Your type of dress shoes

I thank my lucky stars that I bought a pair of black leather dress slingback heels 6 yrs. ago, with slightly low and toe pointy yet stable for walking..um... 1 km. or so. :o Great for the office and weddings. It's a classic style that is comfortable but elegant in a non-wobbly way for me. For me, it's tough to find dress shoes like this under $100.00 without killing my feet after 2 hrs. of solid standing around.

But in looking at dress shoes recently for nice business wear, it depresses me slightly.
I have worn customized orthotics for over 18 yrs. So either I buy, wear shoes that cannot take my orthotics (which I do. 50% of my shoes can't fit orthotics.) or I just buy casual, lower shoes that are wide and deep enough to take my orthotics.

And I never wore 3-4 inch spikes before orthotics. Last time I wore high wedgie like heels was a teen.

Maybe I'm getting old. Or maybe it's just me, so used to cycling..and caring less and less about fashion.

I have bad feet (left extreme pronation; right ankle on a tilt the other direction due to arthritis) of different sizes. Shoe shopping depresses me. I have two pair of really old dress shoes that I can wear for an hour or two at most, and I break those out maybe one or twice a year. I'm in the same boat as you with orthodics and trying to find cute, professional shoes that work. I'm lucky that I can dress a bit casually at work, but I'm always on the lookout for a good new shoe, but usually leave stores empty handed. I love wearing dresses, but don't anymore due to not even finding sandals that work for me. If any one has suggestions, I'm very interested.

Here they are. Heel is comparatively "conservative"/low to many other styles. I seldom wear these dress shoes at work, that when I do, people seem to notice me more. I think it's the gentle flapping of the shoe when I walk around. I do tend to wear other dress shoes that are a more wider, "librarian" low stacked heel. I can't even wear dance /ballerina like pumps. I've been told by podiatrist not wear them because it causes my toes to grip slightly to hold my shoe in place while I walk along...So hence, my feet ache pretty quickly.

I prefer to buy very classic styles that I can wear for years and prefer a 2.5-3" heel myself. I also prefer a rounded toe mostly because I wear an 8.5 and feel the pointed toes make my feet look big, I am only 5'2" so I feel like my feet are large for my size. I wish I wore a smaller size. We went to a casual style at work last year so I find it a bit hard to walk in heels now, I hate that because I felt like I was good at it before!

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

Or maybe it's just me, so used to cycling..and caring less and less about fashion.

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This is totally me. I can't even imagine trying to wear the very high heels that the younger gals wear now. 2" is my max. At my height (5'2"), anything else just looks presumptious and is so flipping uncomfortable...forget it.

And after living in Belize for 1.5 years and barely wearing any shoes at all other than flip-flops (and trail runners for hiking/travel), I can't imagine wearing any heels at all. I have some similar to yours, shootingstar, back at my Mom's, but they have a much lower heel. They are my funeral shoes. Not shoes I ever look forward to wearing! Other than that, I so rarely dress up, flats are fine.

First I can't wear heels of any kind at all. So anything with any heel is out. Basically I'll either wear my black non slip work shoes (which look dressy enoug) or my pair of Columbia brand walking type tennis shoes. All the other shoes I own are LA Gear tennis (type) shoes. If I absolutely have to be a bit dressier than either of those I have a pair of white cowboy boots. That's it.

I cannot wear flat dress nor casual shoes....at all. Except for flip flops to a hot tub. :)

I cannot wear any dress shoes where my arch shows..meaning zero support.

What's sandals? I haven't worn sandals..in the past 15 years! I'm not kiddin'. :) I also haven't bothered to buy cycling sandals or hiking sandals. I really must wear shoes with orthotic supports when I go hiking, even gentle hiking.

I've quite high arches, and the back half/ankle of one foot has been reconstructed. I MUST have good arch support. I haven't needed orthotics (which really didn't work anyway) since I lost my weight but I must have arch support. I've comfortable shoes I can wear with slacks and jeans that are fine, but finding a pair of dress shoes that actually look good with a dress or skirt is quite the challenge.

