Hip hopping in style?
December 22, 2013 1:12 PM   Subscribe

I have to hop on one foot on concrete. Are there any fashionable and supportive shoes for me?

I have broken my hip and I am non weight bearing for nine more weeks on one side. As I have also broken my elbow, I am using a wheelchair and walker to get around.

The easiest way to get me out of my house and into a car to go to work is using my walker with gutter arm attachment. I must hop on one foot (supported by walker) from door to street (including one concrete stair) and half a block to a location where I can load into the car. I then either hop or wheel at my destination.

I am going to return to work soon in software, the environment is fairly casual but not casual enough for me to feel comfortable wearing athletic wear. I plan to wear dresses/tunics and black leggings until such a time that I can bend and use my arm for pants with zippers.

I was hoping to wear these black boots, however after hopping to/from car in these boots (and doing a second hop to/from car on the same day in these running shoes), the knee on my good leg is in pain probably due to high impact nature of hopping. I am a big girl so it is a lot of weight on one joint.

I would like to avoid injuring my good leg, but at the same time I would like to be able to wear co-ordinating footwear. Changing shoes at work is a non-starter since I can't bend down, if I start in boots I end in boots. I can have helpers put on shoes at home but not at work.

Here are the constraints:
- Supportive enough to help avoid knee/ankle injury on good leg when hopping on concrete.
- Must be available in Vancouver, BC or ship within Canada with reasonable return policy.
- Available in ladies 10-11. Boots are size 10 and runners are size 11.
- Must withstand light drizzle and wet condition of Vancouver winter. Assume I will only go out in temperatures above freezing.
- Non skid. Must be able to pivot on one foot as well to transfer from walker to chairs.
- Unobtrusive when worn with black leggings and casual day dress/tunic. Dress 1, Tunic 1, Dress 2, Tunic from boutique that is similar to the one I purchased. The third dress is a short sleeve casual wool dress, black with blue and white pattern, that hits 2-3 inches above knee.

Any suggestions?
posted by crazycanuck to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (3 answers total)
 
I bought these Cobb Hill Penelope shoes for standing desk use, and that line seems like it might be a good place to start looking. Cobb Hill is New Balance's line of professional shoes with athletic-shoe technology in the soles and insoles, and they have definitely helped cushion my feet.
posted by limeonaire at 1:47 PM on December 22, 2013


Doc Martens, especially with a thicker sole, tend to be great, very bouncy, and good grip.
They have a limited range of soles, so you can try on a pair of docs at a shoe store, to establish the supportiveness of the sole, and shoe size, before possibly ordering a different pair online.

However, having a broken hip is exactly the kind of circumstance in which it is generally ok to wear athletic shoes, even in a work environment. Look after yourself!
posted by Elysum at 4:19 PM on December 22, 2013


I have a pair of Dansko shoes which I walked miles on cobblestone streets on, so I think it might work for you too. (I couldn't figure out which style I have, though.) Adding insoles to your current shoes may also help (assuming there's room to do that or you could wear a lighter sock to make it work).

What I did to find comfortable shoes which look nice is go to REI and I tried on everything professional looking (since it's all made to be comfortable to wear). So if you're up for an outing, I'd suggest going to Mountain Equipment Coop and seeing which women's shoes look nice. (Or have them mail you some.)
posted by Margalo Epps at 4:20 PM on December 23, 2013


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