Jul 02 2009
Hey Con-Goers: Take Care of Your Feet!
A convention can sometimes be an exercise in masochism, at least when it comes to your feet. This is especially true for those who attend conventions for an entire weekend, and are doing it in costume. Just like in everyday life, cute shoes don’t always equal comfortable shoes, and this is even more true in the cosplay world. How many times have you seen someone in a pair of shoes for a costume, and wondered how the hell they were managing? (I’m looking at you Gothic Lolita girl in the 6 inch stilettos!)
By the end of the first convention day, you can end up with blistered, swollen and bloody feet if you’re not careful, and you’ll still have two more days to go!
Although it can be tempting to sacrifice comfort for the sake of screen accurate reproduction costume shoes, you don’t want to be doing serious damage to your feet, especially early on at a con. Below are some basic tips for taking care of your feet, and advice for breaking in a new pair of shoes. Remember, this isn’t just for the cosplayers!
Tips for Breaking in Uncomfortable Shoes or Dealing with Lots of Walking
1. Do daily calf stretches (this is especially important for those wearing high heels).
2. Purchase a good pair of gel insoles.
3. Buy a shoe stretcher to help break in a new pair of shoes.
4. For leather shoes, often times people will recommend that you soak some newspaper in soapy water and leave it in the heel of your shoes overnight to help break them in.
5. Already have some known problem areas? You can use strips of mole skin and apply it to the pain-causing areas of your shoes.
6. Wear thick socks!
7. Always have some bandages and anti-biotic ointment with you for a con. Not only is this useful for dealing with other minor injuries, but this will keep a burst blister from leaving a bloody trail on your shoes and/or socks, and also help prevent infection.
8. Take a break! Don’t wear an uncomfortable pair of shoes all day. Try to give yourself time to rest. The idea should be to wear an uncomfortable pair of shoes for as little time as possible.
9. If all this is too little too late and you’ve got sore feet, you can get put some ice on them and take an anti-inflammatory drug to give yourself some relief from the pain. Use the ice in a 15 min. on, 15 min. off rotation. If you can, elevate your feet above your heart.
Got any tips of your own to share? How about some shoe horror stories? Post a comment and share!
Check out these other convention advice articles:
5 Ways to Beat the Heat at Summer Conventions
Dos and Don’ts for Convention Websites
Top 5 People You Don’t Want to Be at a Convention
How to Survive Sharing a Hotel Room
The no-blisters tip:
Blisters form because your feet sweat, and the pinching/rubbing causes the pores to close, trapping the sweat in the skin. This irritates the skin, so it reacts by forming pockets of fluid to cushion the irritation. The answer: don’t sweat. Put antiperspirant on your feet. Be sure it’s antiperspirant, not just deodorant, or you’ll have flowery-smelling blisters. I prefer the spray-on kind, although I’ve had good luck with roll-ons, too. I also prefer a separate bottle for my feet than my underarms, but that’s just me. Either way, if you put antiperspirant on your feet they may get tired and sore, but they won’t be blistered!
If I tried to squeeze my feet in those shoes I wouldn’t be able to walk for a week, although is that supposed to be the point? lol