..i have a pair of "cute walking shoes"..they are flats which are over 2 years old..they have a steel (?) shank..i didnt buy them as walking shoes but as they are so comfortable i used them last time i was in paris..walked anywhere and everywhere..from eiffel tour to ile st louis after dinner without stopping..after a slow walk from le marais to the eiffel tower..my point is that any comfortable well worn shoes are better than buying new untried ones for a trip..these shoes would not have been for hiking though!

Grazie, Trish. Maybe Roman women were also wearing them in 2001 and I just didn't notice. Or perhaps the Florentines are, ahem, one step ahead of the Romans.

I do remember all the square-toed shoes because I thought they were sooo ugly.

I agree the square toed shoes are less than graceful. That's why I opted for open toes. Good thing we were there in Summer!

So cinderblocks didn't work, eh Marilyn? OK, then how about if the fashon biz tried to push huge clown-type shoes for women to wear? Think women would rush to buy them just because "Simon says"?

I see your point -- people certainly are influenced by what's cool or hip (or at least perceived as such) -- but my point is that there's also a limit to what can be successfully pushed.

OK, I'm a little hesitant to post on a thread where people are suggesting spending $250 for a pair of "cute" walking shoes that I don't think are all that cute, but for what it's worth, I bought 3 pairs of Aerosoles "Jelly Jams" flats at one of the discount stores around here for about $18 apiece, and they are the most comfortable shoes ever. They are PLAIN except that they have stitching on them. And they don't have a thick sole, so if you have foot problems - which I don't - they probably won't get you through an 8-hour trek in a European city. They kind of mold to your feet, which I like. I have them in black, red, and blue. Oh, and they kid of fold up so they take up no room in a suitcase.

Marilyn, want to exchange my body for your feet? I have a great new South Beach Diet body but have always had really ugly (but very serviceable) feet.

As for the pointy-shoes thing, yes, they were in style about 5 years ago (but wasn't it with that squared-off toe?) and here they come again. My 17-year-old daughter took me shoes shopping last weekend and we bought me two pairs - not the REALLY expansive ones that make your feet look like Bozo the Clown, but "modified" ones that were actually comfortable, with small heels. One pair was actually almost round-toed with a bow, and in that tangerine color I am so enamored of this year.

Of course, now daughter says I have to go out and buy low-slung jeans with flares before I dare wear these shoes -it's always something, isn't it? I don't think she appreciates my age. Frankly, I'm comfortable in my capris and comfy Clarke's. That's about as young as I want to try to look these days.

Capo wrote: "how about if the fashon biz tried to push huge clown-type shoes for women to wear? Think women would rush to buy them just because "Simon says"?

Well, Capo, just possibly. Please don't force me to dredge up unpleasant memories of hideous and unflattering trends that swept the US and Europe. Oh, wait a minute, how about low rise jeans and above the waist T's on overweight women? I saw plenty of them in New York last week, and just because it's less than 25-year-old fat, it's still NOT attractive.

StCirq, I used to love Aerosoles but the thin soles got to me eventually for city walking. I felt like I could tell you whether I was standing on a dime or a quarter. And I think the jellies are cute, but the plastic doesn't breathe and it feels like my feet are encased in ziplock bags.

On the other hand, send photos of body and will consider trade.

Ha! Don't I wish. (Truthfully, I'd settle for 35.)

LOL pretty soon I will be thinking fondly of 45!!!

mdotsie, I looove Arche shoes! I had a pair of Arche sandals for years , they never fall apart.
Where I used to live, a pair of Taryn Rose boots was in the $600's...she wasn't making enough money being a foot doctor?!

Scarett, I've seen Tayrn Rose shoes here, about $200+, I don't get it. the simple rule is,
It is not the price, the style, but whatever maks your feet happy when it comes to travel.
Happy travels, Ladies.

Good Evening dear Cigale!!
I love shopping for shoes, I love shoes! but I especially like getting a bargain..the less I pay the more I can buy
Are you wearing rain boots in Boston?

