I’ve been a New Balance sneaker guy for over a decade. So I blame those Tony Romo commercials praising Skechers footwear for this purchase. I wanted to escape the tyranny of shoe laces with a comfortable slip on. I knew Diane found her Skechers fashionable and comfy. So I tried on a pair of Skechers After Burn Slip On Walking Shoes and enjoyed the fit and comfort. Plus, Diane had a $20 off coupon at DSW (Diane ALWAYS has a coupon!) so the new Skechers only cost me $41.53. The shoe box raves about “memory foam” in Skechers’s products. What kind of footwear do you prefer?
As a real German I’ve been wearing Birkenstock sandals mainly for the last 50 years – they were the only sandas then where my feet wouldn’t slip out.
Though they were really expensive while the patent lasted, they were the only sandals I could wear at home, in the garden and outside, while driving even (!) .
My first wife used them also, especially while working in the hospital – and my second wife was also immediately fascinated by their so called “foot bed”.
If the weather’s bad I wear leather shoes, nothing else!
Funnily enough it happened to me twice while visiting the USA that I found really nice and good quality shoes (Bostonian) at marvelous price! Once in NYC at the 21st Century outlet, once in another outlet somewhere.
PS:
One story I’ll never forget.
On a flight to Florida our luggage had problems in Miami. First we had to wait a long time and then the stuff was open, maybe a seam had broken. Nothing important was missing except my wife’s Birkenstocks …
So she had to walk around in the Florida sun with sneakers. Luckily on the second day we had planned to go to Key West and I thought I might get some Bs there- and I was right!
But of course they were horribly expensive – more than a hundred $, that was a lot of money 25 years ago …
Now we often get them for a special price of 20€ i e less than 25 $.
Wolf, we have a sneaker culture over here. I had a student who wore a different pair of sneakers each day to class. I finally asked him how many pairs of sneakers he owned. “Over a hundred,” he answered.
$40 for SHOES?
I never spent $40 for a suit — with 2 pairs of pants!
My first car didn’t cost $40.
Honestly, the things you kids blow your money on!
Now if it were an old book or a pulp….
Dan, I’m surprised at the number of $100+ shoes and sneakers in DSW. But people were buying them…
I have wide feet and have trouble finding shoes that are comfortable. I did like the Sketchers I had a few years ago, but Dr. Scholls makes a nice sneaker that I’ve been eating for work. When summer comes, I’m in various sandals and flip-flops for the duration.
/On a related note, I’m bummed about the closing of Payless Shoes. They could always be relied on to have a decent variety of wide shoes (dress shoes and sneakers) for a reasonable price.
Deb, Diane refuses to buy shoes, sneakers, or clothing online. “I want to try it on before I buy it,” she insists. But I know a lot of people who regularly order shoes, sneakers, and clothing online…and just return it if it doesn’t fit.
I don’t blame Diane, but Jackie is one of those online buyers. She usually says that she has already had the same shoes – perhaps in a different color – so knows they fit. That would be fine, but every once in a while she buys me a pair online when Amazon has a sale price (Eccos can be pricy), and so far I haven’t had to send any back. I’m too cheap to spend the big bucks, but Jackie is like Diane in finding sale prices. If shoes that sell for $139 are on Amazon for $69, who am I to argue?
Jeff, Diane hates to return stuff. Usually, she has me return an item she bought that didn’t work out. I’ve returned some damaged books to AMAZON. It’s easy. But Diane has me trained to try shoes, sneakers, and clothing on in a store first.
eating=wearing
/Stupid autocorrect!
//I’ve typed “stupid autocorrect” so often, that the predictive text feature on my phone pops up with the whole phrase when I type “stu…”
Deb, autocorrect frustrates me every day, too!
I prefer Reeboks walking sneakers because of the good support. But in recent years, Jackie and Jeff Smith have successfully converted me to Eccos for all shoes. For a guy who made due with two pairs of sneakers most of his life, I probably have more pairs of shoes now (a dozen or so) than I ever have had at one time.
Don’t laugh, ladies. Some of us just want comfort rather than dozens of every kind and color under the sun.
Jeff, I think Bill Crider was a big fan of ECCOS shoes, too.
We got Bill to buy a pair of Eccos, and he liked them, but because they were expensive he hardly ever wore them. That’s not the point, I said, and he just smiled sheepishly.
