brand new shoes killed my feet

I just bought the oxfords at Nordstrom Rack yesterday, right? They felt okay in the store, at home later. A little stiff, maybe, but I was sure they'd break in. I wore them out today. About half an hour later, out of the blue, I felt a blister pain right on the outer knuckle/joint right below the big right toe. I've never had a blister in such a place on my foot. It was suddenly extremely painful, the worst blister I've ever had, in the sense that if it were on my heel, I could "hang out" of the shoe at least, but my options were really bad here. I had to bail on my pilates class (grrr), call Nordstroms (they're giving me store credit) and I had to flop back home on foot and by subway with my foot half hanging out of my shoe. At some point a lesser blister developed in the same spot on the left foot.

I double-checked: it wasn't where there was any seam. There was a tiny, semi-rigid fold of leather that was pressing down in that spot, but it didn't seem like it would cause that much pain.

I heard Miz Mooz was a very good brand...am wondering now if it's the shoe, or if I have a weird foot? I'm going to send the company a polite email and see what they say...maybe I need to stay away from this type of seamed shoe (I've over-relied on athletic shoes, but my recent boot purchases are fine). Dang, that makes me feel better about my other shoe purchase yesterday--the super-premium Giveable flats!

I am starting to "get" clothes. I feel like I am way behind in understanding shoes on all levels.

14 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Ouch! So sorry you had to endure this; good thing you bought at Nordstrom's!

To be honest, I used to assume that new shoes would always cause some pain so I spent many years "breaking in" uncomfortable shoes. It is only in the past few years that I have been savvy enough to find some brands that generally work well for me. Certain lasts work better for certain feet than others; you need to experiment a bit, and unfortunately you can't always tell from wearing at home or in the store, nor from asking friends or reading reviews because their feet may be differently sensitive.

Even with my caution, every summer I suffer through many many blisters at the start of sandal wearing season. There's just no way around it with all the walking I do; my feet need to toughen up. So I suffer through it; it's not the sandals themselves but the friction of feet against the leather.

In fall/winter I try to wear new shoes for a whole day or half day at home before going out in the world, and then again for a half day out in the world (or a day without a lot of walking) before putting them through their full paces.

Hope you get some good results from your negotiations!

Mochi

Thanks, Suz. This one was so excruciating that I'm not sure I am able to give the shoe time...maybe one more shot at it if I put on a couple of band-aids.

Too bad. They're cute.

Anonymous

Mochi I thought at first you were talking about the Giveable flats! I'm so glad they weren't the culprit and my faith in truly well made footwear is something I can still hope for.

I'm sorry for your terrible blister and pain. New shoes should NOT have to hurt (even if they don't feel like athletic shoes). I'm glad to hear Nordstroms will stand behind them. Whew! Take care of your tootsies!

Oh, and re your J.Crew coat that you're not sure about....maybe a better one will appear once your weight stabilizes and then you won't have to replace it. Could be a blessing in disguise!

I usually have with me some gel/blister band aids in the day i break in! The one you put over the full blister and relieves it, and the little gel things that i put where I feel my feet sticks/rubs on the leather. Also band-aids. Some of my best shoes had some issues. If I m not prepared, the damage ranges to disastrous. If I am it's mildly uncomfortable.
Also pumps/heeled booties or oxfords are much more difficult to design and prone to problems than boots . Boots are easy. Most of my boots (heeled and non-heeled ) are extremely comfy and have been from day one. With pumps, there is more guessing involved, as it depends on the specific weight distribution on your feet, and there is no shaft to "support" and correct the different ways the feet interacts with the leather.
Good luck with future finds. Also, if they don't get comfy soon ( after your blisters have healed) ditch them. Life's to short for painful shoes.
As for good looking shoes as comfy as sport shoes, a difficult to achieve dream with a lot of money, a lot of trying. For example, while I can hold fairly well basic pumps, even better mary-janes and t-straps, most of the ballet flats are too high/curved in the back and ruin my feet. Yes even those flexible sole, nappa leather ones. I have one pair I broke in ( biking, and a lot of band-aids) but I gave up a lot of them. They just don't work on me.
What I'm quite inarticulately saying is finding your own brands and types of shoes.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

I agree with Anya and Suz, most of the shoes that ended up being winners for me caused a few minor issues the first time or two I wore them. Because of that I always try to wear new shoes around the house for an hour or two, or not on a day where I have to walk a lot, and sometimes I carry a backup pair just in case.

It's up to you whether this counts as "minor" or not. My current black ballet flats rubbed the back of my foot raw and bloody the first time I wore them (dumb, I shouldn't have worn them all day, or without socks the first time) but now they are as comfy as they can be. I do think choosing brands and styles that work with your particular feet can help a lot, but I don't know if you can avoid blisters and raw spots entirely - maybe you can if you only wear athletic shoes or boots with socks, but not with every style, especially sandals and heels.

Thanks for giving me the thoughtful advice that maybe I shouldn't bail on them so quickly. I'll be trying bandaids and wearing them at home for brief periods. I'd really like to keep them, as well as feel like I'm not excluding an entire category of shoe as an option. But my threshold for foot pain is not that high...recently I was behind a woman on an escalator who was wearing ballet flats. On her heel right above the shoe I could see skin scraped raw (no bandaid or anything covering it). I can't go that far for a cute look, sorry.

Ana

Oh no! I'm so sorry this happened to you. I've had it happen to me too, on several occasions. If it were me, I would just take the shoes back. I'd be afraid of a repeat experience next time I wore them, so I know I would probably just collect dust in my closet.

It just takes time to figure out what your feet can handle, and what they can't (and what you're willing to go through to break in shoes). In my experience, if a shoe is not very comfortable when I walk around the store, then it doesn't get much better when I get home. But I think I probably have fussy feet. I've identified which brands generally work for me, and which ones don't. It just takes time and trying lots of different kinds of shoes.

Irene

Shoes don't necessarily work the same way or everyone. Here in this forum, many women talk about how great Clark shoes are, and how comfortable. My mom does so too. Well, I've got four pairs of Clarks and they kill my feet -all of them. Maybe this is not your brand. Just start looking for the perfect brand for you

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