2 days ago i was tying my shoes and thought to myself, “there’s no way laces are still the best way to secure shoes to our feet. we should’ve made more technological progress by now, 20 seconds to put on these items of clothing is way too long. plus tying a knot needs a lot of coordination, like it’s wildly inaccessible yet remains the global default for some reason? is this just yet another way that our society subtly yet aggressively excludes people with disabilities? wait are shoes classified as clothes”
then today i watched champutee’s new video about prosthetic arms and one of the examples of everyday tasks that are assisted by a prosthetic arm was tying shoes, which has further solidified my position on this. Velcro Now
(also is this why people in at least some parts of the USA wear their shoes around the house, because un‐tying and re‐tying them is way too much work. that one’s always been super weird to me as a Canadian)
When I was a little kid, I didn't learn how to tie my shoes properly until like 3 or 4 years after "most kids" learned. Until that point, I was wearing shoes with velcro or zippers, stuff like that.
Then, I learned to tie them, and was ashamed that I had ever worn non-lace shoes. I viewed laced shoes as a sign of adulthood.
Now, decades later...I've been having the same realization as GFD above. What the hell are we doing? It's an OKAY way to secure your footwear, for sure, especially the freedom to loosen, tighten, or re-tie in different ways as needed. But surely there's gotta be a better way.
I think at some point I should just try going back to velcro or slip-on and see how that feels as an adult. I don't gotta prove my maturity anymore.
My only problem with zippers is they break, and when they do, they can be unrepairable, depending on the zipper and the skill of the user, and bugger having to cut them out and sew new ones in! Had a pair of boots that I wore through the soles on (literally down to the socks) because they were so supportive. Zipped, but also laced, so hard-tied laces, and relied on the zips... Until they broke.
Velcro is also great (barring the sound - not a fan)... Until it wears out, which it will, especially if used frequently and repeatedly, like every day, and then we're back to the same replacement problem.
I hate tying my shoes. Having a gut, and a mediocre lower back, makes it very annoying. But I gotta have that proper tightness. The slippage and slideage of elastic-hold shoe is a nightmare, and it doesn't give me the security I want when really kicking about, y'know?
You know what I really want? What I think would be the ultimate shoe-binder, for me?
Roller-blades. Ski shoes. Those huge, snap-over ratcheting buckles. Flick the latch over and press it down, and boom, you're done. Too tight? Back it off a click. Too loose? One click inward. If it's good enough for activity as hectic as skiing/snowboarding/rollerblading/etc, surely it's good enough for day-to-day life? You can even put them on just using the other foot, if you never pull the strap out of the ratchet fully!!
I get that it adds bulk and weight, but I'm sure design can improve and cut that down. Having a hard element on a flexible shoe probably isn't the best, but there are definitely parts of the foot that shouldn't bend when walking, so surely it can work right??
I just remember when I was young, that rollerblades were so fun and easy to put on and take off that I did it all the time. (Buggered that they were shit to use on dirt and low-quality gritty roads, but)
