Last year I had customized boots made by Natalie, and owing to the fact that I got the wrong foot measured they were so uncomfortable on Carnival Monday that I had to resort to sneakers on Tuesday. This year I decided to buy my boots online, and found a very cheap pair at Amazon.com for $15.00US, with shipping it came up to just over $20.00. The only issue I had was with the fur, but that I easily removed, which left the boot very comfortable as it was not fur lined inside.
The heel was perfect; a wedge of just 1 inch, and the boot on the whole was extremely comfortable. I had bought these boots my exact size, and was worried they would be too small for insoles. Thankfully I did not need to use the insoles as they fit very well, and I just wore socks on Monday and my feet were not sore, aching or cramping at all. In hindsight I would advise anyone to buy your boots a size bigger in the event that you do need insoles.
A few weeks before Carnival, while planning my Monday wear I decided to get another pair of boots for Tuesday, that pair I bought at shoeocean.com and the price was $25.00. Those boots were shipped to a friend who brought them for me as she was coming to Trinidad for Carnival. My Tuesday boots were also flat, with a 1 inch heel, I got those one size bigger and used the Dr Scholls Heel and Boot insole, I felt as if I was walking on cushions, they were SO comfy! Those insoles were a Godsend as I did a lot of walking on Tuesday!
My Monday boots I decorated myself since I figured I would not be in costume anyway, and my Tuesday boots Afro Chic decorated as I wanted a very good job done and a boot that was not ostentatious in decorations as my costume was elaborate enough. When I decorate I really have no limit on what I will put on my boots! I think my Monday boots looked great, never mind I only used ONE can of silver spray paint and not two as Afro Chic advised, I was being frugal as my Carnival extras spending was steadily mounting up! Of course if these were my Tuesday boots I would have handed them over to Afro Chic as she is an expert in spray painting!!
These are how my Monday boots turned out:
The heel was perfect; a wedge of just 1 inch, and the boot on the whole was extremely comfortable. I had bought these boots my exact size, and was worried they would be too small for insoles. Thankfully I did not need to use the insoles as they fit very well, and I just wore socks on Monday and my feet were not sore, aching or cramping at all. In hindsight I would advise anyone to buy your boots a size bigger in the event that you do need insoles.
A few weeks before Carnival, while planning my Monday wear I decided to get another pair of boots for Tuesday, that pair I bought at shoeocean.com and the price was $25.00. Those boots were shipped to a friend who brought them for me as she was coming to Trinidad for Carnival. My Tuesday boots were also flat, with a 1 inch heel, I got those one size bigger and used the Dr Scholls Heel and Boot insole, I felt as if I was walking on cushions, they were SO comfy! Those insoles were a Godsend as I did a lot of walking on Tuesday!
My Monday boots I decorated myself since I figured I would not be in costume anyway, and my Tuesday boots Afro Chic decorated as I wanted a very good job done and a boot that was not ostentatious in decorations as my costume was elaborate enough. When I decorate I really have no limit on what I will put on my boots! I think my Monday boots looked great, never mind I only used ONE can of silver spray paint and not two as Afro Chic advised, I was being frugal as my Carnival extras spending was steadily mounting up! Of course if these were my Tuesday boots I would have handed them over to Afro Chic as she is an expert in spray painting!!
These are how my Monday boots turned out:
Original boot with fur & without the fur,which I removed :
After, spray painted & decorated:
Finished boot with Swans Down
On the Road!
The decorations on my boots lasted all day for the most part, I am missing one or two gems. These boots will be my footwear for 2009, God's willing, as they are now broken in good and proper. That saves me headache of having to find boots again! I noticed many, many, many ladies wore boots on the road and I was VERY happy to see that. My friend wore the flat, soft Ate Logo boots and said they were SUPER comfortable, not to mention they already came in gold/bronze. So, let me know how was your boot experience, if you tried them for the first time this year (or not); where did you buy your boots, the cost, how did you choose to decorate, comfort on the road, and will you do boots again or go back to sneakers, photographs are welcomed!