I do like Clarks and generally have good luck with their shoes, I've several pair of backless sandals (no traditional heel, but they aren't flat) that look fine, but I want a decent pair of closed shoes with a low heel. They have one or two models with SOME arch support that I really like, but it really isn't enough. I will look around at other brands but that may be as good as it gets. The salesman at the Clark's store told me they can build up the arch support for me a bit if I need them to so that was good to hear. I am not in a rush so I want to look around before making up my mind.

I wish I could wear very high heels, but I don't. My dress shoes are usually between 1.5 and 2.5 inches. I have a couple of chunkier heel types/wedges that are 3." I don't have any super unusual foot issues, except a bunion on my left foot, which is already half a size larger than my right, and narrow heels. This, coupled with small feet makes buying dress shoes challenging. I am fine if I stick to European brands. I wear a 5.5 in closed heel pumps and it's not hard to find a size 36 in brands like Naot. Fortunately, there is a high end shoe store in my town that has a discount room full of these brands, but you have to keep going back to find what you want. They do have small sizes, though. I don't have issues with casual shoes. Also, I can't wear dress flats or ballet flats. They make me look dumpy, anyway.

I have messed up feet myself - 12+ months of plantar fasciitis back in '07. I pretty exclusively only wear "sensible" shoes which is a bummer bc I'm 35 and I'd like to be more fashionable sometimes. My workplace is casual also though so that helps. Dansko is my favorite brand.

Here's my favorite shoe (it's way lighter than a typical dansko): http://www.zappos.com/dansko-abby-bl...130217142017:s

And this is my favorite sandal (I have both brown & black): http://www.thewalkingcompany.com/dan...id-black/12125

I can wear both of these all day (without my orthotics) and be 100% comfortable. When I do have to dress up (wedding or whatever), forget it. I usually have too casual footwear or my feet hurt.

Fortunately, my lifestyle is pretty casual. My shoes are pretty much minimalist, even when going out. I have a couple of pairs of Mary Jane style shoes that I wear with slacks. It's easy to get by with here because Denver is a pretty casual city. I mostly wear my Lems, Kigos and 5 finger shoes. When traipsing back and forth to the Mt's I do wear my Scarpa hiking boots or Merrell snow boots.

I was diagnosed with chondromalacia and wore, and swore by, orthotics for years. The ball of my left foot was so painful I couldn't walk on that foot. Then I started having SI joint issues. One PT I saw asked me why I wore orthotics as he didn't think I needed them. After my SI joint was diagnosed and corrected the foot and knee pain went away so I weened myself off of the orthotics. I only use ESoles in my bicycle shoes and Superfeet in my ski boots to take up the volume (small foot). I have high arches and think they are stronger now without support. I also have had ACL surgery on my right knee and my PT said the ACL is very strong. Now a shoe with any kind of heel is uncomfortable as I feel like my posture is being thrown off balance. I believe that the orthotics contributed to my SI joint issues. Of course, no one in the medical community will verify that.

If I have to walk, my feet can't look pretty.
If my feet look pretty, I can't walk.

I rarely need to wear dress shoes (lab footwear usually consists of clogs/birks/merrels/chacos), but I usually just wear Dansko/Sanita clogs if I'm going slacks-dressy. If I'm skirt-/dress- dressy, I've been known to wear nice flip flops or some other kind of flat sandals depending on how formal the occasion is (or the clogs, if it's winter and heavy-tights weather, I think that looks ok). I have a number of pairs of good ~4" heels that I enjoy wearing, but if I'm out with the BF I'll usually go for flats since we're the same height.

