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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

..to find toe post shoes are the work of the devil

76 replies

ElenorRigby · 19/09/2013 19:07

Good grief, I would really find toe post sandals really handy day to day especially in summer.

Thing is I cant stand the feel of a toe posts.

So I thought damn cheap flip flops and bought some Birkenstocks.

I cant stand them either Sad

Anyone else cant stand the feel of toe posts?

OP posts:
ThreeBeeOneGee · 19/09/2013 22:48

Not only am I unable to wear them (the very idea makes me feel a bit ill) but I don't even like seeing them on other people's feet.

CuttedUpPear · 19/09/2013 22:48

It's not just me?
Turns my stomach, the thought of having anything there

minouminou · 19/09/2013 22:53

I love toe posts, although when I bust them out in Feb or March (yes, really) I need to have a breaking-in period.
Birkies....I have danced all night in them. Fab.

I live in toe posts and Birkies, generally from March to November.
But, if they don't fit you, they're going to hurt.
I have Morton's toe (when the second tow is longer than the big toe), and a big gap in between these toes, so my feet are ideal for toe posts and open sandals.

CelticPromise · 19/09/2013 23:00

I hate them as a rule, especially on heels, how could that not hurt? But I find flip flops ok.

And I love my single strap birkies and wear them all summer.

Saffyz · 19/09/2013 23:17

Who would wear such uncomfortable bits of plastic that fall off if you try to do anything like walk fast, run, climb steps, or basically move your feet anywhere apart from a very horizontal shuffle?

Proper fastenable sandals all the way!

WetAugust · 19/09/2013 23:20

They don't fall off if they are well fitted. You can also scrunch your toes to give additional traction if necessary.

nopanicandverylittleanxiety · 19/09/2013 23:21

I don't mind them after a few uncomfy days getting used yo them again each year.

However, they are clearly the work of the devil when put on tots and young children. Uncomfy shoes like that shouldn't even be made in tiny sizes imo

liquidstate · 19/09/2013 23:22

I have Birkenstocks without toe posts. Very comfy.

I hate toe posts also, I think its because my toes are very close together.

womblingalong · 19/09/2013 23:22

Proper fastenable sandals look awful IMO, and I don't understand why people find flip flops painful, i find they are really comfy, as are Birkenstocks, although with birkies you do need a couple of days to get used to them.

RaspberryRuffle · 19/09/2013 23:33

Love them, easier to stay on than flip flops without toe-post, I can run in them, have some v confy ones on now. DH thought they were the devil's work, I bought him 2 pairs and made encouraged him to persevere by using reverse psychology saying I knew he wouldn't master them and lo and behold he's a big fan and I even caught him shoving my flip flops on to go out and collect the washing as he cba to go and get his own. He looked vair ridiculous with his heels hanging over the edge but the clothes are indoors.

BlingBang · 19/09/2013 23:37

Ok - WTF is toe post sandals?

Saffyz · 19/09/2013 23:42

BlingBang they are things like this where there's a post between the toes.

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 19/09/2013 23:45

I hate all toe posts
Except Gabor lanzarote sandals
They are so comfortable I wear them as soon as I can in spring, as long as I can in autumn and as indoor shoes at home. They are loooovely

AndFanjoWasHisNameO · 19/09/2013 23:49

Oh thank God! There are more of us Grin
My toes are actually scrunching up reading this thread.
I've long been the party piece for pissed friends because when I try tie posts on-I actually baulk (and have even vomited on several occasions Hmm). I was like it as a child too and have even considered therapy for all the lovely shoes I've missed out on over the years Sad

Ponderfully · 20/09/2013 00:01

Another toe post hater here! I'm jealous of people that can wear them. I think I need to toughen up a bit. By next summer I shall change over to the dark side.

fluffyraggies · 20/09/2013 07:17

I couldn't wear them till my mid 20s. I would try a random pair on at the shops each summer, think OW! Damn! And not try again for a year ....

Then i thought bugger this - and i conquered it!

My tips (If you want to wear them and struggle) :

  • find the lightest weight kind of flip flop you can. ie: the very light typical rubber/foam flip flop you might wear round a pool.
  • make sure the top post is a nice smooth cylinder. Not a flat piece of leather/plastic.
  • wear them for half an hour at a time. Maybe twice a day. round the house.
  • unless you can see actual damage being done to your foot ignore the pain! I would say after a few days of this you will have broken yourself in Grin There's no need to develop hard skin there or anything. It really is more of a desensitising issue.
MrsMook · 20/09/2013 07:32

I get on fine with them- another big gap between toes here.

Ballet pumps/ court shoe style on the other hand... My foot is wide but my heel is slim so they always have a similar effect to a cheese grater. Shoes always break my feet in first.

Hissy · 20/09/2013 07:43

I broke my little toe the week before end of term.

Have not been able to wear anything BUT flipflops all summer. Even when visiting rainy Manchester, freezing underground caves, muddy fields. Nothing else would last a minute on my foot.

Now it's too cold for sandals and flipflops and i'm forced into shoes and boots again, and it's awful!

I miss the flipflops! I know that's not helpful. Sorry.

I do feel your pain albeit in a shoe on the other foot kinda way.

did you see what I did there

Allthingspretty · 20/09/2013 08:00

I am not sure if you can still get them but I did remember seeing some gel cushion things for flip flops and toe post sandals to help with the discomfort of the toe post

Sillysarah49 · 20/09/2013 08:09

I could weep with joy to have discovered I am not alone. I was traumatised by flip flops as a young child and have never recovered. Just looking at them makes me feel physically sick.

GiddyStars · 20/09/2013 08:16

Love flip flops, especially Havs. I would wear them all year round if I could but try to stretch it to April - September if possible sometimes I just wear them when it's freezing and look like a dick Grin

They are incredibly comfortable, BUT you do need to go through The Summer Of Pain. I did it when I was about 18, spent the summer rubbed raw and armed with plasters but thereafter have been fine for many happy years.

Ballet pumps and slip on high heels on the other hand...never found a pair that don't hurt, I am a flip flops, trainers / converse or boots girl. When I worked in the city I was fine in heels though, could run for the train in them and everything, but since I don't really wear them anymore I've lost my high heel mojo.

I think it's a combination of everyone having very differently shaped feet and getting used to what you wear most of the time.

SelectAUserName · 20/09/2013 08:18

I feel as though I've come home

I hate them, it's like wearing raggy metal between my toes and the effort of keeping them on gives me cramp of the calves. I'll stick with my cushion sole heel strap sandals thanks, even if they do make me look 103.

Veneto · 20/09/2013 08:32

Joining the I hate toe posts club. Didn't know there were so many like minded people around. I do actually have a pair of flip flops for holiday and can just about manage to wear them from sunbed to pool. Makes my feet hurt just thinking about it. What happened to choice? beach sandals without toe posts don't seem to exist anymore Sad.

Shodan · 20/09/2013 08:35

I can't wear them- I must have very odd feet. When I put them on the whole of the back of each foot goes off to the side.

No fair, cos there are lots of pretty ones and the alternatives are not so pretty.

WilsonFrickett · 20/09/2013 09:41

We need a MN campaign, for pretty sandals without the toepostofboak.

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