At 62, my feet had spread and every shoe I owned pinched
At 62, my feet had spread and every shoe I owned pinched
Six things the Orthostepper gets right that my old shoes got wrong, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about a pair of trainers. But somewhere in my fifties my feet quietly got wider. Nobody warns you. I was still buying the same size I had worn for thirty years, and every pair pinched across the front by lunchtime. I would come home from the shops and kick them off in the hall before I had even put the kettle on. So this is not a review. It is a woman who stopped squeezing her feet into the past, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Orthostepper, a soft black knit trainer with a roomy toe, a stretchy upper and a thick, springy white sole. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
A pair of trainers. At 62. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. Our feet change and our shoe size does not. We keep buying the number we have always bought, in shapes that were made for narrower feet, and we put up with the squeeze because we think that is just what shoes feel like now. Going up a size only means our heels slip out instead.
My feet had not got worse. My shoes had just stopped fitting the feet I have now.
The Orthostepper is the first pair I have owned in years that I forget I am wearing, and having worn them most days since they arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon they came. Soft as anything when I picked them up.
Room for my toes
The toe box is wider and rounder than my old shoes, so my toes sit side by side instead of being squashed together. That was the whole problem, and it is simply not there any more.
The roomy rounded toe. Nothing squeezing across the front.
So much room at the front. I can wiggle my toes for the first time in years.
Margaret B., BeestonA soft knit that gives
The upper is a stretchy knit, so it moves with my foot instead of holding it in a stiff shape. Wherever my foot is a little wider, the knit just gives.
The knit is lovely and stretchy. They feel like they have shaped to my feet.
Jean L., ArnoldSoft inside, no seams to rub
The inside is soft and padded, without seams, so there is nothing to rub against my feet. They feel soft and cushioned the moment I put them on in the morning.
By the back door. The first shoes I reach for now.
Very soft inside, nothing rubs. Took one wear to get used to the cushioning and now I love it.
Pauline G., HucknallA springy sole
The sole is thick and springy, with a little air pocket you can see at the heel, and it rolls you forward as you walk. Pavements feel softer. I walked into town and back last week and did not once think about my feet.
A sit-down at the garden centre, because I wanted one, not because I needed one.
Like walking on a cushion. I wear them for the shops and for long walks.
Sheila N., Long EatonGood grip underneath
The outsole has a proper grip to it, so I feel steady on wet pavements and the shiny floors in the supermarket. I still take care in the rain, but I do not feel I am skating about.
I feel steady in them, even on wet days. Good grip.
Brenda T., CarltonEasy to wear with everything
They lace up, so I can loosen them on a day my feet feel a bit fuller. The black goes with my trousers and my jeans and looks smart enough for town. They also come in white, pink and a blue, in sizes 5 to 11.
Bought the black and then went back for the white. My everyday shoes now.
Christine F., West BridgfordThis, against my old shoes
Most of us are still buying the shoe size we bought at forty. I know, because I was. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Narrow at the front, squeezing my toes
Stiff uppers that never gave
Seams that rubbed
Thin, hard soles
Kicked off in the hall by lunchtime
A roomy, rounded toe
A soft, stretchy knit upper
Soft and padded inside, no seams
A thick, springy sole
On all day, and I forget them
About the price
The Orthostepper is £39.95 at the moment. It was £80.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the autumn sale on the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and after weeks of wearing them, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered a second pair. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If your shoes pinch across the front and you have been blaming your feet, I would start here. Not because you need more shoes, but because you deserve a pair that fits the feet you have now. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
ORTHOSTEPPER | Knit Trainers
- A wider, rounded toe box
- A soft, stretchy knit upper
- Soft padded lining without seams
- A thick, springy sole
- A grippy outsole
- Black, white, pink or blue, sizes 5 to 11
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now, half price. The middle sizes are going first.