Oh my aching feet - my journey to find stylish yet comfortable shoes.

I love shoes - heels, sandals, boots, flats. The problem is 2 1/2 years ago I injured my forefoot and during these long months I have searched for comfortable shoes that allow me to still be stylish. Sure I wear Berkies (memory foam insoles) in the privacy of my own home and I'm fortunate enough to be able to wear running shoes to work at my gym. I will be getting reconstructive surgery in early 2014 but honestly pointy toes and stilettos are not in the cards for me. I still want to wear pretty shoes now and after the surgery so I've been on a mission to find great stylish yet comfortable shoes.

My footwear criteria are:
1. soft, flexible material
2. high toe box
3. padding at instep
4. mostly covered toes (my toes are kind of ugly right now)
5. heel 2" or less to keep ball of foot reasonably flat

Here are some photos of my shoe finds that work for me and my comments about them:
1. Flats - Frye loafers - really nicely padded and wider toe box so they will flex with my toes. The Frye company had the best selection but their price was the highest. I bought camel ones from Shopbop and they are so comfortable. I just got the navy ones from Amazon.com today and can't wait to wear them tomorrow with my jeans. I hope it's ok to wear a thin navy sock with them because it's getting pretty chilly hear for bare ankles.
2. Cole Haan - Air Tali Wedge - with Nike technology these are pretty close to wearing a running shoe with a wedge. The nubek material is soft and so comfy. I wore them all summer with slim pants and skirts and will take them south with me this fall. Again Amazon.com had the best price and colour selection but they are running low on stock now that it's the off-season.
3. Chromatic Gallerie - I've bought 4 colours so far but they have over 40 colours so I'm probably going to keep adding to my collection. My first love was pink and they are still my favourites. I only bought suede due to it's forgiving nature but they also make them in patent and leather and besides the 2" ones I chose they have 3" and 4" and have now introduced some flats. These shoes have changed my life! I can now wear a dressy outfit and feel elegant. They have some padding inside and a high toe box. I have worn them to many events and even danced all night! OK I did have to ice my foot the next day but it was so worth it. They cost $88 each and have loyalty points and special colour deals if you sign up for their emails. http://www.chromaticgallerie.com/

I would love to hear any of your comments and especially from those of you who have had a challenge finding shoes to fit a "difficult" foot.

I'm also looking for some stylish boots for winter. Last year I managed to fit into a pair of black suede Aerosole high boots with a slight wedge and. although they served the purpose, they weren't anything special. I also have a pair of soft flat black leather booties with a back zip that I can wear when there's no snow or slush. My daughter is trying to convince to buy Uggs but I'm just not sure they would look right on a woman of my age. Any suggestions would be welcome.

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12 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Not cheap, size down 1/2 a size

http://totokaelo.com/store/des.....a-restrepo

Gaylene

Arche, from France, also has some interesting, but very comfortable, shoes. I just bought a pair of boots and wore them for an entire day right out of the box..

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Marmee

Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions for you, as my needs are slightly different, but I wanted to let you know that I can really empathize with your plight. I have arthritis in my big toe joint and that foot is very wide. I find it very difficult to 1) wear a heel over one inch, and 2) wear anything that cuts over my big toe joint (no ballet flats). I actually first met Angie at Nordstrom in the shoe department.

Have you seen the blog barkingdogshoes.com?

Good luck!

Margaret

Greyscale

I injured the ball of my foot dancing two years ago, and for a year I struggled to find shoes I could wear, because I had to avoid weight on that part of my foot. The best were my Converse with custom orthotics, but I found a few other options. (I also have very high arches, a very high instep, and boxy feet, so these are all shoes that worked with those too.)

1. Arcopedico N42 ankle boots:
http://www.zappos.com/arcopedico-n42
For some they might look too frumpy or old, but they fit my avant-garde look (at the time I was wearing a lot of leggings or super-skinny black jeans, and tunics). They're not a polished, classic look, though.

2. Mephisto Helen sandals:
http://www.zappos.com/mephisto-helen
Again, I go for heavy not delicate, so this might not be your style. They are literally the only shoes I've ever found that support my extreme arches.

Once I'd healed a bit, I could wear more of my shoes, but almost no heels, except these:
3. Paul Green Glada heels:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/514536326147878493/
sadly not sold now but I'm sure there are similar. For some reason, these heels take all the weight off the ball of my foot!

Gigi

Clarks has some shoes that have decent padding and support. The amount of support varies, though, from style to style. I would recommend e-mailing Clarks, telling them what you're looking for, and then going from there. I don't know how the toe box is in their shoes.

I recently bought a pair of booties from the Walking Company made by a company called Sofft. They have a lot of support. I went to the Sofft website, and just from what I can see, the shoes look like they have arch supports and padded leather footbeds. Is this what you would be looking for? Again, I don't know about the size of the toe boxes.

I have tried some Ecco shoes in the past, and although the styles I tried didn't have much padding, they did have a very large toe box. Maybe they have other styles with more padding?

I applaud you for finding some shoes that work! It would have been very easy to give up when faced with such a difficult task. Give yourself a pat on the back! Finding comfortable shoes that are also fashionable is quite difficult, even without having health problems.

RunswithDolphins

Active Member

Greyscale I do like those Arcopedico N42 ankle boots from Zappos. I'll have to check around because they no longer ship to Canada but I could ask my SIL in Texas to send them up to me. I can empathize with your dancing injury. Although I didn't injure it initially that way I definitely didn't help it by continuing to ballroom dance afterwards. Biofreeze got me through the evening and that's not a good thing!

Thanks everyone else for your suggestions too. I'm going to spend some time going through those websites.

BeachBikeGal

I agree with Gigi that it is easy to give up when faced with foot challenges. It is a help and an encouragement when others on the forum provide options to achieve style and comfort.

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