Sydney based Smaggle writer Bek and friend at Cali/Cale launch
A few weeks back, I had to say good bye to what had been my go-to shoes for at least three years. Being as I have dodgy feet and tend to wear the insides out of every pair I own, having them for this long was quite an achievement, and, conversely, having to let them go was quite devastating a development. I might have actually cuddled them a little bit when I had to throw them out.
It’s a beautiful thing, the relationship between a woman and her go-to shoes. Mine were sandals (flats), brown leather, with (and this was the really, really good thing about them) good arch support. Aghast as I am at the fact that I just wrote ‘arch support’ as a positive factor in a shoe purchase, I am just so over clomping around like a newborn calf in kicks that have about as much cushioning as two breadboards strapped to my feet.
Anyway, my go-to shoes got me all the way around South America for a month and didn’t finally give way until landing back on Aussie soil. They wanted to come home to their final resting place. Still, they say a door never closes without another one opening, so when I got to attend the launch of Cali + Cale’s new season collection ‘The Journey’, I was cautiously hopeful. I’ve always been a fan of Cali + Cale because of its neutral designs. I love some fancy footwork, don’t get me wrong, but there’s nothing more elegant than a well-made, neutral-toned strappy number to tie an outfit together.
‘The Journey’ collection didn’t disappoint. Amy Castle, the designer and creator of Cali+Cale created the collection of ‘leather sandals that take feet from the city to the beach and everywhere in between.’ I love this. Being a Sydney (and a beach-loving) girl I live in summer footwear, and due to the aforementioned dodgy feet condition, ordinary thongs just don’t cut it for me, sartorially or otherwise. I nabbed me a pair of Queens leather sandals in white at the launch and a pair of Shelly leather sandals in black online after the event.
The jury is still out on whether they’ll replace my beloved go-to shoes, but I’ll tell you now, my feet are happy.