Destroying the Moda Sandals

After an unusually stressful morning at work, I retreated to an empty house where I knew I had to unleash some fury upon something.  I put on my Ellie slingbacks to figure things out andthen it hit me.

A little back story... before I got the idea to purchase shoes that actually feet my gigantic feet, I tried to make do with the largest worn shoes I could find on eBay.  Every once in a while I'd come across some kind of sandal in a size 12 or 13 and if it had a bare minimum of straps or some straps that could be cut without ruining their ability to remain in place on my feet, I'd buy them and use them every so often for as long as I could withstand the circulation in my feet being compromised.  I found this pair of size 13M lime green strappy sandals by Moda and, despite them not being large enough for my feet, had high hopes that I could make them work.

You'll have to forgive me for not having photographed them as soon as they arrived, but when I found that the thin straps really hurt me feet, I figured I would end up getting rid of them.  They were very lightly used, with only the top pieces of the low, blocky heels showing the slightest bit of wear.  There was definitely no trashing and abuse to be enjoyed, so as I contemplated how to get rid of some of my aggression, I came to the conclusion that I'd give my Ellies a workout and see what they could do to the Moda sandals, since they had no future with me.

I stepped on them a few times but that didn't do much.  I figured I would only be satisfied if I was able to do something to ruin the integrity of the sandals so I centered the heel of my Ellie above the shank of the right shoe, stabilized myself by holding onto the wall and let all 300 pounds of my weight bear down on it.  The feeling of the shank slowly giving out was so amazing, I couldn't wait to do it to the other one, and now I'm seriously considering an eBay search for some more low-heeled sandals and heels so I can enjoy that sensation again.  It was an unexpected feeling of power.  At this point I got the idea to photograph the results of the trashing and abuse, so the first two photos are of the first round.

I needed a location better than my dining room floor to continue things so I took the sandals to the garage and went crazy, stomping the living hell out of the left sandal.  The adorable jewelry-like metal heart that connected the three spaghetti straps ended up shattering, rendering the poor thing useless.  The top pieces of my Ellies left their mark all over the shoes as I paid special attention to the area where I collapsed the shank.

The bending of the shank was so severe that the top piece went flying across the garage, sending me on a search to find it so my wife wouldn't come across it at some point.  I almost regretted the metal heart breaking because I would have loved to have slipped this on my foot one last time to see what it would be like to walk in the shoes with them in this condition.

The right sandal also took some harsh blows including a nasty one that speared through the metallic material of the insole, but at this point my feet were getting tired and as much as want to abuse my Ellie slingbacks over time, don't want to completely destroy them.  It was a good thing that a close inspection of them showed nothing more than top pieces looking a little worn from having murdered the Modas.  Something tells me my Ellies can take on anything, and perhaps they will in the future.

Anyone Want These Pleaser Size 16 High-Heeled Sandals?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am trying to build a small collection of large-sized shoes for my large-sized feet.  I figured a size 16 would work just fine and it did.  Well, once.  The second size 16 I purchased and attempted to fit onto my feet didn't work as well.  I think I need a size 16 wide because while the length is perfect (or at least it seems perfect, as the shoes have open backs so it's a little tough to tell), they're much too narrow where the straps converge above the balls of my feet.  I've since purchased a few size 16 shoes in a wide width as well as a size 17 (which wasn't easy to find) and we'll see what happens.  In the meantime I am stuck with this pair of shoes that I managed to keep on my foot for all of 30 seconds.  Anyone want them?

 They're made by Pleaser, a company that seems to pride itself on sexy, well-made but reasonably-priced women's shoes, and they make shoes in all sizes so it's not like they cater specifically to the crossdressing crowd (not sure why, but I like that... maybe I like the idea of women's shoes made for women, not men?)  They're called the Flair 420 and are T-strap sandals with 4.5" heels.  The soles are covered in a grippy rubber material (making them good for someone like me who has no experience walking in high heels and is likely to take a spill at any given moment) and the inner lining is a soft, cloth-like material that feels sweet against the feet.  They look and feel very sturdy but at the same time, a towering heel is a towering heel and I'm sure it wouldn't take too many wrong moves for them to break off, just in case that appeals to you.

I'm not looking for much in exchange for them.  I paid about $50 for them on eBay and that included shipping, and I'd rather let them go for half that amount rather than toss them away.  I imagine that most guys do not have a foot as large as mine, so if you're around a 11, 12 or 13 and have always wanted to slip your foot into a sexy pair of heels, now might be a good chance.  And if you decide to have any adventures with them (non-sexual, that is), feel free to send photos and stories so they can be shared with everyone.

 Any takers?

