Bared Footwear – Attractive, Comfortable and Orthotic Friendly Shoes
Finding woman’s shoes that are attractive, comfortable and can fit orthotics can be almost impossible. However, recently I came across Bared Footwear located on High Street, Armadale in Melbourne that seems to be able to do all three, make attractive comfortable woman’s shoes that are also orthotic friendly.
Their website claims “Bared Footwear aims to design shoes that make you look and feel great. Revolutionising the ‘daggy’ comfort shoe.”
With claims like this I had to check out Bared Footwear for myself. However not being a woman and not willing to try wearing woman’s shoes I also took along my wife who wouldn’t normally go anywhere near a shoe that I thought was appropriate for her feet as a Podiatrist.
The shoes really do stack up well from a Podiatrist’s point of view.
- The shoes have adequate width that are wide enough in the forefoot (front of the foot) to fit most woman’s feet without squashing their toes together. Shoes that are too narrow and compress the toes can cause bunions, claw toes and hammer toes.
- All of their shoes including their ‘flats’ have a small heel on them which helps provide stability and arch support to a shoe. You do not want to be able to bend a shoe through the middle or be able to ring it out a like a cloth. A shoe should ideally only bend across the forefoot at your toes where your foot bends when walking.
- The heels on all of Bared Footwear’s range have a nice stable broad heel rather than an unstable narrow heel.
- The shoes have lots of cushioning in them which helps to keep your feet comfortable
- The shoes come with a foot bed/orthotic in the shoe which is very comfortable but may not be enough for those with significant foot problems. However this does mean the shoe will be able to fit an orthotic custom designed for your feet by your Podiatrist.
- Overall the shoes appear to be made to a high quality and I have been impressed by them. I’m looking forward to purchasing a pair of their men’s shoes myself.
So what does my wife have to say about wearing Bared shoes now for a couple of weeks? She purchased a pair of Raven ankle boots.
These are the most comfortable boots I have worn. The Raven boot has a decent size heel on it but I am able to wear them all day and while walking around as my feet don’t feel squashed into them at all due to the width and the softness of the leather. I also really like the feeling of them under my foot. There is obvious support and cushioning which makes them so comfortable. I am definitely going to be getting a few more pairs of shoes from Bared.
Bared Footwear is located at: 1098 High St, Armadale VIC 3143
Phone: (03) 9509 5771
Website: www.bared.com.au