Wicked Whimsy

It can be a constant battle to be comfortable and fashionable at the same time. Especially because all too often, the “fashion” idea of comfortable shoes amounts to “I can stand for 20 minutes before I have to sit down”. Youch! If you work on your feet or do a lot of walking, that just won’t cut it. But then, so many of the comfort shoes out there look like they’re carved out of a brick (with as few changes as possible to the original design!). The goal here is to have a full wardrobe of comfortable shoes that you can wear without rotating back and forth between two pairs or just the one – here’s my suggestions…

Flats

These are a requirement & will most likely be the base of your shoe wardrobe. Flats don’t have to be boring, try looking for colors other than black and/or shoes with cute details. Make sure to check arch support! Just because a shoe is flat doesn’t mean it will be comfortable (which frustrates me to no end. seriously, shoe-makers: why make flats if they’re just as uncomfortable as heels?!).

From left to right, top row first: Clarks Un.Blend ($88.50 at Zappos), Aerosoles Beckon ($49.95 at DSW), Jones New York Nicebeat ($39.94 at DSW),  Privo Paddie ($39.99 at Amazon)

Clogs

Yes, I am about to backtrack on my dislike of clogs. I may not always think they’re the most stylish thing around (despite what Chanel and Miu Miu say – though honestly, I kind of like those Borns above), but for comfort, you just can’t beat these Scandinavian marvels. Despite the large variety of clogs pictured here, one or two pairs would probably do ya. I just tried really hard to find non boring pairs!

Pictured: Dansko Bree ($145 at Zappos), Dansko Sienna ($120 at Zappos), Born Jolina ($90 at Zappos), two different colorways of Dansko Professional ($105 at Zappos). Keep in mind pairs of Danskos in decent shape can be found for $10-30 used on eBay.

Sandals

Depending on where you live, there’s a good chance that sandals will be needed. I myself was not really a big fan until we moved to Austin, where it’s pretty much sandals or fried feet in the summer. Look for flat sandals or ones with a very low wedge.

Pictured: Bare Traps Valerie ($39.99 at Famous Footwear), Bare Traps Raylyn ($44.95 at DSW), Clarks Unhelm ($110 at Zappos), Lassen Sabrina ($59 at Zappos), Indigo by Clarks Smooch ($90 at Zappos)

Low, Versatile Heels

Look for wedges and thick heels. Stability is the name of the game here. Unless you work in a particularly dressy environment, one or two pairs will most likely be fine. Unfortunately, comfortable and well made heels (that aren’t super dowdy) tend to be more expensive. Looking at sale or clearance sections and on eBay can cut that price down quite a bit, though.

Pictured: Naot Artiste ($171 at Zappos), Clarks Diamond Heart ($90 at Zappos), Born Gellar ($88.62 at Zappos), Dansko Becca ($145 at Zappos). Note that the Dansko Bree from above would work, too.

Boots

You know what I’m going to say – stability, low heel, chunky heel or wedge, blah blah blah. Again, check for padding and arch support! The amount of pairs you’ll need varies on where you’re living and your personal preferences – places where it gets really muddy or wet in the winter might require more than one pair of (water-proofed!) boots. My boot addiction is well documented, despite living in someplace super hot, so do whatever makes you happy.

Pictured: Indigo by Clarks Illusion ($140 at Zappos), Lassen Reia ($80.26 at Zappos), Born Mccabe ($95 at Zappos), MIA Buckaroo ($178.95 at Amazon – cough cough, look familiar?)

General tips:

Brands to watch for: Clarks (and its sub brands, Privo and Indigo, which tend to be a little more trendy), Born, Dansko, Naot, Lassen, Bare Traps, Ecco

Where to buy: 6pm, Amazon, eBay, Zappos, and DSW all have good sales and are places to peruse for bargains. Savvy Circle is a pretty useful tool here – you can sign up and get a tool that lets you bookmark items on various websites, and when the price drops, they send you an email. When I find something I like but can’t afford at the moment, I usually bookmark it on Zappos, Amazon, and whatever other places that have the item.  This pretty much guarantees getting the best deal (um, eventually).

eBay also has a handy dandy “saved search” function where you can search for various brands/sizes/styles (example: one of my saved searches is “(born, dansko, naot, clarks, privo, indigo) shoes” narrowed down to my size & color preferences) and they’ll email you updates when new items are posted. However! This can be a bit dangerous for the budget. Use it wisely. Don’t go over to the dark side and definitely do not look at the emails when you’re broke!

I know looking at the prices above can be pretty intimidating; but I pretty much never buy shoes at retail price or new unless they’re a. really cheap or b. I really, really want them. Last week I found a pair of Born flats for $15 including shipping, and a pair of Aerosoles flats for the same price (both cute, of course). eBay also has a lot of sellers who get overstock and then sell the shoe at a drastically marked down price (there are several brand-new pairs of the Born Jolina shown above for $46 on eBay right now, instead of Zappos’ $90), but, you need to make sure you know your size in the brand because many of the sellers don’t accept returns. You’ll also probably have to pay for shipping ($10-15).

What do you think, anything I forgot to cover?

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