That's it, I wore (supposedly comfy, correct-sized) new sandals for 10 mins today and my feet are shredded ...

[Steamedcabbage]

I'm sick and tired of constantly having to strap them up and mince around painfully in the summer.

What in heaven's name does everyone wear on their stumps in this heat?

I'm nearly 50, have thin ankles (only bit of me that is thin mind you ) am generally rather porky, and my feet have kind of "spread" somehow ("like pancake mixture in a frying pan" as my 9 yr old dd so helpfully put it ).

All I want are some comfy shoes ...

Eugh - sorry - that should have read "correctly sized" of course

Birkenstock types with thick soles and thick straps, sometimes get a bit of rubbing the first day out for the year but fine after that. I have very wide feet and need arch support, so choices are fairly limited, but I never buy anything with thin straps or completely flat soles, except for evening out wear (ie limited walking).

Fitflops. No rubbing and every step is like walking on air. Walk miles and miles in mine.

Birkenstocks!! absolutely! I have only discovered them this year, thanks to mumsnet, got them for £25 from TK Maxx and for the first time ever I have comfy feet in summer!! DH even commented that they must be comfy because I hadn't mentioned them. I shall be buying many more pairs!!

Thanks Whoknows

I've never worn Birkenstocks before - might give them a go - will research on -line ...

I have difficulty accommodating the thin ankles AND the wide feet ...it can look wierd if I for something too hefty (but probably need to reassess as am not exactly Tinkerbell atm)

Always vasaline between skin and new shoes, assuming they aren't fabric. Rub scandal wax on fabric shoes where they touch skin.

(talc where neither candle wax or vasaline is possible)

I have a similarly freaky uncle foot width ratio, mules are good.

Nothing that can't be worn with trainer liner type socks. I hate the feeling of shoes sticking to my feet and the pavements around here are really worn and gritty. My feet are like whoknows' feet, so I either wear a cool trainer (no luck finding any this year) or vivobarefoot shoes, out and about - they don't have any arch support but my ankles and knees are really liking the fact that they allow my feet to spread for stability.

If I'm walking on the beach and don't want to wear socks, I wear crocs (which I also wear at home), but I understand that crocs represent neither style nor beauty.

OK - another vote for Birkenstocks noted - thank you LittleLamb! Will definitely try ...

Do have flipflops Hermione but tend to wear slightly more classic/formal clothes (only type my figure will allow these days ) so can be a bit of a mismatch sometimes

Will definitely try the Vaseline and candle wax tips MrsLettuce thank you! (Never heard of latter before!)

Keens if you can afford them.

These have been really comfortable this year They do them is a red and blue as well. Agree about no thin soles or straps

MrsLettuce arf at freaky uncle

Thanks - will remember talc too!!

Ourvye have just googled Vivobarefootshoes and like these very much and they look stylish in a casual context so thanks for recommendation, but in a way, croc-type informal shoes aren't the problem, it's finding something slightly smarter that is more difficult ...

For example, if I were to wear trainer type shoes with the cut off jeans and shirt I wore today, I would look really dumpy or more dumpy than usual. It's that "middle-aged American tourist on holiday look" that I am trying to avoid ....

Maybe the secret is just not caring and prioritising comfort over style though ...

A pair of comfy socks sounds like absolute bliss right now I have to say ...

And the shoes I was wearing were M&S footglove variety so not exactly epitome of high style in first place ...

Birkies come in two widths.

Can't remember which is which. One is a solid gold footprint and the other is a gold outline of the footprint.

Try Reef flip flops.

Trust me it'll change your life!

I struggle with the smarter end of things (same in winter to be honest). I have some scholl sandals from last summer which are a bit more smart and can still be walked in for a couple of hours (possibly not all day). Will do a bit of googling, see if I can find a link.

There are some smarter styles of Croc now. I have just bought some of their flip flops, but they only arrived today so not really tried yet, howver they seem super comfy so far.

x posts

Ooh I do like the Keens - thanks Expat but ditto what I said in response to Ourvye - really looking for shoes to wear in smart/casual context.

You can't get away with being as casual when you are my age (sadly) For example, you can see a lovely young girl at a festival say, who is wearing quite chunky shoes with casual shorts/t-shirt type outfit and she will look fab. Transfer same outfit to middle-aged lumpy women and it's a "nun on holiday" scenario.

Actually, nuns' shoes might not be such a bad idea after all

SwedishEdith think the girl in the picture looks great in the shoes you recommended - thanks - but sadly, reckon I would look like a Roman centurion in them

Appreciate everyone's responses though!

I have two pairs of Birkies, identical except for colour. One pair is comfy, one pair rips my feet to bits. No idea why.

Birkies come in an 'n' fitting and a 'm' fitting. M are the wide fit. My feet are really wide but birkies are so comfy!

I bought some fit flips and the bit that goes between the toes rubbed my skin so badly I never wanted to wear them again! Would Vaseline help? Was going to give them to charity so someone else could have the pleasure of suffering them but pissed off at the waste of money...

More responses - thank you -

Didn't know that about Birkenstock sizing thank you Shattered will investigate

Yay PicturePuncture think you have cracked it! Absolutely love the Reef website - only looked it over for 30 seconds and in that time saw at least five definite possibles!! Thank you!!

Thanks again Whoknows will investigate Smart Crocs too!!

Brilliant everyone - thanks again - loads of fab leads/recommendations - my feet will be eternally grateful!

Rieker sandals are incredibly comfortable - you don't even notice them. However, they're not usually the most attractive, which is a shame.

OK Ivana and Ilovemydog both points noted for when I investigate Birkies - thanks!

Sympathies Scarlet [hands over the Compeed and Micropore]

Another one for the list - thanks Cally!

Another thought, I keep getting catalogues from Moshulu through the post, having bought the comfiest slippers I have ever owned from them a few years ago, they have some lovely sandals that I am very tempted with even though I already have lots of comfy sandals (it's shoes I really struggle with, but that's another thread).

Oooh those look really promising too Whoknows it is great to have all these links to sites I've never heard of - esp. with living abroad - tend to be slightly out of the loop