Real stories · Footwear

After years of aching feet, these are the first summer sandals I haven’t wanted to take off

I’m 67, and for the last few summers my feet have quietly ruled my life. Nothing dramatic — just the ache that starts halfway round the block, the swelling by teatime, the way I’d find any excuse to sit down. I have a little dog, Winnie, and even our short walks along the river here in York had started to feel like a chore. All because of my feet.

The trouble was always the choice. The comfortable sandals looked like something the doctor hands out — clumpy, beige, about ten years older than I feel. And the pretty ones? Half an hour and I’d have a blister. I’d more or less made my peace with trainers, even on the warmest days.

Then my daughter-in-law showed me a pair she’d bought from a British label called York Boutique — the Honora sandals. I wasn’t hopeful, but they were having a summer sale, so I ordered the beige just to try.

I can only describe that first walk as a relief. The upper is a soft knitted mesh, so my feet actually breathe — no more hot, swollen feeling by the afternoon. Underneath there’s a cushioned platform sole that seems to soak up the pavement, and the back is a stretchy band that simply gives, so they slip on and off without me bending down and fussing with buckles. They’re feather-light, too. I kept waiting for the ache to arrive. It didn’t.

I kept waiting for my feet to start complaining. Three weeks in, they still haven’t.

I’ll be honest, I assumed they’d be dear. The comfortable brands in town start at sixty pounds and climb from there. But because York Boutique sells straight to you — no shop in the middle taking its cut — the Honoras came to £29.95 in the sale. I read it twice to be sure.

What really made me smile was lunch last week. A friend I hadn’t seen since spring peered under the table and said, “Where on earth did you get those?” Three of us had ordered a pair before the pudding arrived. They come in a proper range of colours — I’ve got my eye on the blue sky next — and in sizes from a 3 right up to a 9.

If your feet have been holding you back the way mine were, I’d say give them a go. They’re rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 300 women, and reading those reviews is honestly what tipped me over. The summer sale has them at £29.95 instead of £60 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first. I wouldn’t leave it too long.