I broke the ball of my left foot years ago. It never healed well and it can still bother me sometimes, especially if I wear heels. So those are reserved for weddings and special occasions.
I have narrow feel and my left foot is a half size bigger than my right. Several years ago I injured my achilles in my right ankle. This all has made shoe shopping difficult.
I look for flats, but I can't wear a lot of the ballet style because my feet are narrow, they fall right off. Plus, I don't honestly find them that comfortable to walk in for very long. However, I have found Reef flip flops to work for casual summerwear, I'm not sure why.
For winter casual wear I usually wear sneakers or sneaker type. I prefer more minimal running shoes (lower heel toe drop) as my achilles seems to feel better in them. My casual sneakers also tend towards lower heel drops, so when I wear anything even with a slight heel, I really notice it. A lot of dress shoes, even those considered flat, still have a bigger heel than my casual shoes. But I make do...
I have found Clark's to be a good brand for me, they sometimes have narrow shoes, which is great and even their normal width is not too sloppy on me. I also have a pair of Nauturalizer Mary Jane's that work well. Summer dress shoes are actually the hardest thing for me.

If I tried to put on high heels I'd break an ankle. All of my "dress" shoes are flat, ugly and out of style. But they're COMFORTABLE!

Until I grow pointy feet, I refuse to buy pointy shoes.... (so, never). All of my dress shoes are round or square toed. I also have no desire to break an ankle, so none of them are particularly high and no small heels. They have to be fat enough for me to walk on easily. My work/dress shoes that I wear with skirts are both flats. I have a pair of brown mary janes and a black pair of flats.

I have this feeling there are some high heel fashionistas who haven't spoken up yet. :rolleyes: I can't believe all of us are...so practical and boring (like me). Or maybe cycling often, makes a lot women rethink their fashion choices later.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

I have this feeling there are some high heel fashionistas who haven't spoken up yet. :rolleyes: I can't believe all of us are...so practical and boring (like me). Or maybe cycling often, makes a lot women rethink their fashion choices later.

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Guilty! Not the 4" or higher heels - at 5'9", that would just be too much for me - but most around 3". Shoes, boots - definitely my indulgence! Our office is not a casual environment so I justify it by telling myself I need them! :)

I used to love heels. As a 5'4" person with extra short legs, I felt they were almost a necessity to balance out my proportions when wearing nice clothes. But, I've always had a super wide forefoot, so to find heels that would work, I ended up spending a lot of money (willingly). Most of my heels were upwards of $250-$300 a pair and I was extremely selective. I figure pain in the pocketbook was better than pain in the feet.

Unfortunately, my surgery last year killed my ability to wear any heels. Right now, my 'heels' are a pair of square toed platinum colored shoes with a 1/2 inch heel! Everything else I wear is a flat, flat, flat. I do have some super cute flats though. ;)

I keep trying to put on a heel...even 1 inch would be nice...but the pain that it causes less than 5 minutes into wearing them is just not worth it. I have a co-worker patiently waiting for me to give them up permanently because we wear the same size and I told her she could buy them all off me for pennies.

All my dressy shoes are flat. I cannot wear heels--weak ankles. I have some awesome flats. :D

I do wear 1.5-2.5, maybe 3 inch heels a couple of days a week, but they are all of the comfortable type dress shoes made by companies who specialize in stylish, yet comfortable shoes. I never pay full price for these shoes, but I am at the point where I would if I had to. I could not find what I wanted for my son's wedding 3 years ago and I ended up at Nordstroms, desperate, the week before. I ended up buying a pair of 3 inch pointy sling backs, but he had to put something in the right one, to make it snugger. I can wear these for a few hours if I don't stand up too much and I wore them this New Year's and even danced some in them. I look awful in flats, unless I am wearing very casual pants/jeans, and flat dress shoes make my feet hurt as much or more than high heels.
You should have seen me try to walk in the 5-6 inch heels the salesman at Nordstroms brought out for me to try on.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

You should have seen me try to walk in the 5-6 inch heels the salesman at Nordstroms brought out for me to try on.

