In the comments on today's blog post, I had a discussion with Angie about dressy footwear. She said that dressier footwear (i.e. pumps) would help make ensembles such as the ones in the blog post look more dressy. Now this is a problem for me because I do not currently own any pumps. For summer, I have dressy, heeled sandals and the like, but for winter I have been defaulting to my dressy booties (see pic). But I think Angie is right, and I need a pair of black pumps.

The other problem is that I have supremely fussy, hard-to-fit feet. I have narrow, low volume feet with a bunion and toes that do not like to be squished or pinched, pancake-flat arches, very narrow heels, and cannot tolerate heels higher than 2.5" (probably even less if the heels are spindly). This means that most traditional pumps fall right off my feet, even if they are otherwise comfy, so I think I'll be restricted to things with straps or slingbacks. Angie suggested T-straps as well. I cannot buy narrow sizes because of the toes and bunion.

So, I am looking for a medium width, ankle or t-strap closed toe pump with heels no higher than 2.5" and a relatively roomy toe box. I need to be able to walk and stand for a few hours in them. I would like them to be 8 hour shoes but maybe that is unrealistic. Let's say 4 hour shoes at a minimum. I also do not want anything with open sides (like d'orsay styles) as those types of styles are both too cold for winter and emphasize the pancakey nature of my arches. This last one means the Okalas and shoes like them are out.

I also want them to be pretty delicate/dressy looking, but also to ideally work in more businessy-type outfits (although that last point is negotiable as I can wear trousers for businessy outfits, with which booties and oxfords are fine). I do not want something that looks too conservative, chunky, or sensible. Basically, they have to be dressier/more delicate than the booties, otherwise there is no point and I'll just wear the booties.

Color should be black, and they must be real leather. Patent is OK but I find it less comfortable. Suede is too hard to take care of. I don't really want more than one pair, and most of my winter formal wear is black or goes with black.

I'll admit to being overwhelmed by this search, and to not being excited about it in the least. So I'm turning to you, YLF, for suggestions. If you have real life experience with a pair, I'm particularly interested!