At 62, I watched every woman in Perth start wearing these retro trainers and assumed they weren't made for feet like mine. This is a letter about finding out they were
Six things these cushioned trainers get right that every "fashion" sneaker and every "comfort" shoe before them got wrong, from a nanna who was tired of being the only one at the café in walking shoes.
Maggie Whitfield · 62 · Perth, WA · 5 min read
I'm 62, and sometime in the last couple of years every woman in Perth started wearing the same shoes. You'll know the ones. Low, retro trainers with suede panels, stripes down the side and a caramel gum sole. My daughter-in-law has them. The girls at the café in Leederville have them. My granddaughter Ruby's teacher has them. And I sat at Thursday coffee in my chunky white walking shoes, the ones the podiatry shop sold me in 2019, and assumed that look was for younger women with younger feet. So this is not a review. It's a woman who found out she was wrong, telling you why.
The trainers I'm writing about are the Liza, from the trainers collection at Perth Boutique, a small Australian boutique that dresses women our age. They have exactly that retro look, with a padded, cushioned insole inside. My friend Lorraine, who never lets me get away with anything, pointed at my feet over our flat whites and said, "Mags, those shoes are older than Ruby. Get the pretty ones. They're comfy, I've got them." She was right, as usual. 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 years of "sensible" shoes taught me. Somewhere after sixty, there's an unspoken rule that you're allowed comfortable shoes or fashionable shoes, but never both. The fashionable ones are flat, thin and hard, and your feet know about it by lunchtime. The comfortable ones are bulky, white and clinical, and they make you look like you're on your way to a physio appointment. So you pick comfort, and you quietly accept looking a bit older than you feel.
I wasn't too old for the trainers everyone was wearing. I'd just never found a pair that was kind to my feet.
The Liza is the first pair of trainers I've owned that I'd happily wear to a café in Leederville and on a three-hour walk round the lake. Having worn them for a month, to coffee, to the shops, round Lake Monger and chasing Ruby round the playground, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The retro look, without trying too hard
They have everything that makes this style so lovely: soft suede-look panels at the toe and heel, two stripes down the side, a cream upper and that warm caramel gum sole. It's a classic look that's been around since I was a girl, which might be why it doesn't feel like I'm dressing younger than my age. It just feels like I'm dressing well.
Ruby: "Nanna, you've got the cool shoes." Highest compliment I've had from a seven-year-old.
A padded, cushioned insole inside
This is what makes them different from the fashion trainers in the big shopping centres. Inside, there's a padded, contoured insole with cushioning that softens each step. My feet felt supported from the first walk, and I got to the end of a long day out without that sore, flat feeling I'd come to expect from any shoe that looked nice.
Three laps of Lake Monger with Lorraine, then lunch. Feet fine. Lorraine smug, as usual.
Light on your feet and breathable
They're lightweight, which I noticed straight away after years of chunky walking shoes that felt like bricks. They breathe, too, so on a warm Perth morning my feet don't cook. I'd walk round the shops and forget I had them on, which is the nicest thing you can say about any pair of shoes.
All day in the city, Christmas shopping, 31 degrees. Didn't think about my feet once until the bus home.
A flexible, non-slip sole
The sole is flexible and non-slip, so it bends with your foot as you walk rather than fighting it, and it grips on the shiny floors at the shopping centre and the wet path by the lake. Feeling steady matters more and more as we get older, and these feel planted without feeling heavy.
Sprinklers had been on at the playground. Ruby ran, I followed. Didn't slip, didn't wobble, didn't have to say "slow down, Nanna's coming."
They go with everything, even dresses
This is what surprised me most. The soft cream and khaki go with absolutely everything. I've worn them with jeans, with white linen trousers, with my navy midi dress and even with a floral skirt, which is exactly how the younger women wear them. My chunky white walking shoes only ever went with my exercise leggings. These go with my whole wardrobe.
Floral midi and the Lizas to lunch in Leederville. The waitress, about 25, said "love your shoes." I may never take them off.
Six colours, AU 5 to 11, and an honest word on fit
The Liza comes in off-white, khaki, black, brown, wine red and even a leopard print, in AU sizes 5 to 11. I'll be honest about the fit, because I promised I would: if you have wider feet, Perth Boutique recommend going one size up, and I'd follow that advice. I have slightly wide feet and went up a size, and they're perfect. And if they're not quite your style, there's a whole collection of comfort trainers to choose from.
The 2019 walking shoes have been demoted to the garden. Lorraine says that's where they always belonged.
These trainers, against the shoes I used to choose between
Most of us were taught we could have comfort or style, but not both. Here's the difference, laid out plainly.
Pretty trainers that are flat and hard
Comfort shoes that are chunky and clinical
Heavy on your feet by the afternoon
Only go with your exercise gear
A choice between looking good and feeling good
The retro look everyone's wearing
A padded, cushioned insole inside
Lightweight and breathable
Go with jeans, linen and dresses
No choice needed, finally
About the price
The Liza is $69.95 at the moment. The website says it's usually $139. I won't pretend I know what a trainer like this ought to cost, but I can tell you I paid more than that for my chunky walking shoes in 2019, and they never got a single compliment.
Perth Boutique also take a bit off if you buy more than one: 10% for two, 15% for three and 20% for four, and it comes off automatically at the checkout. That's how a black pair for winter ended up in my order. You can split it with Afterpay too, which works out at about $17.50 a fortnight.
Shipping was free with Australia Post, tracked and insured, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee if they're not right. That's what got me to press the button.
Size up
to choose
Australia-wide
If you're 55, or 62, or 70, and you've been watching everyone else in the trainers you love while you sit there in your sensible shoes, this is the pair I'd hand you myself, while your size is still there. You're not too old for them. You just needed a pair that's kind to your feet.
Maggie
Liza™ · Orthopaedic Trainers
Buy 2 save 10% · Buy 3 save 15% · Afterpay available
- Retro look with suede-look panels, stripes and a gum sole
- Padded, contoured insole with cushioning
- Lightweight and breathable
- Flexible, non-slip sole
- Goes with jeans, trousers, skirts and dresses
- 6 colours · AU 5 to 11 · wider feet, size up
- FREE shipping Australia-wide & 30-day money-back guarantee
Spring 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 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 shoes are not a medical device; if you have a foot condition, please check with your podiatrist. Perth Boutique · Free shipping Australia-wide · Money-back guarantee.