Me, once I spent the money to buy my first pair, I have not bought anything else. I used to be able to regularly get them at DSW, but that’s been iffy lately.
Since Eccos are all I buy, I have no problem ordering them online.
Jeff, I know Jeff Meyerson is another Eccos aficionado.
I think Wolf means Century 21. There is the original on Cortlandt Street downtown across from the WTC, but there is a big one (two stores) here in Bay Ridge on 86th Street half a mile from us. The second store’s entire second floor is shoes.
Jeff, we’ve had several shoe stores close in the last couple of years. Diane liked Payless for her summer sandals.
Jeff, thanks – of course.
My (second) wife found some vintage Levis stuff – a skirt and blouses, really nice and cheap even.
She like me became a real outlet fan on our holiday in the USA. 🙂
Wolf, we have a huge Outlet Mall about a 20 minute drive from our house. Canadians flock over every weekend to escape their GST and PST taxes…and find bargains not available in their country.
When we went To Niagara Falls (Canada) ten years ago it was different. The US$ was so weak (1€ = 1.50$ almost) and the Canadian$ too that we went into a shopping craze. I still remember the Levis outlet in Niagara Falls and how we shopped in all sizes for the whole family. Since it was March the Falls were still frozen (will never forget that view) and there weren’t too many customers so we got a young sales guy to help us. He heard us talking in German, asked what language this was and then called his supervisor – a young German woman who had emigrated to Canada. We got a lot of tips from them both – when she looked into our shopping cart she told us:
If you buy a bit more you’ll get an extra discount! Of course we followed that advice, my wife had to get a few t-shirts to get over that limit, maybe 200 Can$ …
The funniest story:
I wanted XXL stuff for me and my wife’s relatives (even XXXL) and asked those salespeople why they didn’t have a larger selection of that and the lady told me:
This is Canada, not the USA!
Anyway people were very happy when we brought all that nice stuff, vintage western shirts and cowgirl blouses and of course t-shirts with messages for our young ones …
Wolf, the monetary situation is completely different now. Ten years ago, the Canadian dollar was worth more than the U.S. dollar. Canadians would flock over the Border to shop in Western New York in droves. Today, we still have a lot of Canadian buying, but it’s mostly a tax dodge not a currency issue.
My favorite footwear? Anything that fits my size sixteen feet.
Jerry, size 16! Wow, you must be a big guy!
Big as in tall? Yes. Big as fat? Sadly, yes. Big as important? I wish.
Jerry, I can tell by your comments here and on your own blog that you have a Big Heart.
Reebok tennis shoes. Been wearing them for years and find them comfortable and long lasting. Don’t like any sneakers with the pull up tab on the back since it causes my pants to bunch up.
Steve, before I became a New Balance guy, I wore Reeboks and liked them. But the last pair of Reeboks separated at heel. I Super-Glued it, but it still fell apart. That’s when I moved on to New Balance.
New Balance, but I don’t buy new shoes very often, the pair I’m wearing these days is about 10 years old. I only own one pair at a time. Otherwise I have a pair of flip-flops, from Columbia Sports.
Rick, for anything strenuous–which I rarely indulge in–my preference is a New Balance sneaker (I have three pairs). I like the strength and support of New Balance products. This new pair of Skechers should serve as a convenient pair of sneakers for going to the grocery store or other errands.
These days I have three pairs of Skechers and they have become my favourites, one pair of which I only wear at my exercise centre. I also wear a couple of other pairs of sneakers. Have a pair of slip-on Skechers that I wore this spring when flying to Florida as they were easy to deal with at the airport security. I like the look and style of the ones in your photo so may have to find a pair. Sandals are a no go for me. When I was working, I must of had dozen pairs of dress shoes and now I only seem to put on a pair for banquets and funerals. And I’m still not ready to wear a pair of brown shoes with a blue suit, which seems to be the style.
Kent, I like the feel of these slip-on Skechers. Like you, I only wear dress shoes to weddings and funerals. I don’t own a pair of brown shoes. It’s black and grey for me.
I buy for fit! No idea what the brand is but I’ll bet it’s not one made by starving kids in Bangladesh!
Bob, if you like fit, you’ll like the Skechers After Burn Slip-On Walking Shoe. I have no idea where it’s made.
You’re right, Bob; they’re probably made in China.