Most of you know that I've having some difficulties with footwear right now but there is hope on the horizon.

I went to several stores last night to try on various brands and styles and ended up at Canadian Footwear. This is a specialty type footwear store that not only carries a wide variety of comfort type brands, but provides service related to proper fitting and identifying foot and ankle issues, as well as developing custom orthotics if required. Although they don't have a podiatrist in the store regularly, there is one on staff and all SA's are very skilled in difficult fit and comfort issues.

I was looked after by a fabulous woman and we identified my fit and comfort issues as: no heels over 2 inches because of my patella femoral syndrome on my left knee - heels throw off the angle of the knee and the knee cap comes out of its track; wide toe box to accommodate the bunions I have developed (which I found out are a hereditary trait and not just from wearing ill fitting shoes for years- thanks Dad!); narrow heel; excellent arch support because I have a high arch and am slightly wider in my center foot and she believes I have developed plantar fasciaitis in my right foot which is partly to blame for what occurred with the ill fitting Fugitive shoes; high volume accommodation partly due to my high arch pushing my foot up as well as just having kinda chubby little feet; no flats unless I wear an orthotic with built in significant arch support.

Wow. That's a lot to look for in a pair of sandals, shoes or boots! At first I was quite discouraged by all of this negativity but she assured me we could and would find what worked. I wanted one pair of dressy black sandals to replace the Fugitives to wear with dresses and skirts at work and preferred nothing strappy - more foot coverage, and one pair of comfortable, casual "hanging out on the weekend" sandals that could also be worn to work with more casual outfits.

First up are the Mephisto Helen casual sandals http://www.canadianfootwear.co.....ELEN-1100-. These are Birkenstock wannabees - I tried the authentic Birks but the foot bed fit was slightly off and slightly too hard. So she recommended the Mephisto copy and when I put them on, my feet felt like singing! Seriously. These are the most comfortable things I have ever put on my feet. I don't normally like the toe thingy but you honestly don't feel it at all on these. Great support, wide enough foot bed, cups the heel properly - and pretty black patent. Not cheap though and I realize to find what works for my feet and knee, I cannot afford to "cheap out". I hope these will work as "faux Birks" for the current trends.

Secondly are the Clarks Artisan Evant Julie dressy sandalshttp://www.canadianfootwear.co.....Heel-63983 . These are soft nubuck leather with suede lining and SoftAir cushioned foot bed. The heels is 1 3/4 inches and sturdy. Again the arch support is in the right spot for my foot, the angle of my foot is comfortable despite the heel, it's wide enough in the toe box and the adjustable back sling strap make the heel fit perfect. I was worried when she chose them that my high volume foot would not accommodate the front portion of the sandals but no fit issues there at all.

I think I'm now sorted for dressy and casual sandals for the remainder of spring and summer. I am working towards getting rid of all footwear in my closet that don't make my feet happy. I am about to become extremely picky about what goes on my feet - that recent painful experience is something I don't care to repeat and I want these feet of mine to carry me for a long time yet.

If you've made it to the end of this, you're a saint