I bought my first pair this week. I’ve only worn them for a little while so far (they just arrived last night) but I can definitely tell that they change the way I stand and walk. The negative heel actually makes me feel a little off balance for the first few steps, and I can really tell that the shoes are working my calves. I think I’m going to like them, eventually, but I also think they are going to take some geting used to!
I have issues with my feet – plantar fasciitis and bunions, not to mention being a fat woman who is on her feet for most of the day, so I am hoping that the shoes will be good for me. Has any one else worn these, and what has your experience been?
Someone noticed footprints at the beach and discovered that when we walk, we put much more weight on our heels than we do on the balls of our feet. They concluded that that is a more natural way to walk. Most shoes don’t really let that happen. Earth Shoes have the heel lower than the ball, supposedly allowing for this more natural walking style.
I don’t know that anyone has really done a legitimate study on if they make a huge difference to your health.
Their website is here. I own a pair of their sneakers, because someone here recommended them for plantar fasciitis, and I decided to give it a shot. Reviews I found online were distinctly mixed - some said that said that they could help, and others said that it actually make it worse.
It took me at least a week to get used to them - and my legs killed me for the first few days. I haven’t had a problem with plantar fasciitis since, though, I must admit.
Back in the 70’s I was so sold on this idea that I made two separate attempts to wear them. Neither attempt was successful. I could not get past the hurting part.
Haha, you want old-time fads? Celyn is currently wearing Clark’s Start-rite sandals and feeling very retro and stompy. If the name makes no sense in the USA, well, they’re basically shoes that every second kid was wearing in Britain in the late 1960s/early 1970s, meant to be healthy for growing feet and all that.
The Earth Shoes sound fun, but wouldn’t the unaccustomed strain on one’s calves be upsetting for a while? I’m basing this mainly on times of wearing shoes when there’s a "heel falls off "disaster. They might be a good idea, though, as I’m convinced that any “fashionable” shoe I see is pretty nasty. Something to put on my buy-them-some-day list…
Apparently the brand is doing pretty well; Zappos.com carries 499:eek: different styles.
I wore them for a good while today while walking the mall, and they were pretty comfortable. We’ll see how I feel about them tomorrow! I became interested in them when a coworker bought a pair of MBT shoes, which also have a negative heel. She loves hers and says that they have really made a difference to her legs and back after a 12 hour shift at the hospital, but I didn’t really want to commit $245 to a pair of work shoes. The Earth Shoes seemed like a good compromise.
Always Brings Pie, I have wide feet too, and the Earth Shoes fit me just fine, so they might be worth trying.
I was in the rehearsal room used by the Men’s Chorus at Loyola Marymount University (this would put it at Fall, 1977). Paul Salamunovich had just finished running us through one of our songs, and IIRC, he was looking for the next song he wanted to work on.
Father Trame came up to read out announcements (things like: when the roll call was going to be for our next concert), and when he finished, he said we should all try a pair of Earth Shoes, they made standing and walking so much more comfortable (even if they did take some getting used to). Paul said we couldn’t wear them to the concert (black dress shoes only, don’tcha know, with the tuxes).
I went right out and bought a pair, and wore the hell out of them for the next year. They were pretty comfortable, very roomy in the front part of the foot, and yes, they did make me feel unbalanced for about the first week. I never bought another pair, though. Just too expensive.
My Earth shoes died a natural death in the early 80’s. I seemed to be the only one I knew wearing them so I faced scorn and ridicule. I should have worn the kind that made me gorgeous, intelligent, fascinating, kind, and humble. :smack:
Mine are “Desert.” Not the color I would have chosen, usually, but once the store put them on my feet I wasn’t willing to take them off and wait for a different color in my size.
I’m going to have to get a new pair soon. I think I’m going for Nolita next time.
If the name makes no sense in the USA, well, they’re basically shoes that every second kid was wearing in Britain in the late 1960s/early 1970s, meant to be healthy for growing feet and all that.