Introducing Legs Like Mine Shoes: A Footwear Brand Made Just for Women with Unique Needs and Swollen Feet
Hi friends! I’m Susan O’Hara from Legs Like Mine. I’ve been blogging and sharing my personal story as a lipedema patient for the last five years and have appeared in the PhysioPod NewsMagazine several times.
For the last two years, I’ve been working on a very special and personal project—making shoes for women with feet that are swollen or that need extra depth. Starting a shoe line for women with lipedema was not just a business decision—it was a deeply personal mission to solve a real-world problem that affects millions of women, including me. Having lived with lipedema myself, I know firsthand the challenges of finding footwear that is both comfortable and stylish. And frankly, I’m tired of wearing Black men’s trainers all the time, because it’s all I could find to wear. This journey led me to create Legs Like Mine Shoes, a brand dedicated to designing shoes that meet the unique needs of women with this condition.
The Motivation Behind the Brand
Lipedema is a chronic condition that causes disproportionate fat accumulation in the legs and sometimes the arms, leading to swelling, pain, and mobility challenges. Despite affecting an estimated 11% of women worldwide, it is often misunderstood or overlooked in mainstream fashion and medical industries. Often, swelling spares the feet and hands. But in advanced stages, our feet swell, too. For years, I personally struggled to find shoes that fit—standard sizes were too tight, lacked support, or simply didn’t accommodate the unique shape of my legs and feet. This frustration was echoed by countless other women in the lipedema community. I set up many focus groups to talk with women who have lipedema or lymphedema and to learn about what shoes they wear now, the challenges they face, and to get their measurements.
Many of the stories I heard were similar to mine—they wear men’s extra-wide trainers, Crocs, and Sketchers but don’t really have options for boots because of our calf sizes, for occasions like weddings or a night on the town, or even for business wear. I’ve interviewed some ladies who live in cold areas and have to wrap their feet in plastic wrap to protect themselves from the cold and snow—this is seriously unacceptable!
Rather than accept this gap in the market, I decided to do something about it. As I looked at the focus group results from women with lipedema, I saw the pattern in our need. The overwhelming response was clear: they wanted shoes that were comfortable, supportive, stable, and attractive enough for all occasions. And check this out—we wanted something in more than black! Armed with this feedback, I embarked on a two-year journey to design footwear that would redefine comfort and style for women like us.
How I Went About Starting a Shoe Company
As a person who’d been a project manager for software development in government for years, I had transferable skills in making things happen. I found a footwear consulting company, an amazing and skilled footwear designer willing to take on the challenge, and then grew the team to include a fit technician. We worked together to make a design that met my ladies’ needs, and then we set out to find a manufacturer willing to take on the project. It wasn’t easy as the footwear industry has a set pattern for manufacturing en masse, but finally we found a company that would take on the project in small quantities—we expect to learn a lot as the first rounds of shoes in our line go out, so we didn’t want to create too much waste.
Once we found our manufacturer, we went through six rounds of creating designs and sampling them. Fortunately, we had ladies who are members of Lipoedema UK who were willing to fit-test the shoes and provide honest feedback, and we used that feedback to come up with a design for our first shoes that will be very comfortable and attractive and durable enough to last for a good while. We are thrilled with the result!
How Legs Like Mine Are Solving Real-World Problems
1. Addressing Fit Challenges:
Traditional shoe designs don’t account for the unique measurements of women with lipedema, such as wider feet, larger calves, or ankle cuffing issues. At Legs Like Mine, we use precise foot and calf measurements from real women with lipedema to create custom molds (lasts) for our shoes. This ensures a proper fit that accommodates swelling and uneven fat distribution. We have two manufacturing styles. One is mass manufacturing, where we average measurements of ladies with lipedema to come up with a last. Our second model that we’re finishing up now is a “bespoke” model, where the ladies actually scan their feet using a phone app, and the scans go to our manufacturer who custom-fits shoes we designed to fit their feet perfectly. I really am in love with this model, as we can get an amazing fit and allow the customer to choose their colour, material type, and sole look—it’s truly a personalised experience!
2. Prioritizing Comfort and Support:
We have designed our shoes with features such as extra depth to accommodate swelling, removable insoles for custom orthotics, and adjustable straps for flexibility. These elements provide much-needed support while reducing pain associated with standing or walking. And during the day, if your feet swell, you can simply remove an insert or adjust the strap and still have a nice fit.
3. Offering Style Without Compromise:
For years, women with lipedema had to choose between unattractive orthopaedic shoes or ill-fitting fashionable ones. Legs Like Mine bridges this gap by offering versatile designs like our Slingback Loafers, which are suitable for both casual and formal occasions. Our first rounds come in black and red and have little loops on the top so the customer can put adornments on top to completely change the look of the same shoe. I have the red slingbacks now, and I am having so much fun changing from a pearl and gold top to a sparkle top and more. I truly get a lot of compliments on these shoes when I wear them! And get this…Future collections will include calf boots and other styles tailored to diverse needs. I’ve been fit testing the calf boots now on my 26-inch calf—enjoying the fact that there is NO other manufacturer in the world that makes boots to fit my leg. This is a tremendous breakthrough for ladies with lipedema!
4. Empowering a Community:
This isn’t just about footwear; it’s about representation. By creating products specifically for women with lipedema, Legs Like Mine sends a powerful message: You are seen, valued, and deserve solutions tailored to your needs. The world needs to adjust itself by making not only footwear but also clothing, jewellery, chairs, cars, and more for people who are sized and built in the full range.
The Road Ahead
Launching this shoe line has been an incredible journey filled with challenges and triumphs. There have been more challenges than I anticipated, but I have learnt from them. From collaborating with footwear technicians to testing prototypes with real users, every step has been guided by the goal of improving the lives of women with lipedema—my goal has been to have you have something nice to wear to a wedding, to have calf boots like everyone else, and to have daily shoes to wear with business clothes that don’t detract from fashion. As we prepare to expand our collections seasonally, I am excited about what lies ahead—not just for Legs Like Mine but for the entire lipedema community.
When the world doesn’t fit you, you have two choices: accept it or change it. I chose the latter—and I hope these shoes inspire others to do the same in their own lives.
You can find my shoes at LegsLikeMine.com/products. Be sure to follow LegsLikeMine on all social media outlets to watch my progress!
Susan O’Hara
