8 years ago by
Erik Melvin
We’ve talked about flip-flops, how Garance is a feet freak, and how to walk in heels, but I’m stilling having some major feet issues and they all have to do with the fact that it’s summer. And I know I’m not the only one.
I wouldn’t necessarily call my feet pretty. In fact, they’re pretty hairy (just being honest) and a little..bumpy? From all of the dancing I did as a kid. Winter boots and heels can totally kill me but honestly, I kind of prefer to hide them rather than over-exposing them in the summer. But like the rest of my body parts in the summer, they deserve to break free! I just honestly don’t know how to deal with all of the issues. And there are a lot of issues…
For instance:
The blisters. And it’s not just one set of blisters, I have new blisters every time I wear a new pair of sandals. There are blisters on the balls of my feet from one pair, on my heels from another, on that little bone on the side from a clasp on a pair of super cute sensible heel sandals, on the tops of my toes from another…you get the (perhaps graphic?) picture! I could opt to wear the same pair of shoes all summer, and therefore only deal with one set of blisters, but let’s be real, I’m a fashion girl (kind of!) and I love shoes! So each time I switch it up my feet are covered in band-aids. Not a good look. Umph.
If the blisters weren’t enough, there are callouses too. A little tough skin on your feet is necessary for all of the summer walking in the city, but every time I get a pedicure, I insist they come off. I could ask to have them left as is, but callouses on my feet look kind of dry and generally gross. My feet look so pretty after a pedicure (toe wax included, go ahead and judge) but after just three blocks of walking the bottom of my feet start to BURN and I instantly kick myself for letting all of that dead skin get scraped off. If only life could be spent running around barefoot on a beach for 3 months…
Speaking of being barefoot, walking around the city in sandals is basically walking barefoot – the bottom of my feet become completely black within 5 minutes of being outside, I swear! The only thing worse than black feet is when you’re at a bar in sandals and that delicious frozé you’re drinking has somehow landed all over your now sticky feet. Summer usually requires a foot scrub in the bath tub before climbing into my all-white sheets, which is no easy feet after drinking rosé all day in the sun, let me tell you.
Ok so yes, my feet are dirty, with no callouses, and covered in band-aids, but I’m still trying to put them out there! And I really want to know, how do you manage in the summer? Are you like Brie who just wears ballerinas and sneakers and says screw it to the sandals? Or do you get pedicures every week and take cabs as much as possible to be callous-free? I need to know!
You may also like
Features
From the Archives: Tonal Dressing
Beauty
The Heat of Summer
Beauty
Smooth Operator
Beauty
Edit Recap Summer 2020
Style
The Swimsuit
I feel so much like you ,getting tired of having blister ..that i am most of the day with light sneakers…and only when i go out of a taxi to a bar or restaurant i change it to a nice pair of high heel sandals!!
there are city where walking with flat sandals is not the top..
xoxo
Yael Guetta
http://www.ftwwl.com
Je compatis pour les ampoules systématiques aïe aïe aïe !
Je n’aime pas trop montrer mes pieds mais de temps en temps je sors les sandales, idéalement quand je n’ai pas trop de marche à faire ou quand je ne prends pas le métro (je me fais tout le temps marcher dessus dans le métro!)
Same problem. Awful blisters and cracks… No solution -except avoiding high heels. At the end of the summer, it is better, my feet are harder. ;-)
Ohlala ma pauvre, t’as pas de chance niveau pieds ! Du coup fais-tu dans l’autre extrême, les décores-tu avec des bagues d’orteil ou bracelets de cheville ou vernis à ongles ?
Je me suis aussi adaptée à mes pieds. J’ai fait aussi beaucoup de danse mais les orteils ne sont pas devenus en forme de marteau de piano. Ils se sont étalééééééés. J’ai les pieds à l’aise, super relax, faits pour rester debout ou pieds nus, arrondis, et larges pour une femme. Je suis obligée de prendre 0.5 voir 1.5 pointure de plus pour rentrer dans les chaussures en largeur et j’ai fait l’impasse sur toutes les chaussures étroites, et il y en a un paquet, comme si tous les pieds étaient tous longs et étroits comme dans les rêves.
