At 62, I finally stopped carrying a second pair of shoes in my handbag. This is a letter about the white walkers that made that possible
Six things these light, smart-looking walkers get right that a pair of "sensible" trainers and a pair of pretty flats never managed between them, from a Perth woman who walks everywhere and was tired of choosing.
Maggie Whitfield · 62 · Perth, WA · 5 min read
I'm 62, and for about ten years I have walked out of the house with two pairs of shoes. On my feet, a pair of chunky white trainers, the sensible sort that are lovely for walking and look like you're on your way to a hospital appointment. In my handbag, a pair of pretty flats, for the moment I arrived anywhere nice. Lorraine and I walk the river path from Mends Street every Thursday before coffee, and every Thursday I'd sit on a bench outside the café and swap shoes like Superman in a phone box. Ray called the flats "the emergency pair." My handbag weighed as much as a bag of potting mix. So this is not a review. It's a woman with a much lighter handbag, telling you what she walks in now.
The shoes I'm writing about are the All-Day Walkers from Perth Boutique, a small Australian boutique that dresses women our age. Mine are the white, a soft knit with a tan leather heel and a tan stripe running round the sole, so they look more like a smart pair of brogues than anything you'd wear to the gym. Lorraine spotted them first, of course. She sent me the link with: "These could end the shoe swap." When Perth Boutique later asked if they could share my letter, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Here's what ten years of swapping shoes on park benches taught me. A walking shoe and a going-out shoe were never really two different jobs. I just couldn't find one pair that did both. The comfortable ones looked like I'd given up, and the nice ones gave up on me by the second kilometre. What I wanted was something I could walk in all morning and still sit down to lunch in without tucking my feet under the table.
The comfortable ones looked like I'd given up. The nice ones gave up on me by the second kilometre.
The All-Day Walkers are the first pair that have done both for me, and having worn them on the river walk, round the Fremantle markets and to a long lunch in Subiaco, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
Smart enough to wear anywhere
This is what ended the shoe swap. The white knit is clean and simple, and the tan leather at the heel and on the tongue, with that tan line around the sole, makes them look finished, like a proper shoe rather than a trainer. They look right with white jeans, with linen trousers, and, I've discovered, with a summer dress. Nobody at lunch looked at my feet and thought "gym."
River walk, then straight into the café. No bench, no swap. Lorraine raised her coffee cup and said, "To the end of an era."
So light you forget they're on
Perth Boutique call them featherlight, and for once the description undersells it. My old walking shoes felt like I had a brick tied to each foot by the end of a morning. These are so light that the first time I picked one up I checked the box to see if the other was missing. When you walk as much as I do, every bit of weight off your feet is weight off your whole day.
Fremantle markets with Ray, two and a half hours on our feet. He asked for a sit-down before I did. That has never happened before.
A breathable knit for Perth summers
The upper is a soft, open knit, and you can feel the air come through it. My old trainers were like little ovens by eleven o'clock on a February morning. These stay cool, and the knit gives a little as you walk, so nothing rubs and nothing pinches across the top of the foot.
34 degrees by ten. Walked the river anyway. Came home with cool feet, which in a Perth summer is practically a miracle.
Room for your toes
The toe is roomier than most smart shoes I've tried, so my toes sit side by side the way they'd like to, instead of being squeezed into a point. That's half the reason the pretty flats always went back in the handbag by lunchtime. In these, I simply didn't think about my toes all day, which is the nicest thing I can say about any shoe.
Three courses, two glasses of rosé, and I didn't slip my shoes off under the table once. First time in years.
Comfortable from day one, with a sole that grips
I wore them straight out of the box, which I'd never normally risk, and there was no breaking in. Not a single blister. The sole is a chunky, grooved white sole with a bit of give to it, and it feels steady and grippy on the river path and on the shiny tiles at the shopping centre after rain. At my age, that matters more than anything with a heel ever will. I can only speak for my own feet, of course, but mine were very happy.
Took Ruby along the treetop walkway at Kings Park and all the way round the gardens. She ran, I walked, we both made it to the ice-cream.
Nine colours, lots of sizes, and an honest word on fit
The All-Day Walkers come in nine colourways, from this white to black, olive, brown, caramel and blue, and in sizes 6 all the way to 15. I'll be honest, because I promised I would: the product page doesn't say which size system the numbers are, and there isn't a measurement chart yet, so before you order, ask Perth Boutique's team which size matches your usual one. That's what I did, they answered quickly, and mine fitted first time.
Gave the "emergency pair" to the op shop. Ray says the house feels different without them. Lorraine has ordered the black.
These, against the two-pair system
Most of us have been carrying a compromise around for years. Here's the difference, laid out plainly.
Comfortable shoes that look like the gym
Pretty shoes that pinch by lunchtime
Heavy on the feet, hot by eleven
A swap on a park bench
A handbag like a bag of potting mix
Smart white knit with tan leather trim
Room for your toes, all day
Featherlight and breathable
Walk in, sit down to lunch, walk home
A purse and a lipstick
About the price
The white pair is $49.95 at the moment. The website says they're usually $76. I won't pretend I know what a pair of shoes like this ought to cost, but I can tell you I spent more than that on the pretty flats that lived in my handbag, and they never once made it through a whole day on my feet.
You can split it with Afterpay, which works out at four payments of about $12.49, and Zip is there too if that's what you use.
Shipping was free with Australia Post, tracked and insured, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee if they aren't right. For shoes, where you can't try before you buy, that's what got me to press the button.
available
to choose
Australia-wide
If you're 55, or 62, or 70, and there's a spare pair of shoes riding around in your handbag because the ones on your feet can't do everything, these are the shoes I'd hand you myself, while your size is still there. Take the flats out. Walk all the way to lunch.
Maggie
All-Day Ultra Comfortable Walker
Afterpay: 4 payments of about $12.49 · Zip available
- Smart white knit with tan leather heel and trim
- Featherlight and breathable for warm days
- Roomy toe, so your toes aren't squeezed
- No breaking in, straight out of the box
- Chunky grooved sole with a steady grip
- Sizes 6 to 15 · 9 colours
- FREE shipping Australia-wide & 30-day money-back guarantee
End of season sale on now, while stocks last.
About the writer. Maggie Whitfield is 62 and lives in Perth with her husband Ray, a lemon tree that produces more than they can eat, and a standing Thursday walk and coffee with Lorraine. She worked as a dental receptionist for twenty-six years and is now, in her own words, "saying yes to things."
This page is an advertisement for Perth Boutique. Individual experiences may vary. These are everyday walking shoes, not a medical product; if you have a foot condition, please speak to your podiatrist. Perth Boutique · Free shipping Australia-wide · 30-day money-back guarantee.