I have a new best friend - my newly discovered love of Birkenstocks

Ask any girl how she feels about her shoe collection and she will probably say she is always looking for more and is always open to the idea of adding to it. I can head to Target to buy paper towels, end up walking by the shoe department and BAM a new pair of wedges magically end up in my cart. A stop at an adorable little fashion boutique while on a weekend girl’s trip “just to look” and I end up with a new pair of boots.

I always stop to look at shoes no matter what store I’m in……..……….ALWAYS.

My shoe wardrobe can be put into one of 5 categories:

1. Athletic shoes that I actually work out in (I have about a thousand pair and hardly ever throw any out when I get a new pair). I might need a pair to paint or mow the lawn in.

2. Boots – my “go to” shoe in the winter - from tall to short, from heels to flats, boots go with pretty much everything.

3. Wedge sandals – my “go to” summer shoe when I want to feel more put together. I have almost as many wedges as I do work out shoes and have multiple pairs in the same color. There’s nothing wrong with that and anyone who questions it you should no longer be friends with.

4. Converse – my casual, run errands on the weekend shoe. I have multiple pairs of these too……..no explanation needed.

5. Flip slops – my REALLY casual run errands shoe. I think of these as disposable footwear. For under 3 bucks a pair I can have every color in the rainbow and feel zero guilt.

Back in the day when I first graduated from college and I worked for a company that had a strict business dress code, I had to wear suits, dresses or skirts which of course required some sort of pump. I had tons of colors all with different heel heights. Being only 5’2” I would gravitate toward the higher heels and would end up teetering around on 3 inches all day. My feet could take that abuse with no problem. In fact I worked downtown in the city and had to park about a mile from my office. Making the long walk from my car to the office and then back was easy in heels.

My feet were younger then.

I wouldn’t say that my feet are in bad shape now. I know many my age or even younger who suffer from things like Plantar Fasciitis or bunions or just general pain. I don’t have any of those issues…….thankfully! My feet are just older than they used to be and they can’t always rock it out in an awesome pair of heels or even walk around all day in a pair of cheap flip flops. I find that if I’m not nice to my feet on a regular basis then they aren't nice to me.

I’ve been following other fashion bloggers who have been singing high praises for Birkenstocks for years. I read their glowing reviews and many times even went to the link to buy a pair but I could never pull the trigger. I just couldn’t make myself hit the checkout button. Birkenstocks didn’t fit into any of my shoe categories. I thought they weren’t fashionable enough to put on my feet AND they are expensive! At least to me anyway. I have some “expensive shoes” in my closet but being the frugal shopper I am, I didn’t pay full price for them. I wait patiently until the expensive shoes go on sale and then I buy them. Birkenstocks don’t go on sale…….EVER. I would have to pay full price for a pair of shoes that I didn’t even really like………GASP! That’s not the way I like to shop. If something’s not on sale then I have to really, really love it in order for me to buy it. Birkenstocks did not fall into either of those categories. I didn’t love the way they looked and they weren’t going to go on sale. It just wasn’t gonna happen.

Then one day I had an appointment for a facial in another part of town. When I got there I realized I had written the wrong day on my calendar so they couldn’t take me. I had time to kill. I noticed right across the street, there was a family run shoe store that I had never been in. I decided to go in and look around because duh………see paragraph #1.

Right away I knew it wasn’t the type of store I would typically shop in – it was a “comfort shoe store” and was filled with brands like Merell, Clarks, Dr. Scholl AND………….a huge department of almost every style and color of Birkenstocks.

It was a sign from the shoe Gods.

I browsed around the dozens of Birkenstocks on display and within a couple of minutes a salesperson asked if I needed help. I told her I was interested in trying on a pair but didn’t want anything that looked too “Birkenstockie”. She looked at me a little funny but pointed me to the Salina style which she thought might work. She also suggested I try on a couple of other styles.

She headed to the back and brought out about 5 boxes of various styles and colors. I took off my $3 pair of Old Navy flip flops that I thought were soooooooo comfortable and slipped my feet into the Arizona style that are the original and iconic Birkenstock style.

I think my feet went into shock. These shoes felt AMAZING!!! The support they gave my poor neglected feet was something I had never experienced in a non-athletic shoe. This is the point that I knew my life was going to change.

I then moved on to the Mayari style which is a little more feminine looking and has the criss-cross leather that forms a loop around the big toe.

These felt fantastic too. Holy cow! What can of worms had I just opened? Was I now going to have a closet full of every Birk style in their collection? Was I going to stalk the Birkenstock website waiting for new arrivals and the latest colors?

I had already fallen in love with the 2 styles I had tried on. Why not go for 3?

I slipped my foot into the Salina next. The straps on the Salina were a little narrower and the shoe looked “dressier” to me. I walked around the store and just knew. I knew it was a match. A match made in heaven. I loved how my feet felt. I loved how much support I had. I loved how comfortable they were.

I asked the young girl who was helping me, what she thought. I still needed validation that comfort sometimes trumps fashion. Sometimes you need to do something good for yourself. Your feet literally carry you thru life. Why not make them feel good while on the journey?

I asked her, “Should I get this pair?”

She replied, “I might be the wrong person to ask. I have 9 pairs of Birkenstocks, including the 3 styles you tried on. I love them all. I think you can’t go wrong with whatever you decide”

I said, “Ok, I’ll take these”.

I walked out with the Salina's in a metallic taupe color – on my feet. Not in the box, not in the bag. On my feet. I wanted my feet to experience joy right away.

If you are on the fence about making the investment in a pair of Birkenstocks. I urge you to at least go to a store and try a few pairs on. Get them on your feet. It’s the only way you’re going to know if the investment is worth it to you. For me, 100 bucks to be kind to my feet was worth every penny. My feet love them and the little aches and pains I used to get when wearing more fashionable shoes has all but gone away.

I’m no doctor or expert on the anatomy of the foot but I can only speculate that because I wear my Birks several times a week at minimum – my feet get some “recovery” time. They get some time to be pampered and taken care of. This makes those times when I wear heels or shoes that offer little to no support, much easier for my feet to handle.

I love my Birkenstocks and see more pairs in my future.