Et ils aiment gonfler aussi, ou alors se geler, bref ils ont ou trop chaud ou trop froid, et ils adorent être nus. Et ils ne transpirent pas, ce qui est super pour les odeurs mais nul pour s’autoclimatiser.
Du coup en vrai je fait un 38.5 de long et je prends du 40 en bottines pour les mettre avec des chaussettes l’hiver (pour ne pas avoir froid mais je ne peux pas prendre des bottines fourrées non plus car là ils auraient trop chaud et gonfleraient), et du 38.5 en sandales d’été si elles ne sont pas étroites, du 39 sinon.
Je les chouchoute car je trouve qu’on les sollicite beaucoup et je les huile tous les matins et tous les soirs, pour avoir une peau toute douce, sans crevasse (je trouve ça très vilain), ni peau dure, ni peau sèche etc. Je veux pas avoir des pieds qui ont l’air plus vieux que leur âge ou abimés.
Alors je fais avec : je choisis des chaussures dans lesquelles je serai bien (même sur internet, j’ai l’oeil maintenant), je sais lesquelles ne me vont pas (aucune ballerines par exemple car ça fait moche, pas de stilettos car ils sont trop étroits et les stilettos larges c’est moche), je peux porter du plat ou du talon haut, mais surtout je veux pouvoir vraiment marcher avec. Donc le défi est de trouver des chaussures super cute ET confortables pour pouvoir marcher avec.
Donc pour résumer je suis en bottines toutes l’année sauf l’été où je suis en sandales très ouvertes.
I think that ugly feet shouldn’t wear sandals. There are some that can hide imperfections while showing for instance the tip of the toes and the laterals (like the Spanish espadrilles). I get that ballet can be the cause (and it’s one of best and more beautiful and legitimate reason to have ugly feet) however we don’t have to impose on others unpleasant views. If they’ve been mechanically deform it’s OK as far as they’re clean and polish with perfectly cut, cleaned (and varnished) toenails.
I have nice feet but I care a lot for them and I hate to have blisters not only because they’re horrible bad looking but because they’re terrible painful. I have great shoes and I don’t change every single summer (there have been here several articles by several of you advocating for less is more and to rationalise expenses and to buy less? well, then you can do it) but if I decide to buy a new pair I have a box (and a little bag in my hand bag all summer) filled with those marvelous different kind of products sold in parapharmacies like soft pads, small hydrocolloid dressings (Compeed), surgical tape to make sure that if I’m in the middle of the day and it hurts I can just stop 2” and cover the sensitive spot. By the way, in summer to have ballerinas and sneakers in your shoe’s stock is also pretty and femenin. With all this you’ll see that your summer is gonna be great!
My feet are funky, too. I use blister block just because blisters hurt and that sucks, but other than that I wear my sandals proudly. And if anyone is paying That much attention to my feet, they probably have someone tied up in their basement anyway and should be avoided.
Ahahahha, thank you for making laugh! :D
Same problems ! for the blisters, in the high heels, put a bandage to prevent (compeed are great), in sandals I usually suffer the first time, make a break for a couple days until disappear and then I fine to wear them again pain-free ! I adore birkenstock for those days I just want to be comfortable. Usually have them in black with lack ! for callouse, I do it home myself, like once a week, with an electric roll from Scholl. remove a bit less than a full pedicure, it looks clean but doesn’t hurt when I put back the sandals. Cities are dirty, cannot help. I always put nice nail polish, then this is what attract the attention !
xxx
When I lived in NY, I did like Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl”–I came and went in loafers or ballerinas (not sneakers with white socks), and I had a desk drawer full of heels. This was when work heels and date heels were not the same thing, so I didn’t worry about having shoes stuck at the office.
