On Breaking In Your Summer Feet

Summer sure has a lot going for it. Sunshine warmth, ice cold treats, good strong fans, swimming and beaches, parks and picnics. But there's just no way around it: summer fucking blows for feet. Strappy sandals with no arch support, cute little flats worn without socks, pieces of foam tethered only by a toe thong – these are the enemy.

It's only the first official day of summer, and already my feet look like they've had a particularly vicious case of chicken pox. Blisters, bruises and spots rubbed raw and red, crisscrossed with peeling Band-Aids and graying spots from previous plasters. Yeah, I know it's gross, but it's TRUE and you probably have feet that look similarly attacked by wild dogs. No pedicure is going to save these babies – in fact, it'll probably make them worse, buffing off the callouses I've already earned and garishly drawing attention to these gnarly tootsies with colourful polish.

Breaking in your summer feet is a ritual for most women, but it's a despicable one. Not only are you trying to soften the leather/canvas/plastic of your shoes, you're trying to develop rub-resistant spots that won't leave you walking gingerly on the regular. I am currently in the midst of trying to break in at least 20 pairs of shoes, and have maybe one pair that consistently doesn't hurt (and that's assuming a previous pair hasn't left my feet particularly vulnerable).

These are the things that help me cope with the pain.

Band-Aids
The big ones that the backs of your heels are begging for. Because every strap or heel, in any material, is going to hug that spot and slip up and down, causing a painful red welt. Don't even bother buying the cheap drug store imitation brand, Band-Aid is best (and they make you pay for it too, with 10 strips costing roughly $7, ouch).

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My favourites are the Extra Large Tough-Strips because I find the fabric lasts better than plastic and pads your blisters well, but they come in a duct-tape-like waterproof version too (I remember these leaving behind lots of grey gunk though). I carry a fistful of these bad boys with me everywhere I go, because I get heel blisters so regularly and so painfully that I pretty much just stop walking after a certain point. Like, "nope, no further, guess we're eating dinner at this convenience store" done. Carry around a few regular sized Band-Aids too – they're good for the little spots rubbing in other places, and you can blast through them a lot faster without guilt. Know that if I am chilling with you, and your feet start hurting and I give you a Big Band-Aid, I truly madly deeply love you.

Salt, Water and a Bucket/Big Bowl
You should be washing your feet daily now, because they get a gross buildup of city grime and sweat, and you probably don't want those dirty dogs in your bed. But after a particularly painful day, I follow up my soap routine by soaking my feet in a big bowl of warm water and a few tablespoons of salt. This helps clean any raw spots on your feet and helps them heal faster, I think. I don't actually know. It makes me feel better by doing it, and I think decreases the swelling, so I'm fine with it. Epsom salts probably work better, and if you're not too tender, you could even use a sea salt or sugar scrub. I put my bowl in the tub and then fill it, so I don't have to fill the whole tub and I can rinse off easily. Bring along a towel, a magazine and a cold beer, and just rest for 5–10 minutes. Insta-therapy. You will feel human again. You're welcome.

Flipflops
I hate these shoes. I hate the sound they make, I hate their nasty foam soles, I hate how dumpy they make your legs look, and I hate the way I walk like Popeye in them. I just hate them. But you should have a pair. You WILL have a day when every part of your foot hurts, and you will want as little as possible touching them. Just wear the flipflops, and hopefully by the next day you'll be able to put on some big girl shoes. I have a pair of leather ones I bought during an emergency (see above), but I think you can get a pair at Old Navy for like, $1. If you have a blisters in between your big and index(?) toes, well, good luck to you, and maybe you should put your feet up and just stay home instead?


Hopefully my hard-won tips help you, as they have helped me. It's time consuming, but worth it unless you're one of those ultra cool girls who can make Converse sneakers work with any outfit. After a weekend in the above flipflops, I caved and finally ordered a pair of Worishofers. They're those trendy German orthopedic sandals popularized by grannies and aspiring grannies Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal. I shouldn't really be buying a new pair of shoes right now, but I realized that by mid-July, I'll probably have spent that amount on Band-Aids anyway.

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Do you have any summer feet tips? Any recommendations on how to wear in shoes faster (especially leather)? A pair of shoes that is always comfortable? Please, share your wisdom with me.

Edited to add: I bought these shoes through US Amazon yesterday at 1 pm.
They shipped from Kentucky at 7:30 pm.
They went out for delivery this morning at 8:30 am, so I should be receiving them today.
UPS, you're a godsend.