I know I can’t be the only one with this problem, at least out of people who work retail or other jobs where 8+ hours of the day is spend standing. I, though, seem to have particularly wussy feet – I have super-high arches and it also seems that unless I have a ridiculous amount of padding under my heel, my heels will be KILLING me at the end of the day. So if I say a shoe is comfortable for standing in all day, you know I mean it! I’m going to try and post weekly or biweekly, featuring a different brand of shoes (ideally, brands that I’ve worn at least two pairs of shoes from) each time. I’ll talk about the look, the price range, pros and cons, etc. The goal of this exercise, obviously, is to find cute – not meh, not ok, but actually, honest-to-god cute! – shoes that can be stood or worked in all day.
I’m not featuring anything this week, because I’ll be covering…my shoe shopping strategy! I know you’ve been absoltuely dying to hear that. The thing is, comfort often comes at a very literal cost. Understandable, as the very thing that makes these shoes comfortable tends to make them more expensive, but that puts those of us who have the problem of being, oh say, broke as hell, at kind of a disadvantage. This is where the place you buy the shoes comes in to play!
Zappos.com – Probably the first place most people think of when online shoe shopping comes to mind. The return policy is fabulous, the customer service is great (I always get free shipping and the two or three times I’ve shipped there it’s been upgraded to overnight free of charge). BUT you are paying full retail prices most of the time. In my experience, the prices have been about the same or maybe slightly (we’re talking five dollars or less) higher than other e-tailers.\\
eBay – I’m kind of an eBay fiend. The prices are usually MUCH lower than retail (50%-90% off, on a rough estimate). The main downside is the return policies seriously vary from seller to seller, and are usually either nonexistent or “ship back at your own cost”. So it’s important to know the correct size! I usually either order a pair of shoes from someplace with an excellent return policy (Zappos or 6pm, for example) to figure out my size in a specific brand. Or, you can just ask the seller for a measurement of toe-to-heel inside the shoe and compare it to my foot measurement, it’s a LITTLE iffy but usually a good gauge. A tip: If you’re a registered eBay user, it’s possible to save a search and have it sent to you every day with new items. This is great, I have several searches for brands of shoes in my size and get notified when new items are listed!
6pm.com – I’m not 100% for sure, but I think it’s owned by the same people as Zappos. This is really the best of both worlds, there’s still a return policy that seems to be pretty good, and the prices are seriously slashed. Not as low as eBay, but still significantly lower than retail. Usually around half off.
Amazon.com – I’m not sure when exactly this happened, but lately Amazon has had some pretty badass shoe sales! Some of it isn’t a great deal, but some of it is ($150+ off Fluevog shoes, for example). It’s a trusted online shop, the shipping isn’t super expensive, reasonably fast, although I gather from the customer reviews that returns are of the “pay for shipping back” variety.
DSW.com – I’ve never ordered from them, but the prices are really pretty good. They don’t have a lot in what I’d consider comfortable brands, but it might be worth checking.
Shoes on a Shoestring – I haven’t ordered from them, and I only just found them a few days ago, but the prices are pretty phenomenal in most cases.
Endless – Free shipping, free returns, lots of retail price stuff but sometimes they have good sales.
I think that about covers it as far as online options go – if anyone else has anything to add, definitely leave a comment! And there’s always checking local and thrift stores. That’s totally going to depend on where you’re at though, so results may vary.
Now…the main things to look for when trying on shoes that you’re planning on wearing for long periods of time, when shopping at home or when trying on shoes you ordered. Contrary to popular belief, flats are NOT automatically comfortable!
Good arch support
This is hard to describe (I tried to take pictures, but it didn’t come out very well in pictures either!), but you know it when you feel it. The shoe should either be formed so that where it attaches to the side of the shoe it’s at more of a 45 degree angle than a 90 degree angle, or have arch support actually molded into the sole. Shoes that have the 90 degree angle thing going on tend to be REALLY uncomfortable.
Good padding along the sole
Much easier to recognize! The sole of the shoe shouldn’t be flat and hard, it should have some squishiness to it. Not too much, because if it’s squishy but not springy, your feet will end up almost as sore as if it was just flat and hard. This is especially important at the heel and the ball of the foot, which seems to me is where the most pressure gets put.
Heels
Now, unfortunately, unless you have feet of steel or know something I don’t, stiletto heels are probably out for wearing eight hours while standing and not being in serious pain the next day. Chunky heels or wedges are a much better bet, but unless you pay a good chunk of change, actual heels are probably out of the question. Wedges or chunky, low heels are more likely, with brands like Dansko easy to pick up on eBay for $30-50 a pair.
Posts in the Cute Comfortable Shoes Series:
A Comfortable & Cute Shoe Wardrobe
