Outdoor Season Snuck Up On You?

I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost two years. He’s outdoorsy and I’m a city girl. I haven’t owned a pair of sneakers since high school! What do I do when my boyfriend wants to take me trail hiking or on a romantic walk around a lake?

I knew it was time to invest in sneakers. I have large feet, as some of you have read – size 10, and sneakers make my feet look even bigger. Also, I really don’t like the way sneakers and socks look with shorts on my body. I think it’s an awkward look. I feel others can pull it off much better.

I tried on a couple of pairs of sneakers and found that Pumas look best. They have less of a footprint and aren’t nearly as wide as other sneakers so they give a nice line to the foot and I don’t feel embarrassed by my large pieds. I still won’t wear them with shorts.

Another type of sneaker to invest in is from Cole-Haan. Cole-Haan works with Nike to make a line of comfortable, sneaker-like casual shoes. They also have a terrific line of dress shoes. FYI – Cole-Haan is revitalizing the sneaker department so many of their offers may be on sale over the next few weeks. I bought their newest addition, and though it looks great, you really do have to break them in. The backs of the shoe come up past the ankle and hit in a tender area, causing blisters. Wear with thick gauge socks at first and then, once the sneakers start to feel comfortable, decrease the thickness of the sock and they should be fine.

Stella McCartney has paired up with Adidas. I had a pair of Adidas sneakers in high school and, I have to say, these look rather similar. They also conform more to the shape of the foot leaving a slimmer silhouette; but I am a Puma girl.

Too bad Juicy Couture doesn’t have sneakers! Their ballerinas are very cute.

The next dilemma – hiking boots!! I looked at L.L. Bean’s website for day hikers. They looked huge! The only ones I really liked were $109, which was more than I was willing to spend. How often am I going to go hiking anyway? Also, to find boots that fit properly, you are told to purchase them a half size to a full size bigger than what you would normally wear!

I think I’ll put off looking for hiking boots a little longer. At least I now have two pairs of sneakers!

~ Dawn Land