I discovered shoes relatively late in life.
As a teenager I wore Dr Martens, pretty much non stop. The Dr Martens website suggests that everyone remembers their first pair of Dr Martens. Well yes of course we did! They were SO painful to break in!! And in those days we had one pair of shoes at a time, so it was either wear them or go barefoot. I will never forget walking back from Poolbeg to Ranalagh (in Dublin) barefoot after a night out, because the alcohol was wearing off (Shh… my mum doesn’t DO blogs, but don’t tell her I was drunk at 16!) and my heels were bleeding! I had made the fatal mistake of taking them off for a bit, and there was no chance of me putting them back on after that, so I had to walk, in my socks. I think it must have been summer, because I don’t remember being cold. But maybe that was because the pain was so intense!
After that experience, I never threw out my old DM’s until my new ones were thoroughly broken in, but then you don’t throw out Docs anyway do you? That would be sacrilege! I wore through the soles of my first pair which is virtually unheard of, but I know they are in the attic somewhere…
I wore docs non stop until I started working, and even then just bought a pair of Primark shoes for working in, and still wore my Docs the rest of the time, summer or winter. I had no interest in shoes, Docs go with everything! Also any brief foray into the realm of pretty shoes just seemed intensely painful. Having never practised, I couldn’t balance in high heels, and any delicate shoes I bought both hurt and fell apart. I wasn’t wealthy so I had to prioritize my spending, and shoes were on the bottom of the list! Docs cost £16 and lasted at least 2 years. Shoes sorted 🙂
I am also tall, even by today’s standards. At 5’10” I am taller than most women and at eye level with most men. With 3″ heels I tower over the room. I never had that confidence when I was younger.
Eventually I grew out of wearing Docs every single day, but still wanted to be comfortable more than anything else in my shoes, so gravitated towards flat shoes for work & the more waterproof Ecco boots for weekends.
Ironically enough it was Dr Martens that got me into wearing heels! I had tried on a few occasions to find pretty shoes for occasions, but found that I couldn’t balance, and also wrecked them very quickly. One day in Brighton walking through the lanes I chanced upon a pair of DM’s in a shop window that caught my eye! Black patent, elegant shoes with 3″ chunky heels! I instantly tried them on and finding them wonderfully comfortable and very easy to walk in, for the first time in my life paid £50 for a pair of shoes! 
I was hooked 🙂 I bought these shoes about 10 years ago and they are still as good as new.
When I wear them I am 6’1″ and proud of it! They are amazing at job interviews, for teaching a class of 17 year old boys, or for concerts! I can wear them all day long and not even remember that i’m in heels unless someone comments about my height!
I’ve subsequently bought another 2 pairs of shoes & 2 pairs of boots all in a similar style from Dr Marten’s (Never ask me what I would like for my birthday or Christmas now!!), and then branched out a little in the last few years!
Once I realised that the secret to comfortable shoes usually involved paying quite a lot of money (the DM’s now cost between £80 and £165) I started hunting on eBay and then came across my new obsession; Irregular Choice!
My first pair were these;
Again, wonderfully comfortable due to the platform sole & solid (not springy) heels, and as for the teddies, well they just make me laugh 🙂
I was cautious before buying my first pair of stiletto heels, but again, design is everything. The ‘Abigail’s Party‘ range from Irregular Choice are wonderfully balanced, and come in so many colours! I have customised most of mine with different coloured ribbons instead of the material laces that they come with in order to bring out one of the many colours in the shoe to match a particular outfit. The world is my oyster (Or in my case, the haberdashery shop is my accessorise!)
I have skinny ankles (or expensive feet as my mother used to say), it means i can not wear shoes without ankle straps. I had to accessorise my wedding shoes (Vivienne Westwood) with ankle ribbons to stop them falling off me! I’ll try & find a close up of them on my feet on the day to add to the gallery below. I also wore wellies (we got married in a church at the top of a hill – I wasn’t sure I could manage the 20 minute walk up the sandy hill in heels!) They were special wellies though, Weddingtons, which I accessorised with blue ribbons 🙂
In the meantime, a quote to share with anyone who is concerned about getting their next pair past their partner.
There are lots of male shoe-aholics too! – I know I live with one. Apparently it’s different for men because theirs are ‘practical’. What! Does this mean mine aren’t? I wear mine to work!
Enjoy the gallery!
Day One 
I thought I was the only Imelda Marcos in the family. My style was very different and well chronicled on my blog:
Shoes, More Shoes & A Big Flash
LikeLike
I was a late developer on the shoe front! 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve just read through your shoe blogs and associated links! I’m very impressed!! At my running club for mums today somebody asked if I wrote a blog – they had found my post about my first visit this week :). That’s as famous as my blog has got. Seems I have a long way to go!!
LikeLike
Give it time, and visit plenty of other blogs and comment. That is how you build up a community.
LikeLike
Indeed, although I will probably have to wait till I retire fully! Not enough hours in the day at the moment!! It’s easy to find you! I just typed Grannymar into Google & you were the first name that came up 🙂 I like your home page too 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Grannymar » Keeping it in the family
I’ve just increased your readership 100 %!!! But you’ve got to keep up to Grannymars standards of regular posting. No slacking off now !
LikeLike
Lol
My readership isn’t that bad!! And I’ve only just started!!