For photographs of my Tuesday boots visit Afro Chic’s FAB Carnival Footwear page on facebook, and you can also check out examples of footwear she did for other masqueraders on her Fab Boots blog. I predict next year she will be swamped with orders, especially for the customized sneakers, so you guys better get your foot in the door early!
16 comments:
Your Monday boots look FAB! THey turned out really nice even with the on tin of spray paint.
My boots on Monday rubbed the toes on my left foot till they were sore. But that's because I just wore them with no stockings/socks or anything. Just my bare foot in the boots.
My boots on Tuesday were SUPER comfy with both the stockings and socks. But it was the socks that made all the difference for me. I felt like I was walking on air.
Hi Saucy:
Nice Monday boots!
As for myself, this is my second year playing mas in boots. Last year, I got my boots made by Natalie as well. This year, since I'm a designer by trade, I decided to make my own mas boots for my costume in IPM's Kingfisher bird backline. I'm based in NYC so I purchased my boots from Rainbow at a cost of $20 USD. The boots are a brown faux leather with straps and buckles. Since I wasn't really sure of the exact colors of the costume, I did know the costumes had some brownish/ bronzy properties, so I just added a turquoise beaded fringe, bronze beaded trim and some turquoise stones.
Once I reached Trinidad and saw the costume and saw the blues used in the costume were more of an aqua set, I didn't fret... the boots matched my Monday wear perfectly (the hotpants provided and a tank/ vest I hand dyed and handpainted the "Animal Insticts" logo onto and trimmed in the bronze trim used on the boot), and for Tuesday, I just put the costume leg pieces on the top the boot and kept it moving. I can email the photo of the boot later if you like.
but ayyy ayyyyy !
saucy yuh want tuh put meh out of work!....lol
seriously though,you monday boots are niceeeee!
So I did see you on monday then! when we were makin the corner by roxy... lol I wasn't sure if it was you or not :)
Anyways I will definitely be doing boots next year however I will be buying my own READY MADE boots and getting them decorated, or decorating them myself. This year I bought mine from Natalie, and while I was happy with the design she did for me (and designs she did for others), I had a few issues with the boot itself...
(1) They were cut EXACTLY the size of my foot, which meant no real room for leeway, inner soles etc...I used lamb's wool to pad the front of the boot because I was worried that my toes would be getting a good jamming against the front...and I eventually wore them with stockings (with the feet cut off) and thin socks, plus I used the Dr. Schols boot insoles that Saucy talked about...all of which gave me an even snugger fit that I wanted (I know, not a good idea) but I do have a problem with my feet and I usually get tired sore feet from just standing around too much (and I really wanted to avoid that happening on the road), so I was willing to forgo some toe comfort for the overall happy feet walking in cushy insoles comfort. I suggest that anyone doing custom made boots may want to take whatever insoles/socks they plan to wear with them when getting their feet measured...maybe that will avoid the too snug fit problem I've mentioned here
(2) Carnival saturday night (at 11:30pm) I am trying on my boots, and lo and behold I notice one zipper is openign up when I zip it up...So I zip it back down to try again when next thing you know the zip burst away from the threading!! :( So you can imagine I had to wait about 3 hrs before I could sleep cause I was just VEX! Luckily my mom helped me burn some holes into the sides along the zipper and I made do with an impromptu laced up version of my boots. I ended up making holes on both sides of the boot...but because of how fitted the boot itself was, it was difficult to get holes done near the bottom so the was a little gaping hole between the sole and where my laces actually started...which ended up giving me a lil blister on one ankle...but that's really my fault because of how I did the holes
So the above meant there was no way I was attempting to wear my boots on Monday, next thing you know either my foot hurting too much or something else happened...and I really wanted to wear them with my entire costume so I resorted to sneakers on Monday instead...oh well all that money dancing up and i was really cussin myself for spending so much only to wear them on Tuesday alone...(my boots cost $600TT btw)
(3) The boots seemed to hold up ok on Tuesday, except I noticed the material just slightly coming away from the sole by the time i took them off tuesday at 6pm (and returned to my sneaks...which didn't seem to make Natalie too happy when I saw her later on by Adam Smith Square lol but at that point I was feeling too foot miserable to care). This made me happy that I didn't try to break them out Monday too. The major problem I had on Tuesday was that I could feel the heat from the road through my boots...I mean literally I just wanted to take them off and run my feet thru a Cool Zone it was that bad...and this was happening from the time we reached halfway between south quay and the savannah :( So I wasn't particularly happy about that. I kept asking my friends who bought boots from Payless if they were experiencing the same thing, but they weren't...so I have to chalk it up to the material the sole was made from...
