Being vaguely work-casual stylish with a buggered ankle

[NinjaOfEnnui]

I managed to fall over on my ankle on Wednesday evening and it is now several times its normal size and exciting shades of bruise. I can hobble around on it and have just got a lovely neoprene ankle strap thing, but I'm sadly coming to the conclusion it may not be 100% normal by Thursday when I have a work trip. Not formal at all - sort of civil service stuff, so smart casual will be absolutely fine, but my current feeling-sorry-for-myself wfh wardrobe of loungewear won't hack it.

I would normally wear something like a cotton dress/ skirt to this kind of thing, but I'm not convinced I will have the ankle dexterity for anything as complex as tights or boots by then. Possibly wide leg trousers/ jeans? But I'm slightly worried at the best of times I'll trip over the hems as they all seem so long. But anything cropped/ slimmer may be problematic or ugly with the ankle strap.

I'm also not sure about shoes. Trainers will be ok, but nothing I currently have fits over the strap/ comically large ankle, so I may need to get some half a size bigger. Are those ones with the zips at the sides possibly forgiveable in the circumstances? They look comfy....

Has anyone else solved this issue? Thanks!

I broke a bone in my foot last year, and wide leg trousers were my friend. In the first few weeks I had a big plastic boot, but once I stopped wearing that I found I couldn't squeeze my injured foot into trainers so I spent a lot of time wearing my ugly but comfy velcro walking sandals.... luckily it was early summer by then.

If you can find some footwear you can squeeze into (loafers? your most comfy trainers?) and cover your ankle with full length trousers, no-one will know. Wide leg smart trousers and trainers are perfectly acceptable office wear.

Thank you! Ouch - a break would be even worse. Yes, I did consider sandals but that may be a step too far in the North in February....even with thick socks. I think I am with you that wide legs with a belt to stop them getting longer over the day is the way forward. And I remembered I have some too-big-really trainers that I never got round to returning, which may be coming into their own. I'll give them a test-walk tomorrow.

Have you had it x rayed?

Honestly, I’d just be comfy. Even my City employers 30 yrs ago were quite forgiving with regard to my ruptured Achilles tendon.

Yes! A colleague basically threw me off a teams call to go down to the minor injuries unit on Thursday morning when I was bemoaning my misfortune. All sorts of horror stories... But on finding it not broken the nurse told me to put some peas on it and left me to hobble back out of the hospital, so I'm sort of finding my own way from there!

True - I don't think anyone would care really. But I would like to look faintly respectable, as I don't get out much and seeing people in person is quite a big thing (v 2021 I know). But I think I'm ok with respectable and comfy.

Get yourself an orthopaedic boot:

https://amzn.eu/d/0aCSnOYi (or similar)

and then dress normally around it.