A letter from a reader

At 67, I finally found a pair of summer sandals my feet do not dread

I have never written one of these before, and I nearly did not. But I have said this to enough friends now that it seemed easier to write it down.

For years my summers came down to the same miserable choice, made standing in a shoe shop with a sinking heart. The pretty sandals, the ones that actually looked like something, would have me limping by lunchtime. And the comfortable ones, the ones that did not hurt, looked like something handed out on a hospital ward.

Pretty, or comfortable. It never seemed to be allowed to be both.

So most years I gave up and lived in the same tired pair, or worse, kept my feet hidden away in trainers through all of July because at least those did not rub.

Then my sister wore a pair to lunch

A soft gold pair, delicate little straps, and she had been on her feet all morning. She told me they were from Manchester Boutique, a small British boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now, and that they did a whole collection of comfortable summer sandals. I ordered a pair that evening.

They are flat, the footbed is cushioned and genuinely supportive, and they do not rub anywhere. They are roomy enough for feet that are not quite what they used to be. And they are gold, so they look like something you chose, not something you settled for.

What happened at the garden lunch

I wore them to a friend's garden lunch and stood chatting on the grass for the best part of three hours.

Three women asked me where they were from. But the thing I keep telling people is that I did not think about my feet once all afternoon, which, if you are our age, you will know is not a small thing to be able to say.

I have barely had them off since. In the garden, round town, and they are coming on holiday with me, because for once I am not dreading all the walking.

Three things I have learned since

One. Comfortable does not have to mean dreary. The cushioned footbed is the part your feet feel, but the delicate gold straps are the part everyone else sees. You genuinely get both.

Two. They are kind to changed feet. There is a bit of room and a soft supportive sole, so if your feet are wider or more tender than they once were, these do not fight you.

Three. Gold goes with everything. Trousers, a summer dress, jeans. I did not expect a gold sandal to be the most useful thing in my wardrobe, and here we are.

About the price

I will be honest, the price made me suspicious more than anything.

They are £39.95. They were £80.00.

My first thought was that there had to be a catch, because a sandal that is genuinely comfortable to walk in usually costs a good deal more than that.

There is no catch that I have found. It is a small boutique selling directly, and they run a summer sale to move the season's stock. I read the reviews before I ordered, the way I imagine you are doing now. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars. Not the suspiciously perfect five you see on some sites, which if anything made me trust it more. The same things kept coming up. One woman had written, “Wore these on holiday and walked miles in them without a single blister. The gold goes with everything and I have had so many compliments.” That was the one that decided it for me.

What I would tell you if we were friends

If you and I were having a cup of tea and you asked me, this is what I would say.

If your feet have quietly started to dread summer, because the pretty shoes hurt and the comfortable ones are so dreary that you would rather hide your feet away, it is worth ten minutes of an evening to have a look.

Not because a pair of sandals changes anything. It does not. But being able to be on your feet all day and still like the look of them is a small thing I had given up on, and I would rather you did not give up on it too.

The sale is on now, and they do dozens of styles, so the nicest ones go first.

My feet no longer dread the summer. I did not think I would ever be able to say that.

Maggie