Fashionable Canes Restored my Confidence

Today's blog post is a real treat! We've partnered with our loyal and highly-valued customer, Cathy Linton, who has been kind enough to share her Fashionable Canes story with us, and in turn, allow us to edit and pass it along to you! So as not to steal Cathy's spotlight, we'll keep the introduction short. Please keep reading to learn about Cathy's incredible journey to regain her confidence!

At last, they came: the words I'd been dreading to hear. My doctor looked me squarely in the eyes and told me, "Cathy, you know it's time to start using a walking cane."

It came as no surprise. My doctor's decision was the result of several recent falls. He must have seen the look on my face when he delivered the news because he launched immediately into his medical spiel explaining all of the benefits of using a walking cane or walking stick. He cited improved balance, mobility, and quality of life. I heard him, I understood him, but my pride made it difficult to accept his words.

I went home that day with a plain black metal walking cane, like the kind you would expect to see someone using fresh out of surgery. My spirits and my confidence sank immediately. Sure, the steps came easier and I felt much more at ease knowing that I wouldn't fall, but what about my dignity? As a recently retired stylist, I have always prided myself on my snappy dress-sense and I couldn't help but feel that my new accessory (if one could call it that) simply made all of my stylistic decisions a moot point. With that cane, the only look I could possibly hope to pull off was some sort of hospital chic.

I spent three long months with that medical-issue cane as my constant companion. It should be no surprise that this resulted in a slightly dulled interest in fashion, on my part. It's funny how the people we love often know us well enough to see a problem before we can recognize it ourselves. In the end, my oldest daughter was the one to snap me out of my fashion funk.

"Mom, we have to talk about your cane", she said. You see, my daughter is a bit more tech-savvy than I am. I can work a computer well enough to type and email, but she knows where to find the really good stuff! She let me know that she had done some research on my behalf after seeing how unhappy I was and she had learned about a more fashionable option for my walking cane. Together we sat in front of my laptop as my daughter introduced me to the wonderful world of Fashionable Canes!

Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the bright, sprawling designs of the women's canes. I was also struck by the variety of different handle styles. I had become grudgingly accustomed to my unfashionable foam handle, but after reading a bit on the site about the different styles, I discovered that I could still have a comfortable experience with something a lot sharper-looking! I was so happy to see that there were so many options of canes for the elderly and anyone else in need of some assistance with walking! I fell in love with the derby-style handle and placed my order that same day.

To be honest, I'm a sucker for color. It didn't take me long to pick out a stunning, shiny, blingy cane with gorgeous rhinestones. My first Fashionable Cane was the Pink Pearlz Adjustable Cane, and let me tell you, that adjustable shaft is a lifesaver! My daughter and I did take a look at the measurement guide online to learn how to measure for a cane before I placed my first order, but we didn't have a tape measure around to get a precise cane length for me. The adjustable shaft enabled me to play with it a bit until I found my perfect length!

My first Fashionable Cane was all I needed to launch me back into the world of fashion and accessorization. Sure enough, as much as I loved that pink cane, I wanted more! More colors, more designs, and more options for me to style with my favorite outfits. That's when my relationship with Fashionable began. My next discovery was the Vivienne May line! These canes really take design to the next level. I get so many compliments on my Watercolor Flowers Derby Cane. The colorful pattern is perfect for daytime wear and has become my favorite for trips to the grocery store or going out to lunch.

As I continued to collect more canes, I got a bit more adventurous. Newly emboldened in my style and stability by these great canes, I decided it was time for a vacation! While I loved the canes I had so far, I knew I'd need something a bit more compact for traversing the Sicily Coast. I'd been eyeing a few carbon fiber canes for quite some time, but it was the folding model with the fritz handle that really called to me. As someone who suffers from moderate arthritis in my fingers, I'm glad to have made this investment. The slim and tapered fritz handle was a real treat to use and easy to grip. My husband and I had a fabulous trip and I was more than happy to flaunt this modern walking cane's mesh pattern!

As much as I loved my carbon fiber folding cane, what really saved the trip was the easily attachable quad-tip! I didn't feel that I needed a full quad cane, but this base made it easy to trade out the tip for something a bit sturdier on days when we planned to do a lot of walking! What I love about the SafetBase is that it can be used with any cane that has a 16mm or 18mm tip size (of which there are plenty to choose from), which allows me to easily turn any fashionable cane into a cane with a quad base tip!

Thanks, Fashionable Canes!

As my cane collection continues to grow, so does my confidence and my range of choices in terms of my personal style. As someone who is likely to need a walking cane for the rest of my days, it means the world to me to have options that are more stylish than a standard medical-issue walking cane. I am forever grateful to Fashionable Canes for continuously offering fabulous and functional walking sticks for sale that have helped me rediscover not only my fashion sense but my sense of self.