A Most Irregular Choice

As if my infatuation with Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin shoes wasn't enough, I have recently discovered a new love. OK, maybe love is too strong a word here but serious like is not far off. About 3 weeks ago, I mentioned one a forum I frequent that I wished there was something like www.zappos.com in the UK. To my delight, someone mentioned a website they thought was along those lines and I checked it out. On their main page; staring at me, were the funkiest shoes I had seen up until that moment. I clicked on them and though "WOW, that's different!" I started browsing the rest of the shoes on the site and I kept seeing these incredibly funky shoes that I really liked. I started paying attention and they were all the same brand.....Irregular Choice.

I googled them and went straight to their online shop where they had even more styles. They had camel toe ones, heart shaped toes, etc. All of the shoes are definitely not your average kind, they are very, very....well.....irregular! Some are just too much for me but there are others that I really liked and couldn't wait to get.

I am a bit wary about buying shoes online these days because of the sizing issues I'm facing. I am US 7/7.5 or a UK 5 or a European 38 judging from the shoes I have actually tried on before buying but it seems lots of the stores can't make up their minds when it comes to size equivalents. For example, some places say that a US 7.5 is a European 37.5 and not a 38, etc. So, after drooling over a pair of shoes, I decided it was time to go to the store and get them.

I got there and it was heaving. There were many other brands of shoes but I headed straight for Irregular Choice. There they were, in real life. I asked for a UK 5 and tried them on. They fit perfectly and they were pretty comfortable too. The pair they brought out was a bit scratched on the tip so I asked for a different pair in the same size. After a few minutes, they came back and told me that was the last pair they had, not just in my size but in that style period. So, I went home with no shoes.

I went back a few days later hoping they had stocked up but no luck there. So, after much deliberation, I ordered them online late last week. They showed up today and they were just as deliciously weird as I remembered them and scratch free.

In buying these shoes, and in liking the brand, I am taking a HUGE leap from my regular purchases and taking a big chance. I normally buy traditional(ish) shoes and these are definitely like nothing I have ever bought before. I thought it was time to expand my horizons and take risks with my shoe purchases. I aim to slowly stray from my comfort zone.