Your feet will carry you to thousands of miles in your lifetime so it is very critical that you should take care of them. You can inherit problems with your feet from your Aunt Sue but more often trouble with feet are caused by wear and tear or neglect. The shoes you wear make a big difference in the health of your feet. Wearing the wrong size of shoes causes corns, calluses, blisters and even back and neck pains.That is why we, at Kenneth Cole shoes endeavor to bring assist people who are handicapped and are looking for affordable mismatched shoes.
When you have two feet that are of the same foot size then it is easier to look for a good pair to suit your fashion sense and style. However, there are millions of people around the world that need a pair of shoes in different sizes and there are also many handicapped and injured people who need just one shoe. In the United States alone almost 10% of the population wears - or should wear - a different sized shoe on each foot.
Who are these people who need two different sized shoes to make a pair or who only need one shoe? People with feet that are two different sizes, those with clubfeet, polio survivors, the handicapped or injured, amputees, lymphedema sufferers, and diabetics.
So what is a person who has two different sized feet or who only has one foot do when it comes to buying shoes?
The old solution to this problem was expensive and inconvenient. Most often people with feet of different sizes purchase one pair each of the same shoe in two differing sizes leaving a closet full of unused and mismatched shoe pair. People who only need to wear one shoe because of an injury or disability paid for two shoes when they only needed one. Some people spend hours visiting thrift and second hand stores looking for two identical shoes in two different sizes.
There are two non-profit movements, the National Odd Shoe Exchange and the One Shoe Crew, they provide shoes for disabled members and even amputees who have mismatched feet. These organizations can only help so many people because it is impossible for those organizations to find a matching pair of shoes in each of an individual’s shoe sizes given the many brands, styles, and colors of shoes available.
The Internet has opened up a whole new world for people who have mismatched feet or who only need one shoe. In some general auctions like ebay, they allow members to list one shoe out of a pair but due to lack of knowledge about locating the odd shoe sizes or single shoes means that many of these auctions end without buyers. One website, Mixmatch footwear.com, sells pairs of shoes that are two different sizes but the selection of shoes is limited.
The newest solution for people with mismatched feet are websites that allow users to sell single shoes or mismatched pairs of shoes and to search for other single shoes or mismatched pairs of shoes for sale in their sizes. Instead of buying two pairs of shoes, a user can buy a single shoe or a pair of mismatched shoes from another user of the site, and a pair of the same brand, style, and color in the size of the buyer’s opposite foot from a retailer. Once the shoes arrive from the retailer, the buyer can then post the shoes not within their sizes for sale on the site. This kind of website grants a merchant and consumers an equal chance at finding the perfect pair of shoes or one shoe with a size and style they fancy.
As more people discover and begin to use these sites, there should be pairs of shoes available to accommodate virtually all combinations of mismatched feet so that users will not have to resort to buying a pair of matching shoes from a retailer. Several users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay shipping dues~A good number of users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay the charges for shipping them}~{Several users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay shipping dues}~A good number of users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay the charges for shipping them}.
Auction, commercial and non-profit sites are adding inventory all the time to make it easier to assist the handicapped and people with mismatched feet to purchase stylish, comfortable shoes. Thanks to the Internet, now buyin gone shoe or two different sized shoes in a pair will become a more pleasant experience. You can read information on Kenneth Cole and other designers at his blog: Kenneth Cole Shoes dot org.