I heart Payless.

Let me explain. :) - Btw, aren't the above shoes so cute?!?! Sometimes I miss working. I miss wearing heels every day! :)

In April or May of last year I went to the dr. for pretty severe foot/heel pain. I was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis. I was told that this condition is due to wearing flip flops and/or going barefoot too often. I can vouch for that & confirm it because I hate shoes & I live in flip flops or I'm constantly barefoot. Even in the winter time. :)

Relief & treatment? Begin wearing very supportive shoes. My worst nightmare. I was totally not thrilled with this because like I said, I don't like shoes. Especially heavy shoes. Especially in summer time in Texas! But ok. My foot hurt pretty bad so I'll oblige.

I tried Nike. I tried Skechers. I tried the famous not-real-attractive Dr. Scholls. I tried expensive shoe inserts. All to no avail. By the time this May rolled around my foot was in poor condition. The level of pain was right under 'excruciating', I had developed a knot where the pain was localized, severe pain directly under that knot, & my foot was beginning to go numb in that particular area. I could no longer go barefoot at all because it was entirely too painful. I wore shoes from sunup to sundown. I told husband I didn't know how much more I could take it hurt so incredibly bad (& keep in mind, I'm on my feet all day). He kept encouraging me to make an appointment with a Podiatrist & I had just about reached that point. Shots in my foot were sounding like complete heaven compared to the pain I was walking on.

And then one Sunday, I ran in to Payless. I'm one of the 'occasional' Payless shoppers. I run in there just to see what's up about 2 x a year. I browse their purses (yes, I'll take a Target purse or a Payless purse over my Dooneys anyday! My Dooneys that I sold on eBay. :), browse their shoes & skim over the kids' section. Then I'm on my way. You know Payless' reputation - either people love 'em or hate 'em. Perfect shoes for some, too 'cheap' of shoes for others. I fell right in the middle of those. :)

This particular day a light & airy flip flop grabbed my attention. I believe they're called "AirWalk". I tried it on. Nice. Nice & cushy. What the heck, I had tried all the others. Might as well try these too. So for $17 I bought them & gave them a shot. I have not taken them off since. In weeks.

To be exact, I think it's been about 3 weeks now & my Plantar Fasciitis is gone. Gone I'm telling you! Non-existent. The knot that had developed is subsiding. The pain directly under that knot disappeared. My feeling in that area is returning. This is the best my foot has felt in over one year. :)

I'm now a Payless fan. :) Even for my children. My kids have had all brands of shoes. I've done Stride Rite. Numerous times. Whatever. (I'm not really impressed w/ brand names. Maybe on a few things, but certainly not all.) I've done Nikes, I've done Skechers. Blah, blah, blah. I won't stop purchasing these brands, but I will add to the bunch some Payless shoes. Especially summer shoes. The sandals? Cute! Flip flops? Perfect for summer. I might as well pick myself up some more while I'm at it because I think they are cute! :)

My theory? Payless may not be the best shoe on the market. However, they most certainly aren't the worst.

Happy Friday! :)