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Comfort Queen or Hot Gyal

Let’s chat about carnival footwear? Trinidad Carnival 2023 band launch season is upon us and this is a timely discussion.




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If you’re reading this and thinking, you cannot stand in your most comfortable pair of heels for an entire night out (3+ hours) then immediately, start hunting down a flats of your choice (boots, sneakers etc). You’re a comfort queen and that’s fine. A major part of your road experience is being able to be comfortable overall in whatever you’re wearing. It’s important to be at a happy place in your life


Keisha Collette - Trinidad Carnival
Keisha Collette - Trinidad Carnival


Even if you’re going with flats shoes, here’s some top tier advice, get your shoes at least a week before and wear it around your home. Thank me later


Hot Gyals assemble, whether you’re doing this as “beauty is pain” OR you’re actually genuinely comfortable in heels. Here’s some advice, heeled shoes with block shaped heels are a better fit for the road unless you’re a thin heel girl (in which case, you must be God’s favorite ). Make sure your heeled shoes, boots or whatever style is not an exact fit, I’d suggest going a half size up. A block heel is more suitable because of the road surface (taking potholes into consideration here). You’ll be better balanced and just overall more comfortable. Also, maybe avoid close toe heeled boots? I’ve found a peep toe bootie to be a bit more comfortable. The friction from your toes rubbing against the inside of a shoe coupled with the heat is not the vibe, I promise you. Since we’re speaking about heat, leather or that transparent plastic material and heat is also not a good combination. Important to keep this in mind




Carnival Open Toe Shoe
Mary Esdelle in Open Toe Wedges

Additionally, a heel with a bit of a platform to the front will also serve you well. Reason being, while “chipping down de road” , your feet will have an extra layer of protection from the impact on the road surface.




If there’s some way for you to do both, maybe half day as a hot gyal and the final half of the day in flats:sneakers, then that’s the absolute perfect, perfect, perfect option



Either way, sis, you’re a queen. Most importantly, once you have the time of your life on both days, that’s all that matters.



Guest Blogger @mary.esdelle

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