However, my heel days are over. After years of bunions hurting so bad I couldn’t stand even the weight of a sheet on them, and I realized I was walking strangely–to not put pressure on my big toes–and it was ruining my back, I had bunion surgery. It’s much better, but I can’t stand on tiptoe.
That said, I try to do a pedicure regularly in summer. I like wearing (flat) sandals and having my toes liberated, and nail polish helps. Now I work from home, so I don’t need a drawer of shoes. I totally adore the fashion of wearing Stan Smiths.
I am a do it yourself when it comes to beauty. I do my own feet, so try the pedi roller tool. It gets off the ugly part of the calluses but you control how much is removed. You’re right that tender feet result in more blisters. As for walking around and having dirty feet at the end of the day, I like to use a baby wipe or similar and swipe them over my feet, then do a cool rinse afterward. A little spray of rosewater, maybe. Once a week, even in summer, try the Heel Genius by Soap and Glory.
Just running shoes for me! I recently had an enforced night out in my running shoes (I’d been in an evening 5k race with a after-party) and something just clicked. So comfortable!! That very evening I ordered a new pair for daily wear so that’s me walking around in running shoes! I have been developing an odd tan line though… :)
Here’s an issue where your wonderful website could have some influence: shoes for women that are pretty and comfortable; shoes in which you can walk twenty blocks and go to a party. They are so hard to find! As for the blisters, etc., use moleskin at the first discomfort and break them in over time by alternating them with other shoes. For the scraping stuff: do it yourself with one those handy scrapers you show in the shop the story section, but do it after your shower or bath and only a little at a time. No burning feet! And keep a little plastic basin around to fill with cool water and rinse off your feet at the end of the day. But really, please find and promote brands that have comfortable shoes that aren’t ugly. Thanks!
I like my feet to breathe in the summer and love a good pair of sandals. I never believe that the sandals need to be broken in, it’s your feet that suffer thru it. I love my Birkenstocks and Nike Flyknits if I want a sneaker. I love Tevas for walking or Cydwoq sandals have some arch support if you need it. I have no cure for black feet other than daily washing, I end up wiping my shoes down too!
I cycle and don’t walk much in sandals. And I always buy the same type of shoe, because I get blisters as soon as something else than a comfortable sneaker touches my foot. Of course my soles are also gray, but who cares! I remove dead skin throughout the year, I actually do it less in the summer. Just because I like to be barefoot, and you need to put cream on after removal.. and of course I don’t want to have greasy floor :)
My feet are definitely not the most beautiful thing in the world, but they look decent enough from my viewpoint. I love bright nails colors on them, but I do the manicures and pedicures myself.
I’m 60, and my feet are gorgeous! All my friends say so…for me they’re just…normal. I think it’s because I dind’t wear heels most of my life. I adored masculine shoes, sneakers and ballerinas. Flat flat flat….Now and then I still wear high heels, for a party, a diner, and so. All my friends are having surgery for some problem in their feet…and I feel lucky and grateful that mine are still healthy and beautiful. Pedicure in summer, yes. But mostly for a bit of colour on my toenails…no calluses. But blister for every new sandal I wear, yes. Couldn’t beat this one.
I can’t solve the the comfortable sandal problem as I am still looking for something too. I can recommend a softer way to get rid of callouses. I use epsom salt with jojoba or almond oil and a few drops of grapefruit oil and or lavender oil to scrub my feet. I do it just before the shower. The oil makes your feet really soft. It is a nice treat at the end of the day.
Stock up on baby foot.
I love this blog! And I love reading it on a rss reader. Recently, for some reason, the feed has been in French. I open the feed, then go to the website, then change the language to English and then finally get to read the post. Please, fix this!
Hi Emma!
We are working on fixing this issue ASAP! We recently migrated the site over to garancedore.com from .fr and it’s caused a few glitches! Thanks so much for your patience!
x Emily
You already know about the diamancel-it goes a long way to pretty feet…5 minutes each night before you shower and I follow with Bliss foot cream with alpha hydroxy acid. And I love cuticle oil right before putting my sandals on and heading out…smooths out any rough dry spots and makes a not so perfect anymore pedi look better….
