Keen Footwear

While this is largely a blog about fashion and beauty, I cannot in all good conscience dismiss comfort. This is why much of my personal wardrobe comes from the pages of an LL Bean or Eddie Bauer catalog, and my shoe collection is comprised largely of Birkenstocks and Keens.

I have plantar fasciitis in both feet, caused by heel spurs. It's a painful condition that causes me to limp and the only thing that truly eases the suffering is a pair of comfortable shoes. For me, those would be Keens, particularly the shoes in the "Waterfront" collection with metatomical EVA footbed. They offer the perfect amount of arch support, are bouncily comfortable, and are machine washable. While not the most beautiful shoe in the world, I love them and have three pairs from that collection. Here's the latest addition to my Keen family:

Keen Waimea H2

Recently I branched away from "Waterfront" and ordered a pair from the "Market St" collection.

Keen Bree Slides

These shoes have a memory foam footbed and nubuck leather straps. And they are conspicuously missing the usual Keen rubber toe guard. I'm trying them for the first time today, so we'll see if I love them as much as the ones with the EVA footbed.

Have you ever tried Keen shoes? What do you think of them?

Boots

Although we're smack in the middle of summer, it's never too early to think about boots. For some reason I'm really digging the ones ornamented with straps and buckles. Luckily, there is no shortage of pricey footwear to fulfill my fantasy. I say "fantasy" because there's no way I can get my ample calves into most of these.

Love these Tory Burch Jaden Strappy boots. They look study and maybe even comfortable.

I also love these Ralph Lauren Helena Suede Mid boots...

...and these Manolo Blahnik Studded-Strap boots. Wearing a heel that high is also a fantasy.

Putting aside thoughts of straps and buckles for a moment, I'm also loving these Gucci Janis High Heel boots. The tassel is kinda flirty.

These Kors Michael Kors Lucille Scrunch boots are a good, practical choice for a tall boot.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have this Sigerson Morrison Huarache boot, which not only looks impractical, but also uncomfortable. Eek.