Unusual question about recruitment attire
 

Hey everyone,

I'm planning on rushing in the fall at a relatively small school in Texas. I'm reading through everything but I have a bit of an unusual problem. I know I'm supposed to wear cute shoes (sandals, heels, etc) but I can't do that. I had foot surgery two years ago and now I can't wear heels or any kind of flat sandal, like shoe for more than about 20 minutes. I even have orthotics I wear in my shoes (I wear converse so nobody can tell). I don't want to be dressed inappropriately but I also don't want to be limping awkwardly around campus during rush.
Would it be appropriate to wear my converse under a maxi dress? Should I just go ahead and wear comfortable shoes with the orthotics and make sure they work with my outfit? Do I just suffer through it and hope I don't hurt myself? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Can you wear dressy flats?

Not at all, totally appropriate. Converses are commonplace at most college campuses. You may stand out wearing them, but not in a bad way. Wear what you feel comfortable in especially given all the walking that you will be doing.

Jolene, I'm currently looking for some but usually flats aren't good for me because they have the structural integrity of flip flops. My only other idea was cowboy boots.

I haven't gone through recruitment in years...okay, it was just after the stone age...post Breakfast Club, barely.

Although, I love my heels, I feel your pain. I hate it that comfortable shoes can look so damn ugly.

There are several types of athletic flats that have support and are comfortable yet stylish. Born, Keen, Merrill and Skechers are a few to look at;

http://www.amazon.com/KEEN-Womens-Ri...apparel&sr=1-4

Maybe your could get creative. Simply adding a matching clip on flower or bow to coordinate with your dress might be nice. Full on bedazzling might be too much.

There are several metallic Birkenstocks;
http://www.amazon.com/Birkenstock-Wo...ic+birkenstock

Please Texas recruitment authorities don't shoot me for mentioning Birkenstocks.

Good luck!!!

I am surprised that you can wear Converse, since they offer no arch support at all. Is there a Foot Solutions Shoe store in your area? They sell orthopedic shoes that are stylish.

Another oldie here, but in addition to the great suggestions above, I would recommend checking out Taryn Rose ( orthopedic surgeon turned footwear designer) and Geox.
Best of luck!

This is confusing to me as Converse have no internal support at all (except for the very newest issues and that change was a very big deal.) If Converse work for you, virtually any closed dressy flat should. Or perhaps you can look at the orthotic brand sandals (ie: Born, Mephisto etc.), some of which are not so hideous.

I can hide specially made orthotic inserts in my converse.

Also thank you everyone! I very much appreciate the suggestions!!

Stick with the Converse. They are your go to shoes, and there is no sense to change it up before recruitment. At my school's prom this year, several girls had Converse on with their prom dresses. Some got colors to coordinate with their dresses and some got blingy ones. Right now, they are more fashionable that flats would be.

Any inserts you can fit into your Converse you can fit into other more appropriate closed footwear. Bring your inserts and go shoe shopping far in advance and wear the shoes many times before recruitment so you're comfortable in them.

With all due respect, she's going through recruitment in Texas. Even at one of the less competitive schools, what works up in your neck of the woods will likely not be appropriate there. Even the smaller schools such as TCU have very competitive and very fashion conscious recruitments.

I am pretty sure that I know what kind of inserts the OP has. Or at least, a vague idea. I have a two pairs; one for sports and one for dress. They are NOT cheap. Mine were $200 five years ago.
They are too bulky for flats. I have them in my ski boots. I had to cut an inch off the end to get them to fit in my ski boots. I also put them in my tennis shoes in summer months.
I had a separate pair made for dress for shoes. They go just past the arch and narrower for dress shoes.

I could see creating your own shoes as a conversation piece, if done right. Girls might say "Oh cute shoes!" and you could say "I made them myself..."

Not all Texas school are UT, and my neck of the woods is one of the tougher recruitments out there. Stay in your lane about my neck of the woods.

Depending on which Texas school, cowboy boots with a dress may be perfectly appropriate during recruitment.

I had to wear an orthotic in my shoes through most of college and got fairly creative with footwear. I found some flats/low heel shoes that let me hide the insert (mary janes were my go to).