Can we all agree that getting old sucks? You reach a certain age and you discover that things just don't…work…as well—or at least the same way—that they've done all your life.
Case in point, my left hip has started complaining whenever it was forced to move in a certain direction; that direction being primarily when I cross my legs to put on my shoes. I've taken to slipping my shoe on while standing and then leaning over my ample belly to pull it on the rest of the way (because it never slides completely in ["That's what she said!"] and tie my shoelaces.
A couple months ago an ad popped up on my Instagram for shoes by a company called Kizik. I hadn't heard of the company, but their product certainly seemed to address the difficulty I was having putting on my regular sneakers. (I don't even own dress shoes at this point; the ones I did have were all deemed unsalvageable after the fire and I haven't had any need to replace them since.) Being an Instagram ad, I was naturally skeptical based on previous experience, but it appeared they were shipped from the US by a startup company who had a decent return policy. They were a bit pricey—over twice as much as I usually paid for sneakers—but I figured they were worth a try.
The first pair I ordered were solid black in color, something I could easily wear to work (not that it really matters since we are very casual there). They arrived, I slipped them on, and I was in Heaven.
I don't think I've ever worn more comfortable shoes. After thoroughly testing them out by wearing them to work every day I was in the office for the past month, I decided I also needed another pair for weekend/WFH days. Those could be more fun. I ordered the blue ones in the picture above.
They're just as comfortable. For the past year or so when wearing my New Balance sneakers (a brand I've been wearing for at least the last decade) my feet would start begging around 2 pm to have the shoes removed. Not so with the Kiziks. Yeah, the Kiziks get shed the moment I get home like all my shoes do, but damn if it's not a treat just getting through a workday without having to slip my shoes off mid-afternoon!
1975 "The Stepford Wives".
"If you had to do an ad for Kizik, you would do it for free."
(Remember the movie this quote comes from?)
I confess I do not.
Never heard of Kizik before, but they'll be the next shoes I buy. It makes me swoon that I don't see a corporate logo, since I rather disdain being a free walking billboard.
Related (and also uncompensated) — To ease the aging difficulty of putting shoes on, I've been using these very-long shoehorns for several years now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CKEOFI6/