My Doc's Stoneflys

At my last physical, I was struck to the point of distraction by my doctor’s shoes, possibly because they resembled the Mephistos I’d coveted (see 6/6/08 post). After discussing my issues (all minor, thank you), I took a few seconds to talk shoes.

Exhausted after a weekend on call and wanting to lift her spirits, she had dressed in a nice suit with a tulip-shaped skirt and new Stonefly’s Sonjas, a slip-on wedge in Nero (black) patent leather (also in chestnut brown patent, black fabric, and black leather). Considering how much standing she did, she realized it was worth it to spend money on comfortable shoes, even though she thought they were expensive!

Not the perspective I expected from a general practitioner at Mass General. But the definition of expensive is relative, right? (I think what I pay for healthcare is expensive, but that has nothing to do with her.) Zappos has my doc's Stoneflys for $130 (down from $144), although Shoebuy.com sold them for $290, which definitely qualifies as expensive. I’m deciding now to define shoes as expensive if they are over $150. Or over $200. Definitely if they are over $250.

I've tried on Stoneflys and wasn’t impressed. Because of the name, I thought they were an American brand pretending to be a European comfort shoe. They looked like what you’d be afraid a comfort shoe would look like: clunky, practical, mannish. In fact, a few years ago when my husband drove me to the Cambridge clog store, Vintage Etc (crazyclogs.com), one of the shoe stores I try to check out regularly, he ended up buying a pair (the Elegant 20 model with Gore-Tex).

But like a lot of comfort brands, it seems Stonefly's added some zip to their styles. At least, judging by my doc’s Sonjas. And it turns out Stoneflys are a “premiere Italian shoe manufacturer,” started in 1993. In something called a Comfort Lab, they’ve conducted research, drawing inspiration from the sporting footwear sector, and arrived at unique technologies like Shock Air and Blu Soft gel cushioning. While these “technologies” sound a bit gimmicky, I’m willing to reconsider.

First Shoe Memory

My love of shoes can be traced back to a pair of blue patent Mary Janes. The closest matches I found on Google were these "Maloles" (above) ($295 at Piperlime) and these "Pour La Victoires" (below) ($154 at Zappos). Yet unlike these contemporary Mary Janes, unless my memory is playing tricks, mine had a multi-cutout pattern, including a triangle behind the strap on the outside of the foot. The next time I get out my family albums, I'll scour the shoes. In the meantime, these Peacock (Aqua) Alice Crocs ($34.99 at shop.crocs.com) represent a less serious aspect of my first shoes. I don't remember if blue was ever a favorite color of mine; it certainly isn't now. But I know I put them in a prime spot on the floor of my closet so I'd see them first every time I looked in. And the peep-toe patent heeled Mary Janes from Chadwick's ($24.99 on sale)? I would never wear them now, seeing as I am not a high-heel wearer, but they would have been perfect for dress-up.

Own: LOVE My Kamiks

While my mother was getting her hair cut next door, I wandered in to the Curtis Family Shoe Store, a tiny place in Ellesworth, Maine. It was July of 2007 and I was not looking for rain boots. Not because of the summery weather, but because I was a rain boot snob. Even after 20 years in Boston, where rain boots were required unless you wanted wet feet and ruined shoes, I refused to buy LLBean duck boots — the standard issue rain boot for New Englanders. Duck boots are not stylish in any way, shape, or form. Despite what this Fashiontribes poster says.

Then I spied these Daisy Pink Kamiks. Their sherberty pinks and oranges channeled Emilio Pucci, the jet-setting Florence fashion designer known for bold kaleidoscopic prints (and Capri pants). Pucci’s daughter Laudomia has been involved in updating the brand since Pucci's death in 1992, which must explain Pucci’s footwear collection, and the Pucci pumps and rain boots I found on Zappos!


Luckily for my pocketbook, I prefer my $55 Kamiks to the Puccis (pumps $270; boots $154). Apparently, so do a few celebrity mother-daughter pairs. Orange Daisy wearers allegedly include Courtney Cox and daughter Coco, Brooke Shields and daughters Rowan and Grier, Kelly Ripa and Lola, Gywneth Paltrow and Apple. Pink Daisy wearers include Reese Witherspoon and Eva.

Introduced to the USA in March 2007, Montreal-based Kamik rain boots are made of recyclable synthetic rubber, and because of a new technology have clearer graphics with no distortion or front seam that otherwise ruins the boots' design. When asked about the rain-boot stink factor, I’d have to say that mine are stink-free. Kamiks are made with soft Polartec lining and removable Kaxeric antibacterial insoles. But to be honest, unlike some teens I hear about, I mostly wear mine when it rains.