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You're braver than I am, Crankin - I can't imagine even trying to walk in those heels! ;)

I wear some modest heels, but mostly just at the office, where I don't walk around all that much. Otherwise, most of shoes are flat or have a wedge heel, and I change out of my heels to walk to and from my car. I hate walking more than a block or so in heels and I hate driving them in about as much. During the winter, I wear a lot of skirts, with tights and boots, but the boots get swamped out for some Keen Venice sandals for my walk to and from the car. I look like an idiot wearing those shoes with a dress skirt and tights, but I don't really care. They're comfy and easy to drive in.

Beyond the above example, I've never felt like I had to choose between sensible and chic. There are SO many cute flats on the market; it's just a question of finding ones that offer good support and fit, while still being cute (or at least cute to me). I'm about to place my first shoe order (beyond mountain bike shoes) in about three years (yes, my shoes are looking pretty rough these days). I have one sporty shoe, one casual flat sandal, two dress sandals with a modest wedge heel, and a pair of dressy shoes that I need for a wedding I'm going to.

Wouldn't it be great if our feet could be happy in whatever shoes our eyes fancied?

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

I have this feeling there are some high heel fashionistas who haven't spoken up yet. :rolleyes: I can't believe all of us are...so practical and boring (like me). Or maybe cycling often, makes a lot women rethink their fashion choices later.

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If I had more money and had to wear heels for work I would be! I choose to stick to simple designs and spend more money on bikes. I love heals but I can't get myself to spend money on ones for one outfit. If I had more reasons to wear them I would!

Another hand raised here for frustration in shoe shopping. My right big toe joint has both a bunion and arthritis. Many high heels put pressure on the joint and ballerina style flats cut directly across the joint and are painful. So I have one pair of well made sandal style heels with about a 2" heel that are comfortable (I actually got them a thrift store). I also have some open sandal like shoes with a broad heel made by Clark's. Surprisingly I found a pair of inexpensive, comfortable ballerina flats that have a more soft and stretchy border instead of rigid border around the opening at Pay Less, but they don't have much support. But 90% or more of all women's shoes hurt my feet.

I only wear Keens. I have 47 pairs.

When I go out for an evening I have some 5" heels I really like. They're great for partying and dancing and I can wear them for about 6 hrs. Actually, they have a platform in front (I need that I have skinny feet and thin soles kill me because the ground is very hard) So they are actually only about 4"

I have a few pairs. I have to say that weight gain and lack of practice has made wearing them more challenging. I used to wear them all the time. Now I wear chacos and running shoes at work, and I have some flat sandals, so wearing them out is a real workout for the calves. I've never fallen and hurt myself in heels though, but I have sprained my ankles in Nike running shoes more times than I can count (narrow front).

That said, I have problems finding shoes that fit. my feet are size 6.5 in length but 5.5 in width, I get blisters on my toes where my feet slide forward. I also have sweaty feet. So I spend a lot of money on insoles and stuff, and I take good care of my shoes so they'll last me a good long time. I can't wear any closed pumps for more than 2 hours because my middle toe gets crushed, unless its the big size and has a full size of padding inside. I don't like chunky shoes and I'm on the search for some simple leather sandals. My last pair (I bought 2 pairs exactly the same) is getting really worn out. It's not the outside sole though, it's the inside sole

I saw this today it's funny/intersting. Stiletto workout!

http://www.xojane.com/healthy/stiletto-workout

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Originally Posted by TrekDianna

I only wear Keens. I have 47 pairs.

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Wow. I have a "problem" which I must face head on...I have about 15 prs. of shoes in another city. And I know half of them I can't wear anymore...after spending that money, etc.

I call my DH Mr. Ismelda...

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Originally Posted by TrekDianna

I only wear Keens. I have 47 pairs.

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No judgment, but that's a lot of shoes! :D

That reminds me of a thread I started way back in 2008 when I was debating buying the same pair of Keen Mary Jane sandals in three different colors--brown, black and red--because I found them so comfortable. I didn't end up buying the red shoes and regret it to this day. I did, however, end up buying two more pairs of those Keens--in black and khaki. Along with the brown pair, they remain my favorite shoe of all time. Because I wear them all the time in the summer, they're now showing their age, and Keen doesn't make them anymore. :( And don't you know; I've not bought a single pair of summer shoes since that thread until just this week. So much for Mimi's (God love her) critique of my materialism/consumerism! :p But I sure wish I'd bought a truckload of those Mary Janes in retrospect. Consumerism be damned; my feet love those shoes!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

No judgment, but that's a lot of shoes! !

