Glamatron

I always want funky shoes. But depending on the brand and my current weight, I can wear anything between a 10 and a 12. Which means, I live by aerosoles and, for a while, men’s shoes. I’ve come up with a couple of other places that do good things - one of course is Camper of Spain (they do great stuff, really wild, very rarely shows up on ebay if you’re looking for a bargain, shipping to US is actually both reasonable and reasonably fast); I can tell you from personal experience that their shoes run true to size. I can also tell you, if you’ve got bigger feet - take advantage of their men’s shoes; the boots in particular are TDF. The other though is the recently popular Simple shoes - eco-conscious shoes in funky styles, using everything from old tires to recycled paper to bamboo in their make-up. They have everything from polka dotted sneakers to espadrille-like wedges to silk boots (silk boots!). The leather shoes they do carry are for the most part certified eco-intelligent - in other words, they look for tanners that don’t totally destroy the environment with every piece of leather they dye. They even have a pair of shoes that you SEW YOURSELF! (believe me I’m very tempted now that they’re on sale!).

You can find their shoes through catalogues like Garnet Hill and Title IX, but there’s often a significant mark-up, so I’d go straight to the store the next time you need cool shoes and feel like doing your bit for the birds, bees, flowers and trees. And for those of us with big feet - they go up to size 12!

I’m going to be buying a pair or two in a couple of weeks, so I’ll report back on the outcome later.