Shoes, please! Am confined to compression stockings for the summer...

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

As the topic says: I've been diagnosed with a DVT in my leg, and have to wear compression stockings now . I'm generally happy in jeans etc, but in the summer months I do usually break out the skirts and dresses. I'll have to wear these for two years so it'll be worth finding a nice pair (or two or three) of shoes which can be worn with black stockings and a skirt or dress.

I know for most of you this request probably sounds silly, but in the summer I'm usually in sandals, etc, and in the winter I wear tall boots with tights or leggings. I've not 'done' shoes with black stockings and a skirt before, and I'd love some ideas please.

I'm 35 years old, tend to wear dark colours (might border on the gothy if I'm honest, but really just a border , have black hair and pale skin so I think it's just my natural look). So, I'd be happy with something a bit funky, in fact I might as well as the stupid stockings are going to look so silly during warmer months anyway. I am, however, also open to looking at flats.. as much as I dislike them.

So please, help! Am off to read my son a book, will check this in a little bit. Thank you so much.

I wore them for some weeks earlier this year. I previously had to wear them in May/ June which was more of a stretch. Maxi skirts are your friend and fortunately are in fashion and could be cool in summer. They go well with a goth look.

Also I wore knee length skirts with leggings and biker boots, would be hot in summer though.

I don't normally like irregular choice but I do like their alternative Union Flag take on all the Jubilee tat.

These are reasonably priced thigh length TEDs and have a closed toe which seems better then the ones we have in the hospital.

Great find there BensonBunny! So, stocking and suspenders sorted?

shoes of many and various sorts have arranged themselves for inspection, unfortunately not thus. The limitations of technology hey?

a bit more casual

quirky tbar

love these, been trying to find an excuse to link for ages!

more monochrome print

kitten heel brights, pink, orange, and green - 16 quid a pop so worth considering

tartan for a touch of VW without the price

you need some leopard and these are 'non-stardard IYSWIM

enough newlook links for now, but there are plenty more to be had there I think.

famously maligned but certainly special

kink-tastic

bright wedges, two good colours there but maybe off track

studded slingbacks

and cherry red DMs, obviously

Are we going to have to have the peeptoes-and-stockings debate?

Have been gone and am checking back, thanks for all of the replies!

Benson oh that's great! I've not seen any around that price. I will order a pair and bookmark that site for later.

herecomesthesun I want to like maxi dresses, but I'm never sure they look good on women my size. (I'm a 18/20, and 5'8) I could try them. If I knew how to pair a top with a long skirt I might give it a go. There could be another thread coming out of that, actually. I'm a bit pathetic when trying something new, fashion-wise.

MrsLettuce wow again! Okay I hate to admit but I will probably not go for the heels, lovely as they are. I do have some but they rarely see the light of day as I only wear them when going out. Mid-heels I'll wear on a daily basis if they're comfy, so I'll start with smaller ones for now.

DMs, okay, what sort of dress/ skirt do those actually look acceptable with? I've seen others pull it off, but I question my own funkiness if I even consider it. I've got a pair of purple velvet DMs still which I could make use of, and I've liked some of the newer ones I've sen.

What is the verdict on peep toes with tights, then? :) I have some lovely peep-toe slingbacks which I suppose are relegated to the wardrobe for the foreseeable future.

Also, I just typo'd "pee-toes" which made me laugh.

Thanks for the help, ladies!

I love the idea of dying them and treating them as stockings (if you can get them in white...) I wold have thought navy, grey, purple etc would be easier to dress.

Have you thought of teaming them with tonic tops. Maxi dresses and skirts?

Dare i mention Boden? They have a sale on at the moment and lots of tonic tops

www.boden.co.uk/en-GB/Womens-Tunics-Kaftans.html

Dorethy perkins have some good maxis in ...will try and find a few links

Sigh....tunic tops not tonic tops!!!

Link to Dorethy perkins maxis www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogNavigationSearchResultCmd?langId=-1&storeId=12552&catalogId=33053&beginIndex=1&viewAllFlag=false&pageSize=20&searchTermScope=3&searchTermOperator=LIKE&searchType=ALL&sort_field=Relevance&searchTerm=Maxi&x=0&y=0

oh dear I shouldn't have looked at the Boden link. Of course the one I liked isn't on sale this shade of green usually looks great with my hair and skin. It's a bit pricey for me right now.

The purple butterfly print maxi dress at DP looks lovely. here. Any idea for a shrug or jacket that would look good with that?

A few people have mentioned dying white stockings.. what is a good dye to use for that sort of thing? Now that some lovely lady upthread has given a link to affordable stockings, I can pick up a pair of white ones and colour them if I were so inclined.

Thanks for the suggestions, btw, I do appreciate them.

M684 should give you 15% of Boden....

You might want to ask your doctor if you can cut off the feet or get footless compression stockings - then you can wear sandals.

Also, try pebbleuk for relatively stylish compression stockings and tights. I think they do some footless ones.

Hi, I had a DVT two years ago, so I've done two summers in the dreaded compression stockings. It's not much fun, is it?

As chandellina says, you can get footless compression stockings and I've found these more comfortable for the summer than the closed toe ones. If you can, get them in a flesh colour similar to your own skin tone. With a longish skirt / trousers and a pair of sandals on, you'll often find that nobody even notices you are wearing a stocking.

I'd also get the closed toe ones in a flesh colour as well. In my experience, they don't look as obvious under tights as the black ones (especially if you're wearing coloured tights).

The stockings I wear are by "Bauerfiend" and I get both open and closed toe ones on prescription. The only problem I've had is that my GP practice limit me to four stockings per year due to budget issues, so I'm forever washing the damn things. They do help with the leg pain though, so perservere.

Thank you both chandellina and florence. I'll have a look for footless stockings, and ask when I visit the warfarin clinic tomorrow if they think they'll be alright for my situation. Even toe-less would be a nice break, I imagine.

I really like the look of the Bauerfeind stockings! I chose black because 'nude' or whatever they call it looks terrible on my extremely pale skin (I joke about 'owning' the stockings above in the thread, but yes, I think wearing the standard nude shade looks just as obvious on my skin as wearing the black ones, so at least with black people won't think I'm just trying to have an American tan or something :) ). However, the Bauerfeind 'natural' shade looks quite pale and pinkish, and yes I think they would work well underneath leggings or tights. Now the only trouble there is, when I tried to look into prices and shopping, the website says I have to be a retailer to do so. Do you have a retail site you can purchase them from?

I'm having a look at pebbleuk now. I do appreciate these links- I wasn't finding anything searching on my own. Well, nothing under the 100 GBP mark.