LikeLike
Barbara, I come via Grannymar. If you don’t believe me, ask Elly who Grannymar’s Indian boy friend is.
I know little about women’s shoes. I personally, like most males, have one pair each in brown and black for formal and casual use totaling to four pairs. I rarely shoes anyway and prefer sandals and slippers for daily use. I use walking shoes for exercises and that is that.
I like your blog. Take Grannymar’s advise and visit other blogs and comment.
LikeLike
Welcome 🙂
Thank you for visiting!
LikeLike
Hi Barbara. I come via Grannymar’s blog. Ask Elly about me for some juicy stuff.
I, like most males, have exactly four pairs of shoes two each in black and tan for formal and casual wear. I also have two shoes for walking one as spare for use when the other is washed and drying.
I normally use sandals and slippers and rarely get to wear shoes at all.
I like you blog. The more you blog and visit and comment on other blogs, the more you will build traffic to yours. Exactly as the Grannymar advised.
All the best.
LikeLike
Hello & welcome 🙂
Just wait till you see part 3 of my shoe blog… when I expose my husband’s collection. He would swear he only has 4 pairs too. Just cos they are all brown doesn’t actually make them any less.
I also suspect that there is a younger generation of males of my age who have a much greater collection of shoes than they care to admit!
Thanks for visiting!
PS Sandals count!! (& so do slippers if they are actually outdoor shoes that you chose to wear round then house like my husband’s indoor Crocs
LikeLike
Hi Barbara – Grannymar sent me here and I learned long ago that when she says jump my duty is to simkply say “How high ma’am?” Well – not really but…your Doc Martens tale reminds me of my fondness for Addidas back when I was about that age – 16 or so. Alas – I did not get drunk for another year or so but that’s a tale for another day. And I dare say Addisas so thoroughly worn smelled a good bit worse than your Doc Martens.
LikeLike
Hello & welcome 🙂
Yes, I can imagine the smell of 17 year old boys Addidas’!! Yuck! I hope they are not in the attic still?
LikeLike
Luckily they were consigned to the dust bin many many years ago….
LikeLike
Phew!!
LikeLike
GM sent me too- we’re awfully biddable aren’t we?
LikeLike
🙂
Nice of you all to say hello too though – you could have just looked & left (or would you have been pulled up for that?)
LikeLike
Barbara, stand up for your aged Aunt, anyone would think I was a ould nag!
LikeLike
Lol
From the sounds of it you are well capable of standing up for yourself! I was just wondering what they thought would have happened to them if they had visited & not left evidence!! 🙂
LikeLike
Neat looking rain shoes… 😉
LikeLike
Lol, I do have another pair of wellies – Crocs …. but that’s a whole other post!!
LikeLike
Omg, bleeding heels and no way out. The crazy things we did as teens. I’m not much of a shoe person, mostly jeans ‘n sneakers. I really like your Docs though. Like the Cinderella quip also.
Blessings ~ Maxi
LikeLike
My mum sent me an email today… apparently I have skinny heels, as well as skinny ankles. It is the skinny heels that cause the problem with shoes not staying on.
“In relation to your shoes – you do indeed have narrow ankles – or as they said in Regency times
“A neatly turned ankle”!!!
But it’s your heels that cause the problems in getting shoes that fit and stay on!
That’s the criterion for an expensive foot!”
Mum
I guess this means she read the bit above too (blush)
oh well, at least i have a new secret follower 🙂
LikeLike
I was in Camden Town recently and they have this cool Dr Martens store. As i looked at it, I realized that I’ve never owned a pair. Can you believe it?
LikeLike
NO!! You must get some! There are so many out there now apart from the originals, and they are great for walking the streets of London in! They have an online shop too… I’m sure i linked to it in the blog. Thanks for the follow, maybe we’ll meet up someday on our travels or even here in London….
LikeLike
Well Said Barbara,
Nowadays, Dr Martens Shoes is one of the most quality footwear for men and women. There are lot of online shops are available in the market who sell Dr Martens Shoes.
LikeLike
Pingback: Shoes – The perfect antidote to a rainy Wednesday « Day One
Pingback: Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge; Rainbow Colours – Shoes | Day One
I must get a pair of those Dr Marten’s chunky heels. Re: your shoe collection – These are some of the coolest shoes I’ve ever seen. I used to think I had a lot of great ones, but your selection blows me away!
LikeLike
It was the DM heels that started me off…. Finally finding high heels that I cold wear and walk in all day, and even run in! They are quite expensive, but as they’re DM’s they last forever, so a very worthwhile investment.
LikeLike
If anyone had ever told me I would be reading a blog about women’s shoes…well. Shows you how you’ve got me hooked anyway.
LikeLike
It’s funny, when I wear any of my heels I get more comments from men than women, I had 3 different comments about my blue DM heeled boots on the way through Gatwick airport. I think the fact that they make me 6’1 draws their attention, and then the fact that they are eye catching causes the comment. I’ve had men in queue’s behind me say that they wished Dr Martens did shoes for men like that 🙂
LikeLike
Queue = line
LikeLike
You can believe the comments are about the shoes if you want, but when a tall beauty is walking through an airport, it’s always about a little more than that.
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Welcome to Visitors from 100 different Countries! | Day One