My new shoes....

These were a TOTAL impulse purchase. Someone posted about these on Ravelry, and I saw them, and wanted them. They're about $40, and I'm considering it part of the use of my "summer bonus" (We all got 1.5% of our base salary - in my case, a bit over $700 after taxes and deductions - as a bonus, because my uni has the money now, and because the uni president says he wanted to thank people for bearing up so well under the budget cuts).

Anyway - I needed a new pair of Mary Jane type shoes, and so I thought I'd give Hot Chocolate a try. (These were on sale. Most of their shoes run closer to $70, which is maybe kind of a lot for what you get, as I'll note later....)

They came today - they offer free 2-day shipping. I don't know if that's a special thing right now, or if it's a "first-time customer" thing or an always thing. But I think I ordered these Friday and they were here today which is super fast.

And they come packaged in a really cute way:



It's like a milk carton! Which makes them easy to ship but maybe isn't want you really want IF you keep your shoes in their original boxes, because the things holding it closed (like plastic snaps) kind of break when you open it. Or maybe I opened too forcefully...

The shoes are cloth. That's good from some standpoints but it also tells me I won't be able to wear them on days when we're likely to get downpours because I suspect they'd get ruined from getting heavily wet - on the carton it suggests using an art eraser to clean them if they get lightly soiled, or to gently surface wash with a dampened and very wrung-out washcloth if they're heavily soiled. I am guessing the paint on them isn't super sturdy.

They remind me a lot of the little cheap "Chinese cloth shoes" that I bought at an import shop in Akron and wore a lot during my high school years (and probably that's why my ankles and knees are not the greatest any more; those shoes had no support). That's why I said the $70 price tag might be a bit much for what you get, given the construction. (I do think these are better made though than the Chinese "peasant woman" shoes I used to buy for $5 - the soles in particular are sturdier).

I bought a size 38 and they are a tiny bit loose on me with pantyhose:



The toebox is very wide so if you suffer from bunions or ingrown toenails these actually might be a good choice of shoes - possibly part of the "loose" feel to me is that many of my closed dress shoes have a tighter toe box. Also, I may try the orthotics I am really supposed to wear and see if they will fit in these - they might take up a little of the looseness and that would give more support.

These might be better as "church" shoes. 

I'm not sure these would be great teaching shoes - they are kind of flat, and they seem not to have much padding, and when you're on your feet for four or more hours a day on floors that are a thin layer of tile over concrete, you need a little padding on your feet.

I originally bought these with the thought of wearing with handknit socks in the fall/winter, on days that are cold enough where slacks seem a smarter fashion choice than a skirt. But I think these would be awfully cute with the right dress.

Unfortunately, the pink M. Mac dress I have on today doesn't REALLY match that well with the orange butterflies....but I still might wear the shoes to CWF tonight.