skirtcafe.org

Been quite a time since I last posted in this thread; Since then I have gotten two pairs.


The EU43 DMs have replaced my sneakers for daily wear during the winter here, funnily enough. They are not the most comfortable shoes, I have to admit(If only they were sold in EU44...), but I have mostly been wearing them with both indoor socks and thick wool socks for the heat. They are a lot more comfortable in thin socks or tights and will hopefully get better as I wear them in. BUT those soles just grip everything, even black ice like it was covered in sticky tape.


These were to big for my wife, actual EU44's, so after having them in our closet for ten years she handed them over to me, just for fun to try on, and they sort of fit so I kept them. I've been wearing them indoors to get them to adapt to my feet, which is going quite well, so I'll probably wear them out once the ice is gone.

Here's one you might consider, if you like "English school sandals."
Sizes go up to European 44.5. Many colours. Orders go via Etsy, but it says "ships from UK."
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1497477124 ... 1497477124

I was reading up on mary janes the other day and guess, what they weren't originally a woman shoe. They weren't even for adults. They started out under a different name as well, buster browns, They were unisex kids shoes. There's lots of old photos of boys wearing them, seems it wasn't until about two decades after they came out that women started wearing them and as we all know once women start wearing something men won't touch them, they might have anyway I just couldn't find any accounts of such.

In the UK there is a brand called Start-Rite, which have made baby to children's shoes since 1792. They are famous for the Mary Janes, but now days they call them T-Bar shoes. If you look at their range, the shoes are essentially the same between the pink and blue sides, just the colours, patterns and names of shoes to denote Boys and Girls. My brother and I had them when we were small in the 1960s.
https://www.startriteshoes.com/blog/wha ... AuBo2GzXhs

https://www.startriteshoes.com

I believe that there are two basic versions:

1. A single, simple strap.

2. Straps forming a "T" shaped configuration.

I certainly wore brown T-bar sandals as a child in the 1960s (and coveted the open-toed sandals worn by adult men).

Norwich was one of the three major centres of shoe manufacture in the UK https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/2 ... facturing/.
My mother put me in Startrite sandals for nursery school in the 1950’s.
The factory (perhaps one of several in the city) used to be at https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir//52.649474,1.3122317/ but has been demolished and redeveloped into an old people’s home. I remember going there in the late 1990’s to buy several pairs of shoes (school styles, up to UK 9) in their wind-down to closure sales.
The web-site https://www.startriteshoes.com/about-us seems to say that they still manufacture in Norwich, but I think that’s not correct - they now make their shoes in India.

familyman34 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 18, 2025 8:34 pm Norwich was one of the three major centres of shoe manufacture in the UK https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/2 ... facturing/.
My mother put me in Startrite sandals for nursery school in the 1950’s.
The factory (perhaps one of several in the city) used to be at https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir//52.649474,1.3122317/ but has been demolished and redeveloped into an old people’s home. I remember going there in the late 1990’s to buy several pairs of shoes (school styles, up to UK 9) in their wind-down to closure sales.
The web-site https://www.startriteshoes.com/about-us seems to say that they still manufacture in Norwich, but I think that’s not correct - they now make their shoes in India.

I checked out the T-Bar shoes on the www.startriteshoes.com website and the selection for boys regarding styles and color does not compare to the selection for girls! The girls have EVERY style and color that the boys have plus the cuter designs and colors. They are still doing the typical ManBox crap! When will it stop?

jamie001 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 13, 2025 2:55 amThey are still doing the typical ManBox crap! When will it stop?

Give it up. It's not going to change or get better in our lifetimes. We lost that battle in the 1970s and it was officially buried low in the 1980s. We can try to soldier on one-by-one, but that's going to get dangerous in some places soon and we'll be putting ourselves at needless risk.

Our European brethren will likely have it better, but even Europe is not immune to mass hysteria and worldwide sentiments.

Whinging about it is not got to make one whit of difference and merely annoys the audience (who already have precious little use for the Status Quo).

jamie001 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 13, 2025 2:55 amI checked out the T-Bar shoes on the www.startriteshoes.com website and the selection for boys regarding styles and color does not compare to the selection for girls! The girls have EVERY style and color that the boys have plus the cuter designs and colors. They are still doing the typical ManBox crap! When will it stop?

Yes, the girls get to wear the more interesting shoes, as well as fancy/frilly socks. When might this change? Maybe late into a sartorial revolution-long after the current membership is gone.