Thanks, again, everyone, for all the great suggestions. I ordered the Boden ballerinas the other day after they sent me a promo code - a lot of Boden's shoes are only sold in Euro whole sizes (which I'm halfway between sizes in) but these were available in half sizes so I will see if they work when they arrive.
The gods of shopping must have been looking down on me, though, as I stopped by one of the local off-price shoe stores yesterday and found the navy shoes in the below pic on clearance for $15 (!). They are some brand I've never heard of and totally synthetic, but they should do for the short term, and the little vents are exactly the vibe I wanted for this event - summer-influenced but still business-y.
(The other pair I also snagged yesterday, at the thrift store down the street from the shoe store - blush, cream, and rose gold ankle straps. Not sure if they'll go for the conference but another light colored summery option.)
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