Joy on 72nd Street

I left my rain boots in St. Louis.  It was raining pretty hard Friday - incessantly.

On my way home from my workshop at the Teachers' College at Columbia University I stopped on 72nd Street to go into the Crocs store to browse some of their rain boots.  I fell in love with my flats from there last year and thought I might try a pair of their boots so my feet stay dry and comfy the next time it rains.

Unfortunately, the Croc prices were not on the level I wanted to pay.  On the way back to the train, I stopped in a couple of other shoe places to look at their rain boot selection.  In the first store, despite the fact that there were three sales people working and only one other customer in the store, I got no attention.  This was even after I looked at the shoes for about 7 minutes and then held up a shoe to one of the workers to show that I was interested.  We made eye contact, then she looked away.

I left.  The prices were too high and I appreciate customer service.

In the second store, I was immediately greeted by a man who even had jokes about the leftover food box (it was actually cupcakes) that I was holding.

I stayed.  It turns out that he is trained in podiatry and asked if I had any foot problems.  I told him no.  He left to get me the boots to try on.  When he came back and helped me put them on.  He asked to look at my foot.  At first I was thinking of Charolotte from Sex and the City.



Then, I decided, that maybe he was just going to help me.

Kind of normal-looking with pants

And help me he did.

He told me that my super comfortable (most of the time) Crocs were bad for my type of arch - makes sense since there are days after Croc-wear that I wake up and my feet feel kind of funny.  He recommended different shoe types and retrieved some samples from the back for me to try on.  I walked in all the shoes he brought out and immediately noticed that I was walking differently.

Slightly prescription-orthopedic-looking with
legs showing.  Not ready to wear them with
a skirt - I'll have to try them with tights.

I was walking with more ease and my feet didn't feel like they were pronating as much as they usually do - this was due to the arch support not allowing my foot to roll inward with each step.  It was great.

I decided to wait on the (to me) overly priced (but comfy) Hunter rain boots and decided to go with the shoe that seemed to be made for my foot.  They were costly, but I decided a few years back that shoes are one area where I am willing to pay more money for comfort since I have to wear them for long hours.  Better to have quality when it comes to footwear.

He said a strap or laces are best for support, as well as a tighter, sturdier heel.  I also need more arch support since I have a medium arch (which falls with each step if I don't have support) and if the front of the shoe comes up higher on my foot, the shoe will fit my foot better since I have a slightly wider foot by where my toes join my foot, but a narrower heel.

It's amazing where I can find simple joy.  I took his card and will return to give him more business... when I have more disposable income.