Vortex, best wishes. And may he find himself working for you someday. (yes, payback's a bitch ... and so am I)

Go to an old fashioned shoe store where the salespeople know feet, shoes, and fit. That kind of knowledge is as important as the quality of the shoes. And I have found it well worth the expense of not going to a discount shoe warehouse.

This. When I bought my first pair of New Balances, it was from a store for runners (though they also have walking shoes and even sandals and such). They looked at my old sneakers and the wear pattern, and watched me walk, and measured my feet (which are actually about a 7 1/2, but are so wide that in dress shoes I pretty much have to get a 9 to compensate for the width; although my sneakers come in Holy Crap Bear Paws! width, I haven't found many dress shoes -- that I *like* and would wear -- that do).

It made an enormous difference. After that, I tend to just order from the NB website, since I know the width of my shoe and what my pronation pattern is. But it's so worth it to find out if you don't know, by going to a store that measures and looks at your old shoes and such.

Huh. My mom (who is not, as far as I know, a LotR fan), just quoted -- or tried to -- Gandalf in an e-mail to me, by way of offering advice:

Re: Uncle Dutch's memorial and the headstone, I know it's sad, but the wizard in the Lord of the Rings says we're supposed to be happy about death because it's the beginning of a new life. Please don't ever repeat this back to me.

I don't really remember that from LotR, but I'm just tickled that she quoted Gandalf (or what she remembers as a Gandalf quote).

The last time I bought New Balance's, I went to a tiny running store where the staff spent 4 and a half hours (no lie) choosing the right shoes for me. It was absolutely worth the purchase price. So now, as long as the model numbers don't change (which they do too often), I can buy them online.

WS, that is excellent advice, but I'm not sure I am going to have time to do that this time around. I babysit tomorrow and have unbreakable plans this weekend, but I will ask TCG if he knows of a place. I used to go to a great kids store when I was little who had a lot of experience dealing with kids with leg braces.

I'm not sure I am going to have time to do that this time around.

Have you tried [link] ShoeDog? Not as thorough as an in-person evaluation, but if you know your foot shape and running style, it will give you a range of options in about thirty seconds of clicking.

ShoeDog

All I can think is, "Yo, Shoe Dawgggg!!!"

No, I should not be allowed among civilized company.

By this time tomorrow, I expect a photo of Kato wearing 2 pairs of Tim's heels with that caption. DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME.

ShoeDog

All I can think is, "Yo, Shoe Dawgggg!!!"

Heh. It makes me think of the shoe company one of the characters in The Big Chill owned. "Running Dog," I think.

By this time tomorrow, I expect a photo of Kato wearing 2 pairs of Tim's heels with that caption. DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME.

Oh my god, now I'm thinking of ways I could pull that off...