Oh Shana, I'm sorry to hear of your foot issues. I don't have time to write too extensively now, but I just wanted to say that I do not find the Sissy sandals ugly at all. They just look like wedges to me. I mean, they are not the most fashion forward hot-off-the-runway look in the world, but how often are those shoes compatible with reality?

The Clarks sandals are utterly adorable.

I'm sorry to hear about your foot problems--I have arthritis in my big toe and it complicates life and makes finding shoes a challenge. I see what you mean about the Danskos--they have a cloggy look that you probably don't want to wear all the time. Unless your doctor orders you to wear them, you probably want to consider other options.

What I've found to be more comfortable, in a closed shoe, is a higher vamp (covers the toes, doesn't cut into them); a rounder toe with enough room in the toe box; a padded insole and a thicker heel (that's why a wedge feels better than a stacked heel), and a lower, but not flat, heel (up to 2" in my case but that may be different for you). In terms of styles, a loafer with a slight heel might work; an oxford with a rounder toe and lower heel might work; a t-strap that comes up high enough on the foot might work.

I haven't found a brand that's better than others, but I'd suggest that you take a look at Born and Sofft as well as Dansko. They're both comfort lines, but (in my opinion) are more stylish than Dansko. Finding the right shoe for an arthritic foot is a matter of trial and error--lots and lots of trial and error!

Best of luck in feeling better and in finding shoes that help along the way.

Shana, I am very sorry to hear about your foot problems. I am no doctor, but I am not sure immobilizing the joints is actually a good thing long term. Comfort is a very subjective, of course. When you were trying them on, were the Dansko sandals actually more comfortable than Mephistos? Because I walk a lot, I've always been into comfort brands - and Mephisto shoes are the best I've come across, even though many styles are old-ladyish. I used to go to their store each time I traveled to Europe, since they were considerably cheaper there. Josef Seibel is pretty good, too.
I've had Dansko sandals, and liked them, too. Mine were a little less cloggy, and there are other styles with a less pronounced sole, for example:
http://www.zappos.com/product/7502387/color/183371
http://www.zappos.com/product/7502389/color/4827
http://www.zappos.com/product/7129692/color/130045

And those Clarks are really pretty.

Hi Shana,

I don't know if you are familiar with NAOT shoes. Here is their website: http://www.naot.com/
They make comfortable shoes, sandals and boots.

Oh, Shana. I'm sorry to hear about your poor little feet. Hang in there.

I don’t find any of the sandals posted ugly. At all! The dansko sissys were actually a recommendation on my blog post and I have SEVERAL clients running around in them with my full support :0)

Sandy wears them with style too.

Just wanted to make a comment about Naots. I own Naot ankle boots, and the footbed is very comfortable. Lots of their styles are what I'd call utilitarian, especially the sandals, but they have some nice ankle boots.

My advice is to get them on the small side, because they stretch. My Naots, which fit fine when they were new, are now so big they are slipping and sliding all over the foot, which puts strain on a sore joint! The stretching is a common problem--whenever Naots are reviewed it comes up--just to let you know.

Hi,
I am sorry about this rheumatological issue. It's rough when health makes the choices for us.
Without concerns as strong as yours I have also very fussy feet, relatively wide in the front and always unhappy with the current narrow shoes. The Naot shoes have proved to be the best solution for me, esp for work or walking about town shoes. They make really cute sandals and stretch well so they have enough give for comfort.
I also have a pair of Ariats that I hang onto now even YEARS into owning them.They war incredibly well and have a amazing footbed.They are not always very fashion-friendly, but for work they cant be beat.
Good luck and take care...

I agree with the others - those shoes you posted are not ugly!

I am sorry to hear about your foot problems. I have had on-and-off issues for years and initially the thought was arthritis (PA, because I have psoriasis so that was the obvious culprit) but that has been ruled out for me. Apparently I have fibromylgia instead - so it's not the joints, it's the muscles and ligaments. Like you, the pain will be all over my body, and yes there will be swelling (my fingers or toes can swell up like sausages and even turn purple). It will move around my body and some days it's every joint and I can barely get out of bed, and other days it's confined to just one or two. And it comes and goes -it has been in remission for a year, except this week I am having problems with the joint on my left thumb and left ring finger, which means it's coming back. Grrr.

