1. Tiny feets. As in, size 4 generally. As in none of the sites recommended carry shoes in my size.
2. I can only wear flats. This is partially because
3. I have brachymetatarsia in both feet. This means that my fourth toe on each foot is sort of pushed up and back. So it doesn't reach the ground (I leave four-toed footprints) and therefore I don't have as much balance there as most people. Plus, with the way it's raised, I need a deeper toe area in my shoes, and the shoes need to be supersoft, or I will get blisters from hell.
So... it's hard to find shoes! The sandals I've been wearing this summer are the first I've owned in the 21st century; straps over that toe are bad, plus no heels - yeah. I've actually never owned a pair of cute calf-length boots, which sucks because I love the look with skirts. I have a pair of snow boots, but I don't want to always wear snow boots when, y'know, it's not snowing. And my flats are nice, but none of them are good for multi-mile walks. So. I keep searching.
I do love that everyone's first instinct is to be helpful!
(Treatment for brachymetatarsia is surgery to implant a longer bone or pins & screws to streeeetch out the existing bone over 14-16 months, and no fucking thank you; I'll just go barefoot whenever I can instead, thanks.)