Footwear-OCT20-P14 Road Test - DB Shoes_Footwear_Jan10_p30 19/11/2020 19:40 Page 14
ROAD TEST
I’m mad as hell because my feet are going to a wedding
By Marigold Cartwright W
hen I saw Peter Finch playing Howard Beale as the anchor man in the film
“Network” I loved the line in his speech and filed it away for future use. In his speech Beale rants about the ills of the world and shouts, “I’m a human being, god-dammit! My life has value!” But that is not the end of it: finally, he concludes, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!”
Well, I just know that feeling. I am, without
putting too fine a point on it, in my middle years. I have been attending weddings since I was a child. And, as every woman knows, cometh the wedding, cometh the meltdown about what to wear. Cometh the wedding and cometh the focus on the dress. You don’t want it to outshine the bride, you don’t want one of the other guests to be wearing the same outfit. Will it be too cold in the church, will it be too hot at the reception? Why has no one ever invented a checklist? Heavens knows we women go through the whole pantomime every time someone gets hitched so why isn’t there a scientific formula?
Then there are the shoes. Of course, they
always get forgotten by the focus on the main event, the frock. They are the “Johnny-come- lately” in the wedding ensemble, the last-minute-dot-com of the nuptials package deal. How many times have you had to rush out and buy a new pair of wedding shoes because they clash with the dress, are too small, too high, too low or the heels are wonky? And how many times have their replacements been equally flawed with the result that you stagger down the aisle to your pew like a drunken sailor, the ceremony passes you by because the shoes are rubbing on your heels or your bunions, or you suffer from vertigo because the heels are too high and you feel tipsy even before the Champagne glasses are handed out with the wedding cake?
Product details:
Croft: This is a chic style with a pretty print design on the stretch fabric toe, and a cut-to-fit adjustable ankle strap. Stylish 21/2”
heel. Leather/textile upper. Available in 4E fitting in sizes 3-8 inc 1
/2 ’s, 9. A choice of three colours, black, beige/gold or pewter.
Retail price £99. Trade price £42.95. Style numbers are: 58087A Black stretch 4E fitting 3-8 (incl. 1/2's), 9 3 42.95 58087H Beige stretch 4E fitting 3-8 (incl. 1/2's), 9 3 42.95 58087S Pewter stretch 4E fitting 3-8 (incl. 1/2's), 9 3 42.95
Contact: DB Wider Fit Shoes, Irchester Road, Rushden, Northants NN10 9XF T: 01933 359217 | E:
enquiry@dbshoes.co.uk | W:
www.dbshoes.co.uk
Shoe dilemma
Well, about six weeks before my daughter’s wedding I was at a coffee morning with some girlfriends and I was going on (yes, I was holding forth) about the shoe dilemma, getting quite hot under the collar I recall, when I remembered Howard Beale and I blurted out: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore! I’m not going to be at the service and the reception in person - but not in spirit - because I’m wearing uncomfortable shoes.” My friend Rosemary soothed my feathers and said she had the answer because she had experienced the same problem but had found a solution.
She told me about the Croft Shoe in the Da
Bella range from DB Wider Fit Shoes. Rosemary is a saint and a lifesaver and the same goes for the shoes. For a start, the shoes were not an afterthought for once, and I bought a pewter- coloured pair. The other options were black or beige/gold that I liked, but pewter offset my new dove-grey silk dress perfectly. Croft is a chic new style with a pretty print design on the stretch fabric toe, and a cut-to-fit adjustable ankle strap. Any risk of a fear of heights is addressed with a beautifully balanced 2.5” heel.
Deeper than usual
Of course, the look is so important, especially for the Mother of the Bride, and the Croft shoes looked wonderful! But the way I was not going to get mad any more was if I could enjoy the wedding without the attendant consequences of ill-fitting shoes. My feet are wider than they were when I used to dance through the night without a care. I do have the wear and tear on toes and joints from (mumble-mumble) years of multiple, million applications of my feet to the ground every day for my whole life.
But, the Croft offers a deeper than usual toe
box that allows plenty of wiggle room for the toes and the upper material stretches to accommodate not only the movement of your foot but, when you are standing for long periods (like at weddings), the slight swelling you may experience. The result? Sheer bliss for the feet!
It is clear to me that DB Wider Fit Shoes have the checklist for wedding shoes and have a century of experience in applying it. They specialise in making shoes for those with more severe foot problems. These may be suitable for conditions such as arthritis, bunions and hammer toes, swollen feet, oedema and lymphoedema, diabetes, corns and calluses and poor circulation. But for me, it is not a question of even having a serious foot problem. I think my feet are probably average for my (mumble-mumble) years. What I regret is that I had never heard of the company until Rosemary intervened in my rant.
What can I say? The wedding was a triumph.
The bride was stunning. And yes, I shed a tear or two as she glided down the aisle. The flowers in the church were like a new Eden. The sun shone, the caterers at the reception were faultless, we danced into the night – yes, I danced because the shoes were so comfortable! And when my new son-in-law (the handsome beast!) asked me to dance after the toasts I must say I had some lustful thoughts – but I won’t share them with you!
14 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
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