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Lotta shoes. My new faves are Jambu shoes. Less clunky than Keen. And red MJs, Indy...just sayin'.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

No judgment, but that's a lot of shoes! :D

That reminds me of a thread I started way back in 2008 when I was debating buying the same pair of Keen Mary Jane sandals in three different colors--brown, black and red--because I found them so comfortable. I didn't end up buying the red shoes and regret it to this day. I did, however, end up buying two more pairs of those Keens--in black and khaki. Along with the brown pair, they remain my favorite shoe of all time. Because I wear them all the time in the summer, they're now showing their age, and Keen doesn't make them anymore. :( And don't you know; I've not bought a single pair of summer shoes since that thread until just this week. So much for Mimi's (God love her) critique of my materialism/consumerism! :p But I sure wish I'd bought a truckload of those Mary Janes in retrospect. Consumerism be damned; my feet love those shoes!

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I am afraid of that happening so I have back-ups for all my favorites... and a pair of keens to go with everything. I just ordered a couple of the new styles in orange. (school colors at the university I work at and it's not often you can find attractive shoes in orange.)

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Originally Posted by TrekDianna

I only wear Keens. I have 47 pairs.

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Funny. I have nearly 60 pairs of clogs. :)

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Originally Posted by tulip

My new faves are Jambu shoes. Less clunky than Keen. And red MJs, Indy...just sayin'.

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I was just looking at those! Which model(s) do you have if you don't mind me asking? I just got an order in from Zappos and was really disappointed with the Clarks sandal that I ordered. I'm trying to find a neutral flat sandal that can be both dressed up and dressed down. The Jambu "Ocean" might work.

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Originally Posted by goldfinch

Funny. I have nearly 60 pairs of clogs. :)

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Danskos? I had a bunch, and the older ones started to crack. I learned they disintegrate after in the 10 year range. I ebayed the newer ones, thrifted the older, functional ones and trashed the bad ones. I was NOT pleased when Dansko said "they just do that." Really? Anyhow - just in case:)

I have been moving back to Birkenstock - bought 2 pairs with some of the clog proceeds:) Now pondering a pair of purple Dr. Marten boots - just because:)

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Now pondering a pair of purple Dr. Marten boots - just because:)

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I would not have to ponder that. I would already have them.

No doubt, some shoe fashionistas here. :rolleyes: Purple Dr. Marten boots sounds awesome....thought I've never worn (and probably never will because of cost) Dr. Martens.

I'm not a jogger so I was abit intrigued by all the wild coloured running shoes on the market these days. I just don't want running shoes so meshy..I walk around in them, not jog and sometimes the temperature drops to freezing with a wind.

Oh yea, I should get a pair of light hiking trail shoes. Most definitely I felt uncertain hiking around in running shoes on some of the mountain trails last summer. Not grippy enough. There's part of me balking cost wise ...because I already spent over $280.00 for 2 different pairs of winter boots. One for city walking around and the other, warmer, tougher for snowshoeing in the mountains.

It was money well spent since I'm very pleased with both boots when walking around for long distances this winter.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

I was just looking at those! Which model(s) do you have if you don't mind me asking? I just got an order in from Zappos and was really disappointed with the Clarks sandal that I ordered. I'm trying to find a neutral flat sandal that can be both dressed up and dressed down. The Jambu "Ocean" might work.

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I don't have any (yet). I'm saving my money for a trip, so shoes are off the table at the moment. But I did see some in person and I really liked the look and feel of them. I like the Ocean and some of their other models (with small heels). If they were SPD compatible, I'd definitely get some.