I can't help you with the shoe issue because I'm no fashion expert! lol. However, I can help you with the cracking and splitting you are experiencing. I had that problem to a point of bleeding and I found two solutions. The first is a product called "Kerasal." You can find this stuff at any
Walmart. You use it twice a day and that will help your feet soften up dramatically. The second thing is that you need to shave the callouses off every month of so. There are special instruments for this purpose; just ask at the pharmacy. If you do these two things, I promise you're feet will feel great!