Ive Worn Old Lady Shoes Since I Was Nine By Joan Young on May 26, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

Mushrooms Walkers are not as wonderful as they claim, but they are certainly worth their low cost.

As a child the doctor told me to learn to walk right or he'd have to cut my feet open and pack them with hamburger. Serious child that I was, I believed the foot doctor! Needless to say, I quickly learned to stop being pigeon-toed, and began to strengthen my ankles and stop over-pronating. Part of the solution was that I would forever be wearing solid orthopedic shoes.

Actually, my feet and back were instantly cured of the pain that I thought was just normal, and I've never, ever been sorry that I can't wear shoes with heels or no support.

Since they have begun making sneakers, tennis shoes, whatever you call them, with such great support I mostly wear a good-fitting pair of those. But occasionally I am supposed to look better than that.

So.... this winter I found myself in need of a pair of shoes that I could wear in a classroom. But I sure didn't want to spend a lot of money since I knew they would not be worn a lot. And yet, they had to meet my basic support requirements.

I saw an ad in those coupon supplements in the newspaper, and decided to take a chance. For $20, I can't complain. They are almost right, and I didn't have to wear them for very long at any one time.

The shoes I bought are Mushrooms tie walkers. They are listed on line for $25, so I assume the flyer I used was a promotional sale.

In general:

These shoes are all man-made materials. But I have to say that the vinyl is soft and looks very much like leather. They are not a bad-looking shoe. There are four lacing holes. The top and bottom ones are grommets (like any tie shoe) and the middle two are small D rings. I have no idea if this is supposed to create more adjustment options. It doesn't seem to mean anything to me. There are various small holes for ventilation. They come in sizes 5 1/2 Medium through 11 X-Wide. Made in China.

The things that were right about these for me:

- flat crepe sole

- padded collar

- tie closure

- roomy toe box

- unobtrusive color (I bought black. They also come in white and taupe)

- small waffle weave on side is attractive

- removable insole so I could insert my own custom orthotic

- they are offered in a small enough size

- they have a slot on the tongue for the laces (although they did not come with the lace already threaded in this slot)

The things that weren't quite right about these for me:

- the heel collar does not come up quite high enough, so it doesn't give enough support, and it hits the nerve in the top of my heel (a problem apparently somewhat peculiar to me)

- the sides don't come up quite high enough, so it doesn't give enough support

- they only come in medium and wide; I really need narrow

- for some inexplicable reason the pair I received had shoestrings of different lengths- not fatal, but annoying

- they are very soft

Conclusions:

I was able to wear these shoes to class and feel that I was dressed appropriately. They were not too hot- often a problem with shoes for me. I don't think that my feet would tolerate them for more than a few hours at a time; they did not offer enough support. They held up well, and cleaned up nicely by wiping them down with a damp cloth. I've now worn them for about 150 hours of time, almost all of it on my feet, and they still look like new. If you only need a moderate amount of support they might work just fine for you. They claim to have “Exceptional Walking Support.” I don't think they quite live up to this.

AmeriMark Mushrooms