Sandal Abuse on YouTube

I'm not going to make a habit of posting links to videos I find on the internet- you don't need me for that as I'm sure you already know where to go for such things, and I'd like to make sure this blog is comprised mostly of original material.  Still, there is something so unbelievably intriguing about this video.

I'll admit, the sandals' thick soles really aren't my kind thing.  They don't look very delicate, and as I've thought more and more about this obsession of mine, I've learned that delicate = good because delicate = easy to trash and abuse, or at least according to the logic inside my head.  Yet as I watch the video, I'm more and more impressed by the way the thin straps stretch as far as they do.  I keep expecting them to break, but they never do.  Too bad she sold them, because I'd love to see if those stretchy straps would have allowed them to fit on my feet.  Maybe she has more?

My Wife's Collection: Arturo Chang Kitten-Heeled Sandals

Being married, one would probably think I spend a considerable amount of time in my wife's closet, but the truth is there aren't many examples of trashed and abused shoes in there, hence the reason I feverishly search elsewhere.  It should be easy to believe my wife's shoes are very worn- she's not the kind of woman to mindlessly buy shoes as a hobby, so she makes do with what she has until she ends up needing to replace a pair or two.  But even that isn't the case because she's not very hard on her shoes.  Standing 5'4" and weighing about 115 pounds, she lacks the physical presence necessary to ruin shoes in a short amount of time.  She's been known to have shoes in her regular rotation that last for years and still look similar to the way they did when they first came out of the box.  When a pair finally gets worn down to the point where it's a little embarrassing (to her), she'll retire them to a garbage bag destined for the nearest donation bin.

This pair of size 7M Arturo Chang kitten-heeled sandals is an exception, and they're still in the closest partially because my wife has a slight inkling of my interest in trashed and abused shoes.  Back when we were dating, I remember her having a pair of sandals- nothing special, just braided leather straps and an unflattering block heel- that happened to develop a huge crack across the rubber outsole.  I told her that she should give the shoes to me under some goofy premise that they'd allow me to maintain a connection to her when we were apart and she fell for it.  That led to me accumulating a few more pairs of her shoes, although I'm sure she never had a hint of my level of fascination with them.  My wife always loved these sandals more that most, wearing them summer after summer, and when they reached a point that exceeded what she usually accepted of her shoes, was ready to give them up before I intervened.  She hasn't worn them in a while but I'm confident I've expressed enough love for them that she'll always think twice about getting rid of them, or at least think to let me know when they're about to go (at which point I would have to find a way to rescue them).

I have to say, I love these things, and I love the way they look on my wife's feet.  I wish she'd wear them all the time, especially because they seem to be very well-constructed and despite showing obvious signs of wear, don't seem to be on the verge of falling apart.  In fact, when on the feet, the shoes don't even look very trashed and abused.  It's only when you get a closer look do cracks start to appear in the facade.

I envy her being able to slide her feet into these.  Women probably don't think twice such things?  My wife must not walk on the sides of her feet because when left standing on their own, the sandals are perfectly upright.  No oddly-worn top pieces here.

The straps are leather and covered with a fuzzy material that's probably supposed to lend some authenticity to the leopard prints.  Even with a good camera, it was difficult to capture the way the straps are getting worn down.  The upper strap in the top part of the photo is your best chance to see what I'm talking about.  Yet even with that being the case, everything looks good from a distance.

The leather insoles are worn smooth but in generally good condition, and even has some softness to it.  In this light, it's possible to see the outlines of toe prints.  Any worn pair of sandals or flip flops worth anything has visible toe prints!

Despite my wife having worn these things during the hot summer months, the sweat from her feet didn't seem to have an effect on the glue keeping everything together.  Nothing is separating, including the black leather sole that's developed a nice sheen over the years.

The real damage becomes apparent when the shoes are flipped over.  The outsoles are real leather instead of the typical rubber or plastic and because of that, they tend to look more worn than they are because of discoloration.  Still, a closer look will reveal some obvious signs of wear.

My wife must apply a lot of weight to her big toes because it's obvious that the areas of the outsoles underneath where her big toes sit are extremely worn, as if they were in contact with the ground three times as much as the rest of her feet, or even dragged a bit as she walked.  The leather is completely worn away in some spots, exposing the material that makes up the bottoms of the insoles.

Looking at the shoes from the side, it's easy to see how thin the outsoles have been worn in those spots.  On the far edges, the black leather is the only thing separating the bottom of the toe from the ground below.  I've seen this kind of wear pattern on some of my wife's other shoes but never like this.

At least the top pieces are in good shape, despite being original.  Very rarely does my wife wear her top pieces down to nothing- most wear appears underneath the toes, and even then it's never enough to send a pair of shoes into retirement.  She's given up on pairs with a lot less wear than these, with only a few booties making it to the point where these sandals are at these days.  And when I find those bootoes, you know I'll be sharing.