Characters on the Bench
November’s Question
Fancy footwork: what shoes would we find on you/your protagonist’s feet, and what footwear would you/they never be caught dead wearing?
 Maggie Toussaint: While my catering sleuth tends toward practicality in her everyday footwear, River Holloway Merrick loves black stilettos. I’ve never been able to successfully walk in high heels of any height, preferring instead flats or a modest wedge-shaped heel.
Lois Winston: Anastasia Pollack, my reluctant amateur sleuth from the eponymous Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, is far too practical to wear heels most of the time, but she will slip into a pair for special occasions. However, Gracie Elliott, who sleuths her way through my Empty Nest Mysteries, is a sucker for sexy designer heels. As for me, ever since I had foot surgery a few years ago, I’ve become a Skechers girl—comfort all the way! Neither Anastasia, Gracie, nor I will ever be caught dead or alive in Crocs!
Terry Ambrose: Well, if we’re talking about McKenna in the Trouble in Paradise Mysteries, they’re set in Hawaii, so his usual footwear would be slippahs, which are the same thing as what the rest of the world call flip-flops. I’m pretty sure McKenna would never be caught wearing high heels. Let’s face it, an old man in heels? Eek!
Nancy J. Cohen: Marla, my hairstylist sleuth, stands on her feet all day so her shoes are practical choices for comfort. She’ll wear low-heeled pumps or strappy sandals but leaves the stilettoes for other women. Now that she has a ten-month old son at home, easy footwear is imperative.
Debra H. Goldstein: Sarah Blair is practical and pragmatic. She, like me, wears sneakers or low heels. Neither of us would ever be caught dead wearing Jimmy Choo stilettos.
Cheryl Hollon: Miranda Trent owns a cultural touring business in eastern Kentucky smack dab in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Her events include trail hiking to sandstone arches, where she teaches Plein air painting. She mostly wears sturdy hiking boots and then changes into cute flats for entertaining her clients at a southern meal paired with moonshine cocktails. She owns a pair of black swede kitten heels to go with her little black dress. Miranda would never wear a pair of four-inch stilettos.
Diane A.S. Stuckart: I’m a shoe-free kind of gal, so I’m barefoot the minute I walk in my front door, though I’ll throw on a pair of Crocs to work in the yard. Out in the world, unless I’m hiking somewhere, I prefer boat shoes or else clogs. No way will you ever find me in mile-high heels, though sometimes in the winter I’ll pull on a pair of ankle boots. My B&B proprietor in my Georgia B&B Mysteries, Nina Fleet, is on her feet a lot, so she prefers sneakers during the day. But she’s not opposed to a nice pair of heels (not too high!) for a night out.
YOUR TURN– FAV FANCY SHOES AND THE NEVER-EVER ONES…
Posted in On The Bench • Tags: Authors on the Bench, BLB Discussion, Characters on the Bench, Debra H Goldstein, Diane A S Stuckart, Lois Winston, Maggie Toussaint, Nancy J Cohen, Terry Ambrose | 14 Comments
I have a deformed foot after fracturing it in eight places. I have specialized shoes that are made for my feet. They are flats. I could never wear heels when I was younger. I had weak ankles.
Oh, Debbie! I’m glad that you found the right shoes. I used to turn my ankles all the time too, though not so much these days. Not sure what happened to change that, unless it was calcium supplements. Oh well. As you saw in my response, I’m not a heels girl either. Comfort is my main decider in selecting a shoe for each day.
I’m retired, so any high-heeled shoes from work are in the closet. And after suffering from a broken ankle and plantar fasciitis, foot pain is a real thing. So my footwear is all about comfort now. Footwear changes with the seasons from New Balance running shoes, Merrell or Teva sandals, hiking boots with soft sides, and warm waterproof winter boots for our 4.5-5 months of snow/ice in Ontario.
I hear you, Grace. I’m a comfort gal myself. Love your shoe choices!
All my conference shoes are cooling their heels in my closet, but I’ve fallen in love with the Rothy’s brand of flats. They’re incredibly comfortable, made of recycled water bottles, and can go right into the washer. Love them.
Sneakers or hiking boots for me! I fall off heels lol!
I like low-heeled sandals. Can’t wear higher heels anymore although I never wore spiky ones.
I do recall falling off platform shoes back in the 70s. Luckily the only thing damaged was my pride!
You made me smile, Diane. I also remember wearing platform shoes. Luckily, one of my sources of entertainment as a kid was walking on stilts. So I just moved my feet with platform shoes as if I were wearing stilts. Still had a few discombobulations though!
When I was working I always tried to wear flats or Velcro shoes because they are easier on the feet. Now that I’m at home I can be found in just socks, sneakers, Velcro shoes or bare feet. That’s my favorite comfortable footwear. Footwear I wouldn’t dare wear is any kind of heels. I used to wear small heels when I was younger and OH the pain it caused my feet. Since my feet aren’t the same size and my feet are different sizes, I usually have to buy a larger size for the one foot and deal with the shoe possibly falling off my foot. I broke my ankle when I was young kid and then to boot my family doctor set the ankle wrong in the cast. So finding shoes for me isn’t easy.
Gosh, Crystal, you have such a time with footwear! I’m sorry to hear about your mis-set ankle and I share you love of comfort shoes or bare feet. At least you now have a good strategy to wearing shoes.
Give me sneakers, give me flats, give me liberty!
Made me laugh! We have inalienable rights of footwear!
Frankly, I don’t think there’s any article of apparel so up for debate as shoes (well, maybe bras…sorry, gents).