Barking Dog Shoes

Comfortable Women's Shoes | Nicole Blessed Shootie

Nicole is not a brand I know a lot about, but this shootie (shoe+boot-b+ie) drew my attention when browsing OnlineShoes the other day. Although only four customers have left reviews, they're positive for style and comfort. One woman mentioned being a die-hard Sofft fan when it comes to heels, but decided to try the Nicole Blessed and was pleasantly surprised by its comfort (and the fact they make her feet look tiny).

The versatility of the Nicole Blessed shootie is evident in these two images. You can dress them up or down (thanks to Beth for pulling together the snazzy outfit featured below). 

Where to buy/try the Nicole Blessed:

• OnlineShoes:  $79.99, free shipping and exchanges.
• Endless: $63-77, free overnight shipping, free returns.
• Zappos: $75.50, free shipping both ways.
• Shoebuy: $84.95, free shipping and returns.





Nicole Blessed Shootie by

Comfortable Women's Shoes | Born Allegra Boot Review

Yawn. Ten second grade boys were at my house on Saturday evening for my son's birthday party. Nine left at 8:30 and one stayed over night. At 5:30 this morning I heard the definitive (and deafening) sound of lego boxes being shaken and ripped open followed by a sustained period of silence. Shake, rip, silence. Shake, rip, silence. This pattern repeated itself until I lumbered into the living room at 7:30 to find five new lego creations assembled on the coffee table. I then had one hour to gulp down the obligatory cup of coffee and get ready for church. I still can't believe I pulled it off.

At 7:45 I was still in my husband's flannel pants, XL sweatshirt with a severe case of bed-head. Thankfully my hair responded to the hot rollers and my concealer did a fair job of hiding the 2nd-grade-sleepover circles under my eyes. What tipped the morning in my favor was the box leaning against the wall. The one I had packed up to "return to sender." 

I hated to return the gorgeous teal leather Born boots, but the last time I tried them on, my right foot would NOT go in. My left foot? No problem. Since rheumatoid arthritis destroyed the cartilage in my right mid-foot necessitating surgery to fuse the bones, I've had difficulty pointing my toes to slide them into boots.  See, the Born Allegra is a cowboy-inspired boot, so there's no side zipper. I guess my feet were extra puffy the night I tried them on (salty popcorn? totopo chips?), because today my right foot decided to cooperate and the lovely teal blue boots found their owner--no tugging with a shoe horn like an ugly step-sister. 

Mind you, the Born Allegra features a three-inch stacked heel, which means "church only" for me.  No downtown walking, sidewalk shopping for me in these babies. But for those of you with fairly normal feet, I think you'll really find these comfortable. The footbed is fairly cushioned and the toe box is perfect for a medium-width foot. Sizes run true.

The wardrobe possibilities are endless in the Born Allegra: leggings and tunic, jeans skinny/jeans bootcut, skirt high/skirt low with patterned tights. I chose teal to punch up the color of my many charcoal gray/black ensembles in the winter time, but the color is so versatile, I see myself wearing these for at least three of the four seasons.

The Born Allegra is available at BornShoes.com, Shoeline.com, OnlineShoes.com , and Zappos.

 

If you know someone with not-so-perfect feet that would benefit from Barking Dog Shoes' daily updates , forward this on to a friend (see link below post, "Email This"). We'll make a $5 donation to Soles4Souls relief effort for Haiti for every new subscriber until 1/31. Read more here.

Help Soles4Souls Send Shoes and More to Haiti

Unicef Photo of the Year 2008 by Belgian photographer, Alice Smeets

I showed this photo to my eight-year-old son yesterday to help him grasp the level of poverty in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. This photo was taken shortly after a series of hurricanes left most of the city flooded for weeks in 2008. You will see this beautiful young lady is barefoot. You will also see a rusted tin can and other harmful debris in her path as she wades through the polluted waters. 

Where is this little girl now? Is she safe? Did her family survive the earthquake? Are they waiting for relief to make its way to their neighborhood, Cite Soleil, Port-Au-Prince's largest slum? First, I want to give this girl some drinkable water. Next, I want to secure shelter and nutritious meals for her and her family. And lastly, I want to put shoes on her precious feet. You too?

If you haven't already made a charitable donation to the relief effort in Haiti, consider assisting Soles4Souls Inc. as they commit to send 30 containers including over 100,000 pairs of shoes, water, blankets, medical supplies and baby products. Soles4Souls Inc. is a non-profit charity based in Nashville, TN. The founder and CEO, Wayne Elsey, shares the vision for his charity and thoughts on Haiti over at his blog, Wayne Elsey: Get Off the Couch. Read more about the history of Soles4Souls here.

There are three ways you can donate to the Soles4Souls relief effort:

• Text the word 'SHOES' to 20222 to give a one-time $5 donation to help Soles4Souls send 30 truckloads of relief to Haiti. (from their verified Twitter account).
  
