and they got holes in them in less then 2 months. Boo. Hunters to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteOh my god, yes. We moved to NYC when my daughter was 5 and thought we could get away with Target...heck, no. She's 10 now and we still splurge a bit on the shoes. Land's End are our go-tos for her - they're comfortable, good quality, and reasonably priced.
ReplyDeleteI'm an Aerosoles gal, through and through...but, even then, I'm lucky if they get me through two seasons. I also...well, I hate to admit this...but, um, I recently bought my first pair of Danskos. I know they're ugly... But I'm almost 40! And walk miles a day! What's a gal to do?!
Lastly, on the same note, we actually have a cobbler now to fix our shoes! Never, in all my years living in California and Arizona, did I think that day would come...
Also, Joanna Goddard is all about the Bensimons, but I haven't tried them yet. I think I'll buy a pair this spring...
ReplyDeleteSomeone warned me of this before I moved here. I have a pair of boots with a nail in the insole. the nail is to keep them together :) I also have gotten a pair of fancy heels re-soled a few times. U gotta do what u gotta do.
ReplyDeleteI don't advise this because I think they're ugly, but My husband has maintained 2 pair of Dansko clogs this entire 5 years. 1 brown pair and 1 black pair and they're just now starting to look ragged.
you gotta give them the 10 block test! if they hurt after 10 measly blocks, they go back. yes, i've been known to clean up 10 block worn shoes and return them. you gotta do what you gotta do.
ReplyDelete$30-$40 is usually my limit for kids shoes (note: I do not live in a super pedestrian local) because you just can't find cool, unique styles for much less. Thanks for the sale tip...I love the plum suede ones. Those socks are also completely amazing!
ReplyDeleteI used to wear heels all.the.time until...moving to Toronto happened, and we didn't own a car, and we became hard users of the TTC (metro system) then I got rid of heels and ever since I live in flats, and the occasional heel (wedge that is).
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that *how* you walk affects how long it takes to wear out shoes as much as how much you walk! If you have gait problems (limps, etc) or if you have foot problems (pronation, etc) you will wear out shoes much faster than if you have "normal" gait and feet. I know because no matter how much I spend on a pair of shoes, they are worn out after six months - if I am lucky I can get one year out of them. :/ No brand of shoes has passed the test and it has never mattered the cost of them either - they all wear out within a year.
ReplyDeleteI am originally from Brazil, where I used to walk everywhere, all the time. So I was always buying new shoes, not because the fashion changed but because they would fall apart after a few months. After moving to the States, to the suburbs, I think that I spent about 5 years with my shoes as perfect as the day I arrived, I rarely had to walk anywhere! Having moved now to Hoboken, where I walk everywhere, one by one my shoes are getting a daily beat and showing signs of usage! Good thing that with the human body is the opposite, the more you use, the better it gets!
ReplyDeleteIn Spain the shoes your boys are wearing are called "pisamierdas" (won't translate that!) and used to be my favourites as a teenager.
ReplyDeleteYou should do a post on YOUR favorite shoes for living in Manhattan.
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These shoes are great. I usually need to take off any type of heel by noon time and switch to my sandals but not the case with these.
ReplyDelete