At any rate, not that I'm an arthritis expert, but I'm with Marianne: it doesn't seem like mobilizing the joint completely is the best way to go here. you want to keep exercising the joint to keep it supple and working as long as possible. I know my doctor harps on this with me all the time, from when he thought we were dealing with the onset of arthritis to now that we know it's not (I've had xrays taken for years and years, since this all began in my 20s, and there's simply no evidence of any sort of joint degeneration whatsover). I tell him it's too painful to move the joints and he says it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. And I've found that yoga is excellent for this - and, surprisingly! - walking *barefoot* as much as possible! But the best treatment has been massage to work out the pressure points. I've gotten very good at doing this on my own without a PT to help, using yoga balls.

Anyway, this may all be completely unrelated to what you are dealing with, but I will throw it out: I cannot wear thongs at all (I find them absolutely excruciating), but I have found that sandals with a big toe ring work great. I don't know what it is about this style, but at first it will be slightly uncomfortable, but as I wear them, my entire foot begins to improve dramatically. I suspect it's because it stretches the big toe back into alignment.

Otherwise my M.O. is to find wider shoes, especially in the toe box, and ones that bend and have a lot of flexibility at the base of the toes. This seems to be more important than arch support. I find the action of repeatedly bending that part keeps my feet happy. (Doing toe raises also works). So nothing too stiff and immobilizing. Sneakers are quite ideal for this, but you can find fashionable shoes, yes the Me-Too flats would qualify, as they are not stiff shoes and many of the styles are quite flexible.

Again, my problems are probably completely different, but just throwing that out there. The most important thing is to just keep trying on lots of different styles until you find what works for you. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not so easy to tell in the store, and only a road-test will be effective. When you find something that works - duplicate!!!

As for the winter, you might find that having warm feet is of top importance. I know when my feet get cold it exacerbates the pain. If you have the arthritis in your hands too, you will want boots with a zipper for easy on/easy off, and no laces.

Thanks everyone for the info. I wore my share of clunky looking shoes like the Danskos 10 years ago when they were in style but these days I usually go for a more streamlined shoe which is why it's hard for me. It's hard for me to imagine many of my outfits with big clunky shoes. I'll have to try them out once the Danskos arrive.

Thanks Garmenta, Stylin and PalmFronds, I will look around for Naots and Ariats. I have never been one to buy shoes online without trying them on so I need to find a place where I can try these brands on in person. I will be in Europe in just 6 weeks and I plan to spend some time looking around there since there is just so much more selection of comfort shoes. In addition, I find more stylish options than what is available here (even in the same brands!).

Marianne, though I have tried and worn other "comfort" brands like Sofft, Privo, Joseph Seibel etc, this was my first time trying Mephistos and let me just say, it was like putting my foot into a bed of eiderdown! I swear I thought I heard a choir of angels singing "Halleluia" when I stepped into them. They were even on major sale so they were similar in price to the Danskos (so price was not a factor). However, when I started walking and my toe joints flexed, I could feel the pain. With the Danskos, I did not feel the pain in the joints but I wonder how the rest of my foot will feel since the sole is so hard. I'm sure the doctor might have suggestions (if they figure out what it is) but my appointment is so far away, I am not quite sure what to do.

Shiny, I am actually very interested in your experience. My joint pain began last summer and lasted about 4-5 months at which point it became almost unbearable. At the time, I went to the doctor and had a bunch of blood tests (RA, Lupus, Lyme etc) and everything came back negative so my doctor thought it was regular arthritis and basically told me that it sucks getting older. And then all of a sudden in January, it was gone. Now it's back plus I have a swollen patch on my hand which really got her attention. I had all the same blood tests in addition to some xrays and again, nada. She never mentioned Fibromylgia. Did you see you regular doctor for this diagnosis or a specialist? Some of this might be TMI so you could email me at salat1199 at comcast dot net if you'd rather discuss this off the forum. My pain is all over (knees, elbows, hands, feet) but sporadic. Like you, some days I feel like I cannot get out of bed (but have little choice with two small children) and other days it's almost gone. I am back at the gym consistently now after a 2 month hiatus so hopefully that will help and I am trying to make it to the yoga classes. For me at least, being barefoot on the hardwood floors seem to exacerbate the pain so I wear padded house slippers in the house as much as possible.

Shana, email on its way!

I have to echo what Shiny has already mentioned--that exercising the muscles around the joint seems to help with the pain. My husband, who has a similar arthritic problem in his knee, has been advised by his doctor to flex, loosen, and strengthen the muscles around the joint as much as possible. I can't speak from medical expertise, but I can tell you from my own experience, that the more I walk and flex the arthritic joints, the less pain I seem to have. I can also attest that yoga, especially the gentle version, is never a bad thing, for any stiff and sore joint!