Cinderella Issues: If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit…

There’s a new international shoe in town. The fact that the Karhu shoe is Finnish like the exchange student my parents fell in love with is even better!

The Finnish are fabulous. First, they have a woman president. Girl power goes a long way on this site! Then the country went and upgraded its cool factor by having Karhu send me a pair of their lovely shoes to test out. (I like to think the President herself told them to send the shoes to me.)

My impression? They’re pretty snazzy-cool on the eyes. My pair came in a pretty baby blue color, but you can get loud and fun colors when the new line rolls out in February. Not only are they pleasing to the eye, but most importantly, they made my size-10 1/2  feet look tiny. Unfortunately, I have a foot the size of Pluto so their largest size 11 wasn’t nearly large enough to keep my toes from complaining during a run. These shoes run small, folks, probably because they’re made in Finland, a cold-arse place where feet shrink to stay warm. I totally made that up to make myself feel better. I am now currently on the prowl to find the magical foot that can fit in this shoe.

If you don’t have Sasquatch issues, this could be a nice new shoe for you to try out. It’s super light, and the cushion is perfect—just enough to keep you pushing forward—which is what the company has prided itself in doing since 1916. Basically, the shoe is new to us, but Finnish folks will probably make fun and ask what took us so long. . .

If the shoe had actually fit, I swear I’d be wearing those puppies right now bragging about my fabulous Finnish feet, but alas I got one good walk out of them before finally owning up to the fact that they really should go to a nice running home. I’ll just have to go to a running story and let the wise ones fit me and make me feel nice and normal again. I always tend to go a couple sizes larger so that my feet will have room to swell, slide and all that other stuff you should check for before buying a pair of running shoes. The rightful owner of this shoe will have to think about such things before wiggling her toes into them. I’ll deinitely tell you what my Cinderella thinks of her Finnish feet once I find her. —Tish