So needless to say by the time we reached Woodbrook I just wanted to go home and take off my boots....cause the combination of the heat situation, the irritating blister, plus the all day jamming meant my footsies were really sore and achy :(
On the upside the insoles really felt wonderful, and I think it helped get me thru most of the day, but by the time 5pm reached I think my feet had all the squeezing they could have managed...
Also I have to say that Natalie was very concerned when she realised how snug my boot was when I first tried them on in her store and she wanted to ensure that they were comfy...I did wear them at home with socks and dance round the house like it was Carnival Monday lol and they did feel fine after about an hour or so, so I told her that they would have been good to go...Cause she herself was wondering whether she would have to redo the whole boot...so kudos to her for her decent customer service :)
So that was my boots story for this year...
I am in love with how boots in general look with a costume though...especially after seeing sooo many ladies with them this year. So next year I'll be going for regularly made boots instead :)
On a side note I think I will be making and selling decorated pouches for the ladies next year, as I did 7 for my friends and I this year and they all loved them...so will let you all know if I really decide to go ahead with that one :)
Thanks for the reviews so far, keep em coming!!!!
Inolden sure, send me pics I would love to see everyone's creativity.
Richard the boots were not the best but they were good enough for me. The spray painting could have been done much better.
Analise, I had a similar problem with my boots last year; I measured the smaller foot and the jamming on my toe meant I could not wear it on Tuesday. I experienced the heat as well, not from the bottom,, maybe because I had a wedge, but from the top.
The two "cheap" boots I bought fit very, very, very well and even thought I thought they would jeep my legs hot because they were lined that was not an issue at all.
When you compare the cost, you get a much sturdier, comfortable boot that you can reuse for MUCH less than $95.00US, in fact I got two boots less than half of that!!
They really look like a diff boot! & matched well w your outfit. You removed tan fur but put black fur on? I don't particularly like the look of decorated custom made boots & can't imagine they'd be comfy like real boots, but this style, manufactured real boots, I like.
(where's your Tues. boots?... oh, I see the link... :-D)
Hey folks, let me add a little two cents to this.
One thing about preparing your boots for Carnival - Think about how much time your feet would be in those boots and the activity that you would be subjecting yourself to in those boots.
When breaking in any set of boots, everyone knows to wear them before just stretch them for your feet.
My advice to that is - think of not just doing it for an hour but doing it for a few hours and doing with some jumping and whining into the mix.
Try chippin during those hours as well with ya boots. The reason I am saying to do these activities and for a few hours rather than a lesser time period is because -
a. By the time you get up on de morning of Carnival Monday or Tuesday, you are on your feet. Ya have to reach de band for 7-7:30am, ya on your feet. Six hours jumping up before lunch - ya on your feet from the time ya get up dat morning to de break. If ya take a rest, your feet will remind you that it has been up that long. Then you continue jumping up, whining your booty until last lap, if ya survive.
Meaning - Your feet have been up and active for more than 8-12 hours with NO PAY. Expect your feet to go on strike!
You might say - but that is working hours. Unless your job requires you to be in a standing, chippin, jumping and whining position, your legs and feet would not be conditioned for that activity unless it is part of your daily fit program.
b. Friction. When you first put on your boots, it feelin great. It is feelin like air. I am sure you put on your boots sitting down (releasing the pressure of the feet from standing)so when you stand up, it feelin good. Ya ain't start to move yet.
Your feet move forward and backward, side to side depending on what ya doing. If ya chippin - expect ya toes to kill ya.
If ya whining - where you place the pressure of your feet during this activity, will start to rub against the sides of your footwear.
c. Sweat will happen inside your enclosed footwear. Add heat (33C = 91.4F) and it feels more like 100F, mixed with hot asphalt, pressure!
d. How you walk also play a factor in how your feet will feel.
