Real stories · The shoes that give an inch

My shoes fitted at nine and pinched by four — these adjust with the day

Shoes that give you an inch back at four o'clock — that's what these turned out to be, and nobody warns you how much you'll need it. I'm 67, and my feet keep two sizes: the morning size, when every shoe fits, and the afternoon size, when the same shoes have quietly become a size too small and the last errands are done through gritted teeth.

What I wanted was one pair that could keep up with both feet.

Then I found the Orvella from a British label called York Boutique — a clean white orthopaedic lace-up with a cushioned sole and a light, breathable feel. Mine is the white; there's black and off-white as well, in UK sizes 2 to 9.

The laces are the answer, and I'd never given them credit. Because the whole fit is adjustable, the shoe simply follows the day — snug at nine, let out a notch at four — which is why the afternoon errands no longer end through gritted teeth — while the cushioned sole and the support underneath do the quiet orthopaedic work hour after hour. And they look like fresh white trainers, not like a prescription.

A cushioned, supportive lace-up where the whole fit adjusts — which is why nine o'clock feet and four o'clock feet finally wear the same pair of shoes.

They were £29.95, half the usual £60 — or as I did the sums, less than the two pairs I used to rotate to survive one day. I did check I could send them back if they didn't suit — a fortnight, free delivery — which settled it.

They have since done three weeks of full days — the shops, the library run, every one of Winnie's walks — with the four o'clock adjustment now a small private ritual, and when I explained it to Sandra on a bench in town she stared at her own smart shoes like they'd betrayed her. They had. By about half a size.

If your feet also keep two sizes a day, do have a look. The Orvella is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 250 women, it comes in white, black and off-white, in UK sizes 2 to 9 — and at half price the white goes first.