The only shoes I seem to be wearing lately are my Bensimons & espadrilles. I spend my days at home wearing my espadrilles as slippers and go for walks outside at the beach in my Bensimons. My wardrobe has changed completely since I got pregnant as leggings have been my best friends. Ultra comfort!

I grew up wearing espadrilles in the Philippines as we get a lot of products from Spain. They are super cheap and easy to wear. I had all the colours you could imagine. Now, I only have 1 pair in black which I bought in Barcelona for 8 euro. I wish I bought more! I did go to Madrid the year after but completely forgot to buy more. Hermés, Sperry and others have versions of espadrilles but I like the folky classics you find in the markets.

As for my pair of Bensimons, my search started when I was in Paris in 2008. I was looking for a pair of comfy sneakers to wear all day as I wandered the streets of Paris. A friend had told me about Bensimon before leaving Vancouver and had given me the store address which is located at Le Marais. So on our first day in Paris, we wandered the streets of Le Marais to look for the store which was an easy find. As soon as I stepped into the store, I fell in love with everything. I wanted to buy all the colours they had. I tried them on but for some reason, none of the sizes would fit me. I left the store wondering what was wrong with my feet! Why couldn’t I fit into any of the sizes? Bensimon seems to be the espadrilles of France. Almost all Parisians own or used to own a pair. They have a kids version too which are super cute. I’ll have to get a pair for Luna when she’s bigger. They are cheap as well and also super easy to wear. I ended up getting my Bensimon in Vancouver and surprisingly, I found a size that fit me!