I used to have the blister problem whenever I wore new shoes. I alternate between sneakers, ballet flats, heels and sandals. I constantly slather my feet in lotion just to avoid them looking dry and rough.
Well I don’t have particularly beautiful feet,but I keep them neat and take care of them all year long. Since I stopped wearing heels I’ve got less blisters to heel all the time, and wearing sandals in summer is a pleasure again.
Pas de pédicure pour moi, mais comme je fais beaucoup de sport, ils sont un peu abimés… alors mon secret c’est de les masser avec un peu d’huile d’olive de temps en temps et sinon tous les soirs, je les enduis de crème pour les pieds. Résultat : ils sont hyper doux, pas de callosités, rien du tout. Et je fais aussi très attention à mon vernis : je zappe le vernis coloré, sauf pour les grandes soirées, et je veille à ce que mon vernis incolore soit toujours nickel !
Nice post dear!
http://www.evdaily.blogspot.com
Pareille. J’enchaîne les ampoules dés que j’ai une nouvelles paires de chaussures… Perso je m’en fiche un peu de montrer mes pieds, même si je me sens un peu nue sans vernis. J’ai vécu sous les tropiques pendant quelques années et me passer de sandales (birk forever !!!) ça aurait été de suicide. Donc j’ai appris à aimer mes pieds plus rugueux, plus aventureux, des pieds qui servent à grimper un peu partout et à marcher pendant des heures….
xxx
Irène
http://www.cookinginjune.com/
Sneakers and socks! I can’t do otherwise as I’ll have all the problems you wrote about.
I give in and wear sneakers. And I don’t like it.
Here’s what I think about summer style:
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/stay-in-the-sun-with-no-fun-paikese-kaes-ja-paevitamata/
Oh yes feet ARE a tricky thing, and shoes unlike clothes not only have to look good they have to feel good and support your feet not easy. But I do wear sneakers w/o socks and do not get blisters.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Hi Emily,
To me, pedicures are the perfect “me time” – I enjoy the procedure and love showing the result off. There’s something feminine about freshly painted nails and pedicured feet. Platform sandals with wider straps perhaps hide more, but you just have to keep reminding yourself how gorgeous you look no matter what! I’m definitely a “sandals girl”, but I also love a good ankle boot or a pair of fresh white sneakers. Wear what feels good. :)
Je suis contente de lire que vous aussi vous avez des ampoules à chaque nouvelle pair de chaussures ! Moi c est pareil, j en ai même eu avec des tongs !! Comme je fais du sport mes pieds sont parfois abîmés, pas de pédicure mais je suis une grosse consommatrice de crème pour les pieds avec des auto massage. Pansements aussi avec les sandales (les premiers jours) et puis après le pied se fait à la chaussure. Un joli verni à ongle + un pied hydraté :)
my feet and toes are long and funky looking but in the summer there is nothing I enjoy more than wearing flip flops and my happy flip flop tan lines . i have caught women staring at my appalling feet but who gives a flying fuck anyway :)
Not to tight, good quality sandals generally help not to get blisters. To keep my feet soft I scrub them gently every evening, also in winter and put a cream on before going to bed.
I used to think my feet were weird and ugly but now I think they’re cute. There was some advice above to hide your feet if they are ugly, but who cares?! Nobody goes around examining other’s feet. I recommend getting 1 pair of sandals that you love and go with everything (mine are tan leather which match most colours I wear). That way you can hide any blisters that arise because you are continually strapping the same part of the foot. To get break shoes in, wear them with socks for a few days around the house (I also used to give my new shoes to my sister to break in for me! :P ) To cover callouses I use a pumice stone in the shower occasionally to take the edge off. One more thing… bunions arise when you force your feet into shoes that pinch your toes together and out of their natural alignment. I shudder to think of anyone getting bunion surgery because you are just shaving your natural bone off… flat shoes and barefoot all the way for me.