Eleni -- I was a bit worried about the ankle strap, too, because I was conscious of it being there when I first started wearing the anais'. By the end of the first day, I didn't seem to notice it as much. I actually bought a size smaller than I usually buy, and they have been fine.

Marilyn, I thought platform shoes (which were, when you think about it, kind of a cinderblock/clown shoe hybrid) were ug-lee even when they were in fashion.

As for low-rise jeans, our local (and syndicated) columnist Dan Savage had a column a few weeks ago where he responded to a letter-writer complaing about how they looked on certain women. Savage wrote: &quot;<i>Low-rise is not a fashion statement we Americans should be making just now, what with our skyrocketing rates of obesity. If North Americans want to flounce around in belly-and-backside- exposing pants--and apparently we do--we should get the obesity epidemic under control first.</i>&quot;
and, subsequently, received tons of letters from very angry women.

In response to one of those very angry letters, written by a woman who felt Savage was somehow dictating &quot;what women are or are not <i>allowed</i> to wear,&quot; he wrote, &quot;<i>Women can, of course, wear whatever the hell they want. It's a free country. But that 'free country' stuff goes both ways. {I'm free to think that low-rise jeans look terrible on most people and say so in public.</i>&quot;

Capo, when you wrote &quot;shoes that look like cinderblocks&quot; I confess I immediately envisioned a pair of platforms I owned in the '70's.

Let those among us who have never been victims of fashion cast the first stone.

My 2 cents (as always!) on the walking shoe issue. I just got back (7:30 last night, so I'm still in a stupor of jet lag) from a 2 week trip through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and, let me tell you, we WALKED! Very little was on level ground, as we spent most of our time in mountain/ vineyard, etc areas--lots of steep slopes and cobbled or gravel pathways. I bought a pair of Born sandals for the trip and never had a day of foot pain! (I noticed this the day I wore another pair of also &quot;comfortable&quot; shoes--my feet felt fatigued at the end of the day that day and never did when I wore the Borns)On days it was cold and rainy, I just wore a thick pair of ragg socks--even more comfy. Don't know it they'd fall into the cute range, but sure felt good!

donald pliner shoes are cute walking shoes.

No, I meant real cinderblocks. Like the kind you'd find clad on the feet of guys on the bottom of the East River.

Speaking of that...on the thread about Troy, I mentioned a great skit Eddie Izzard does about Achilles in his &quot;Glorius&quot; show. To protect his vulnerable heel, Izzard's Achilles encases it in a block of cement and the ensuing physical comedy is hilarious.

two thoughts here, those Donald Pliner shoes are nice...

I love Eddie Izzard...I'm so glad he's beautiful and straight, on the other hand, two fighting for the mirror would make life tough...

Ooo, MzPossum, sandals with socks, don't GO there! I like Borns also, and Donald Pliner. But I'm addicted to Merrells.

Capo, now that's a funny image!

Pointy toed shoes are on the way out again. I was in Milan last week and the big push was for round toes! Saw lots of round toes shoes in the expensive shops, including Prada. However, I bet the pointy toed shoe fad will last for a few more months as there are still plenty of point toes in the stores at all price ranges.
I have a few pair of modified pointy toed shoes--but they're squared off at the end and pretty comfortable.
I bought two pair of shoes today for an upcoming trip to the Loire Valley--and they were both Hush Puppies. HPs are very popular in the mid-priced shops here in Brussels...they were sold out of several models in my size. I wouldn't call them &quot;cute&quot;, in fact they're pretty plain, but they're fine for wearing with linen slacks and my vacation clothes.

Dear Marilyn
I know! You wouldn't catch me back in the States with socks and sandals (especially in South Louisiana) but when in Rome....(or, in this case, the Alps...) However, since all I brought were capri pants, the pics of me with capris, socks and sandals make me look like &quot;Urkle&quot; on that old sitcom!!