It's the pressure of weight distributed on your feet while you walk, will show key spots of pain and blisters of where your feet moves and rubs against the shoes.
IF you don't have a layer of cushion, that is, socks, insoles (and even that I will leave to the user as when I put on insoles, they hurt me feet like hell), your feet is practically walkin on asphalt.
e. Last factor - colour. The colour of your footwear makes a difference. Like colour in clothes, the darker the colour, the more the sun draws into that colour, the more heat your feet will experience. The lighter the colour, less the heat your feet would feel in them.
Think of it, your boots are insulators. You are cooking your feet literally. (I have vast experience of cooking my feet - no wonder they are always pink *LOL*)
Suggestion to help with the cooking of the feet in dark colours - white socks in your boots, powder to absorb sweat and odor, First Add Band Aid Stick to coat areas that blister or could blister (IT WORKS) and keep your foot spa/massaging foot bath that vibrates ready to be plugged in at the end of the day.
I even rub , in addition to the first aid stick, a little muscle rub just before I put on the socks, in areas that I know would experience pain. Now I am not saying to do this. I am just stating what I do before I set off to hit de road.
I am Malicious Jade and Ya don know
Steups... doh mean to be stink or anything eh.......but what is the point of the 6:43pm post?? I mean seriously...
I wore customized boots last year from Natalie. Like another blogger commented, it was coming loose at the seams (it was not secured enough with just the hot glue) and my sole was too thin. I did go a size bigger.
I wore thin ankle socks, knee highs and Dr. Scholl's gel inserts. I was comfortable and I will definitely wear boots again and again...
Next year I will purchase my boots and have it decorated **I am not that talented :-(**
~Saucy--both your Monday and Tuesday boots looked beautiful :-)
~Afro Chic--please note you getting my business for 2009 :-)
That is so true Goddess. *laughing* Sometimes my sharing can just make no sense.
MJ
I can't play Tuesday mas in anything other than boots.
Kara I took off the fur and replaced it with Swans Down :) The fur was all over the boot, but I thought the fuzziness was needed to the top.
this was my first year playing mas in boots and i promised myself to play in boots from now on. i too am in nyc so i got my boots for $25 at rainbow. they were plain white slouch boots and i had Sexy P. decorate them for me. since i was in Amalthea, it was easy for her to get the gold appliques necessary for the boots but she even went and extra step and got some beautiful white feathers to decorate the trim. the feathers weer just the perfect touch as they looked exactly like those on my costume and i even took the ankle wraps and tied them around my boots for extra feather effect. i was THRILLED with them and they were absolutely comfortable. not to mention, much cuter than the sneakers i would have worn... :)
You guys are making me jealous with all this boots talk...I wore sneakers, and didn't have a clue of how to decorate them. I love AfroChic's designs though...even for sneakers - truly the work of creative genius. Saucy I think you are starting a revolution here. Next year I'll see...
For this year, I bought a pair of boots online at www.cutesygirl.com. They only cost $23 dollars and fit perfectly. I sent them to Natalie to be decorated and she did an AMAZING job. However, it was quite a pricey decoration at $550 TT. However, the price did not bother me so much esp since the boots were so beautifully decorated. I was unable to play mas or wear my boots because I was in a car accident, but when I sold my costume, the girl also took the boots because they looked so good. I put in the Dr. Scholls gel insoles for extra comfort. I called the girl on Tuesday morning to see if the boots held up well, and she said they did. I should mention that it had a three inch wedge heel. It was gonna be my first time playing in boots. There's always next year though!! I would like to try to decorate my own boots, but I am SOOOO scared of messing them up.
jaded teardrops
Boots for ever!
I've always believed that boots 'finishes' a costume in a way that no other footwear can. Over the years I went from wearing undecorated sneakers to spray-painted sneakers to custom made boots (which I wore with regular insoles and 2 pairs of socks and they STILL killed my feet), then back to spray-painted sneakers and finally this year I bought a pair of suede slouch boots online, threw some Dr. Scholl's in that badboy and I was never happier. After looking at all those fabulously decorated boots I'm definitely gonna try my hand at decorating my boots next time.
Post a Comment