• Visit the Soles4Souls website and make a charitable donation via credit or debit card. 
• Donate the shoes off your feet! Soles4Souls accepts gently worn shoes at donation boxes around the country. Find one near you.

Because we at BarkingDogShoes.com believe in this charity's mission, $5 will be donated to Soles4Souls for every new subscriber to BarkingDogShoes.com daily updates between today and the end of the month.

Comfortable Women's Shoes |Groundhog Footwear Reviews

Today we have two reviews of the eco-friendly AND comfortable footwear brand, Groundhog.

First up is Mandy,  a 20-something 5th grade teacher recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She owns the Cross-Over style above and the New Cross style below.

About me:  I love shoes.  And I'm sad I can't wear the ones I'm used to wearing.  But I'm happy about the new ones I have recently found.  I'm in my fifth year of teaching elementary school, and I'm currently teaching fifth grade.  I love my job, but being on my feet all day is very hard on my body.  I was recently diagnosed with an online shopping problem.  Oh, and I also have rheumatoid arthritis (with a secondary diagnosis of Sjogrens syndrome).  And a good sense of humor.  

My life with Groundhogs: I came upon Groundhogs at a local shoe store in Glen Ellyn, IL.  At the time, I was having physical therapy for knee problems and was told that I had to invest in better shoes.  I was attracted to them for their look and their write-up (I read that they were like Earth shoes but they didn't "rock" backwards).  I have fallen in love with them, and I just recently invested in a second pair.  I like the wide toe box, arch support, and the cushioned heel.  The overall shoe is very roomy.  I was also attracted to their unique style and cuteness.  

My feet issues: My RA makes my feet "puffy" and in particular, distorts my big toes.  My arches are high so I need extra support due to the cramping and wearing away of my joints.  I can wear my Groundhogs all day despite all of the issues I deal with regarding my joints in my toes. 

Our second review is from Megan of The Green Violet, an inspired daily wardrobe blog with an emphasis on vintage clothing. Megan owns the Groundhog Beth boot. When asked how she liked them and how they fit, she had this to say:

Overall, I love them! I think they are interesting, stylish, and timeless. They aren't really "in" style  right now, so I don't think they will go "out" of style any time soon. 

I do think they fit true to size, they have LOTS of room for the toes, and even more excitingly, they are plenty wide for my fat feet! They also have fairly wide calves, they fit my calves which are 18" in circumference. 

Here are some issues: the footbeds are comfortable but don't have that much support. If I wear them out for a while while running errands and standing around, they do make my feet hurt. I'm sure this could be rectified with some inserts I just haven't tried it yet. I do have extremely high arches, so this is a problem I have with most of my shoes. Also, the stitching has ripped in one place and I have probably only worn them about 15 times and it's not at any sort of pressure point so I'm not sure how it happened. I don't know if this is a reflection on the quality (they seem to be well-made otherwise) or if it was just a fluke. Also, these rubber soles don't have quite as much traction as I would like. Its been snowing a lot around here lately and i've been sliding around like crazy!

 

Where to buy eco-friendly Groundhog footwear:

• GroundhogShoes.com: free shipping.
• PlanetShoes.com: free shipping and returns.
• Endless: free overnight shipping, free returns. 
• Amazon: free super saver shipping.

Errands, Shoes, Comfort and Joy

I head into the big-box discount store hoping to quickly knock off a typical shopping list of disparate items: wreath hook, Gatorade, athletic socks, loofah sponge, cream cheese. I find the first four items in no time, manage to avoid the lure of the accessories department, and round the corner of the dairy aisle to grab my cream cheese before cruising to the finish line…I mean, cash register. I scan the dairy case and spot the familiar silver packs – right behind a door blocked by the cart of a woman absorbed in reading a yogurt label.

She is elderly, and I want to be patient and understanding (or at least fake it), so I pretend to look for cereal on the other side of the aisle. She continues to read. I remind myself that this could be my own mother, and move ahead in the aisle so as not to pressure her (thinking all the while, “Honestly, HOW MUCH IS THERE TO READ on the back of yogurt!?”) I force myself back into a gentle mindset, considering the possibility that she has a health problem and must be careful about food ingredients.

She continues studying, as I realize I’m sweating and unzip my coat. My fingers unconsciously start tapping as Miley Cyrus’ cheery voice blares from an overhead TV, two women nearby chat loudly in Polish (apparently about deodorant), an electronic version of “Love Me Tender” wafts from a few aisles over, and my son calls to ask why I’m late.

Finally, the old lady places the yogurt in her cart, handling it slowly and gently, like it’s a Faberge egg. I gear up to make my move for the cream cheese door…and she takes a DIFFERENT brand of yogurt from the case and starts reading! At this point, seriously, ALL I can think is…“Am I glad I’m wearing my EUROstep clogs! Standing here with hurting feet might really send me over the edge.”

Apparently the true secret to patience isn’t compassion or spiritual centeredness…it’s comfy shoes.

By Beth B., who will be moving from occasional guest blogger to a BarkingDogShoes.com regular contributor.