made for walkin'

I have been advised by my aunt and my daughter - each of whom are gifting me with amazing I-never-would-have-dared-dreamed-of trips this year both of which involve a LOT of time on your feet - of the importance of good comfortable footwear. 
   I generally get my clothes from thrift stores, but this can take time, talent, and luck and either an excellent fashion flare or a certain disregard for fashion.  (no need to guess which one I have)  I have not found footwear worthy of the challenge. Frankly, I don't have a lot of hunting time.  I wandered into actual shoe stores and looked around. More $$$ than useful inspiration.  I did a little on-line reading.  I took the plunge and ordered Keens from Amazon - the Newport Sandal.  A good bit pricey to someone like me who thinks twice about anything that approaches $20 let alone over 3 times that. 
    I think they will do nicely. 
    Until now, I have been wearing my hiking boots for biking.  Although old, they are comfortable and give good support, but my feet do get warm.  Once at work I would switch out to Mary Jane type Crocs which are  "pretty comfortable" and kind of cute.  I notice that towards the end of the day as my feet swell a little they are less comfortable and they really are not walk all day shoes. Lately I started wearing my Keens to work and, fashionista that I am, I stay in them all day.  Used to be that when I got home from work, I could hardly wait to take off the boots I had been wearing about an hour.  Not so with the Keens which by then I have been wearing 12 hours.
   They should do very nicely indeed.  Along with my Croc clogs (a thrift store find that inspired the purchase of the other Crocs - ok I actually found green Croc clogs at Deseret Industries which were so comfortable that I bought black ones new on-line and later the Mary Janes - fortunately Crocs can be relatively inexpensive) to switch off for a rest if I want.  The Crocs are very comfy, but not as sturdy and long wearing, I think (although not bad,) and they often squeak - not on the floor but they themselves squeak.  In some venues, this is not a problem, but in others...Well, I tried wearing them at work, but when you hear someone a couple cubes away say "here comes Barbara"  not so good. So you can imagine a museum, library or church.  The Mary Janes don't squeak, but like I said, they are not on-your-feet-all-day shoes.  Easy to kick off in the privacy of your cube, though, which the Keens are not.
   My advice is to invest as best you can in comfortable shoes especially if you are getting older like me or spend a lot of time on your feet.  As far as fashion, I think a happy smiling expression is worth more than "cute" shoes.  If you can manage really cute, really comfortable shoes, huzzah! and do tell.