Keen Barcelona (W)
Based on classic Mary Jane styling, the Barcelona can be dressed up or down. With a soft suede upper, an instep strap with gore, and leather lining, this shoe can span your day from workplace to yoga studio. |
Keen La Jolla (M)
Walk the fashionable Broadway to the boardwalk at the beach with the La Jolla — a classic fisherman-style shoe made with leather straps and extra cushioning to make your last step feel as good as the first. |
Børn Crouch (M)
For men, a sturdy thong-styled shoe with true sports appeal. Soft, full-grain leather or nubuck teams with a lightweight, rubber outsole with textured tread. |
Gentle Souls® Gabby (W)
Kenneth Cole’s take on a comfort shoe: A leather ballerina flat features flaxseed memory pillows embedded in the footbed. Flaxseeds — a hard-shelled grain — mold to the shape of your foot, providing extra support that resists compression, giving you long-lasting comfort. |
Merrell Carousel (W)
Another twist on the mighty Mary Jane: This time Merrell makes the defining instep strap out of pliable translucent plastic. The Breakwater Dune™ sole has full peripheral protection, including a discreet toe bumper. |
Merrell World Outlook (M)
Simple styling makes this full-grain leather slide a top choice for casual summer wear. But don’t let the easy lines fool you: The interior is all Merrell, from its anti-bacterial footbed to its signature polyurethane Air Cushion™ midsole. |
Crocs, all styles (U)
If your job is to stand and deliver, Crocs are a popular alternative to Danskos. Made from molded rubber, these lightweight, colorful shoes pack a strong feel-good punch and can be hosed off at the end of the shift. |
Merrell Tremor Convertible
(W) (M)
Merrell — with its Q-Form™ natural stride alignment technology and cutting-edge looks — is a solid choice for a trail shoe or rugged walking sandal. Easy removal of the padded backstrap turns it into a slide. |
Aravon Katy (W)
A few years ago, New Balance launched Aravon, a line of sandals and dress shoes designed to offer women a comfortable, foot-friendly dress shoe. The Katy features a removable foot-bed (perfect for orthotics) and three-strap slide with hook-and-loop closures. |
Ariat Ventura (W)
Ariat, a leader in equestrian footwear, takes cowboy casual to a new level of sophistication with its range of casual shoes and sandals. This strappy shoe has an all leather footbed and features premium full grain leather. To keep in the cowboy theme, the buckle is a stirrup. |
Børn Sinchi (W)
Børn is known for creating shoes with an extra-soft footbed. The Sinchi is a thong-styled shoe with a delicate heel strap, a combination designed to add stability to every step you take. |
Timberland®
Hedberg Slip-on (M)
This shoe features the Smart Comfort® system — designed to create a pressure-free zone around your foot, regardless if you are walking or standing. Durable rubber outsole combines performance with distinctive styling. |
Dansko Professional (U)
With its ultra-sturdy footbed, rock-solid sole, and durable leather upper, the Dansko Professional clog is popular with medical professionals, those who work in retail, and anyone who has paced the cement floor at trade shows. |
Keen Humbolt (M)
Targhee II (W)
Known for its funky black toe guard and spacious, adjustable fit, Keens are the footwear of choice for an increasing number of hikers and urban walkers. |
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Shoe Karma:
Picking the Right One
What Makes a Good Casual Shoe?
Two local doctors offer tips for buying casual shoes that are sure to leave your feet feeling frisky by day’s end:
“From a biomechanical standpoint, the shoe should feel good the minute you put it on and stand up. It should be no more complicated than that,” explains Bryan Baisinger, DC, owner of Clearwater Clinic, based in Portland, OR. “There should be an immediate, gut-level response, much like buying a mattress.”
What happens when a feel-good shoe suddenly feels not-so-good?
“If the shoe is a style different than what you are used to wearing, some muscles have to elongate and others contract.” It takes time, he adds, to “recalibrate” the body’s response to new shoes.
Says Glenn Ingram, Jr, a naturopathic doctor who practices at
Portland-based Northwest Foot and Ankle Clinic, a good shoe has
no heel, a wide toe box, and encourages the wearer to “stand as if barefoot in the shoe.”
A wide toe box is a function of length and width, he explains. “Most shoes are wide enough at the ball of the foot, but what most people don’t realize is that their foot is widest at the end of their toes.”
Comfort can be deceiving, too: “You don’t want to wear a shoe that doesn’t feel good, but the nerves in the feet are designed to take punishment — they can’t be aggravated by every little thing or you’d be in pain all the time.”
Skip the notion that you’ll get used to a snug fitting shoe. Instead, test a shoe’s width by pulling out the insole and standing on it. Spread your toes out as much as possible and check to be sure your entire foot is comfortably centered on the pad. “Toes should be “straight instead of smooshed together, and the big toe should line up with rest of foot, not jutting in. If your toes run off the side of the liner, they will be pushed in when you stand up and walk,” Ingram explains.
High on Heels
An ongoing controversy surrounds women wearing high-heeled shoes. “If a woman is physically flexible, and has a stable ankle, wearing a high-heeled shoe with a narrow heel is not” going to a problem, Baisinger notes. In fact, many of his clients — women between the ages of 40 and 60 who have worn heels for the balance of their professional careers — don’t have lot of ankle problems, and appear to have well-conditioned calves.
Ladies, take note: Baisinger is talking about ankles, not the damage done to feet squeezed into too-small or pointy-toed shoes. Your shoe, no matter what kind it is, heeled or a weekend walker, has got to fit properly, and an “accommodation period,” that includes a warm-up and a stretch, needs to be followed when switching between shoe styles.
Before engaging in any “forceful activity, you want to warm up first,” he explains. “Police officers can be in good condition but if they go from sitting in their patrol car to a foot chase, they can sustain far more injury than someone who is in a martial arts class, because that person is already warmed up.” The transition, from sedentary to active, or from heeled shoes to racing flats, needs to be thorough, he adds.
Resources
www.aravonshoes.com
www.ariat.com
www.bornshoes.com
www.crocs.com
www.dansko.com
www.elnaturalista.com
www.keenfootwear.com
www.kennethcole.com
www.merrellboot.com
www.timberland.com
Amenity Shoes
503-282-4565
Clearwater Clinic
503-279-0205
Northwest Foot & Ankle Clinic
503-243-2699
Shoes-n-Feet
1-888-994-FEET |
