Hmm well I have been coveting these.... or something similar.....

Lisa - I get that. We wear our edge differently. We might covet the same smythe blazer but I will get it in black and you will buy it in moss pin stripe, you are gorgeous dramatic hair, make up, jewelry, accessories - a lady like more refined shoe gives your edge polish, power and elegance. My minimalist clothing choices and stricter palate, no accessories and nude make up could read too "little old lady" and 58 yo. Being small, with small features, I can sometimes feel like the Mia, in the princess diaries " someone sat on me again....." I create my edge in very tough footwear. I need that juxtaposition. There is more drama, power and edge in your clothing and make up, so footwear can feel fresher when it adds polish and elegance to your edgy dramatic outfit.

gryffin - you're absolutely right, and I love your perspective on things.

jussie - those are super pretty! Not quite me, but definitely a good spring footwear choice.

brieN -
I’d love to find a good kiltie pump too …great suggestion

shevia – you know, everytime you reply, I
think about how I might get the
wardrobe I really want from second-hand stores
instead of letting whatever is available at retail at any given time dictate
what I end up wearing. So much more
authentic and personal – your way. I
need to find my city’s best second hand shops asap.

Carla – I like those 9Wests. Are those white or blush?

Zaeobi – thanks for your input. Our version of TJMaxx = Winners, and the shoe
selection is dismal at best. And on-line
shopping in Canada is not great either – we pay dearly for shipping and returns…..

GF – yeah, brogues may well be the other option
(along with slingbacks). Must pop into
our Geox shop today.

Jlpp – wow – what a collection of shoes you
have ! Do you wear patterned shoes with
quieter outfits – or how do you style them?

Deborah – yes to flatforms. Need to find a nicely refined pair that aren’t
too clownish. I like your monk strap
pair .

Lisa, you got some great suggestions and it has been a treat seeing all the fun shoes here.
I have been in a shoe refresh mode myself, and have been looking for business-y spring shoes. I managed to find quite a few (attached here), tough they may be too boring for you and your style. Paul Greens are a super dark and very fun navy.

What am I wearing? Well, nothing inspiring! I'm pretty sure my shoe style is basically the polar opposite of yours -- I have an excruciatingly hard time finding and wearing femme shoes. Fit is a problem; pumps and slingbacks are almost always no-go's, like they are for Suz, because my heel is so much narrower than my forefoot.

And, like Suz and gryffin, I'm still stuck in boots. We keep getting snow, and temps are hovering around freezing. Once it warms up, I'll have ankle-deep mud to contend with on the roads, driveways, playgrounds, etc. As much as I love the idea of cute oxfords and loafers and ballet flats, my opportunities to wear them are so limited. (Last spring I almost lost a cute mustard yellow oxford while helping someone push their car out of tsome mud doing its best quicksand impression -- serves me right for trying to wear dainty little shoes!) Like Suz says, once boot season is over, it's basically straight into sandal weather, sigh. So I talked myself out of adding a pair of dainty oxfords, and instead I have Doc Martens otw in a similar colour (which are not your deal at all, I know!). I'm completely uninterested in lilac/lavender except in the context of shoes. I go through this phase every spring of wanting classic androgynous shoes in very pretty, femme, easter egg colours. Honestly, I have no real awareness of what might be trending in the footwear world, because my own acquisitions are always so constrained by fit and function.

I love annagybe's suggestions. Or for something less statement-y, what about something like viva's silver Zara loafers?

I'm all about comfort when it comes to shoes so my choices may not be on trend enough. I've sent so many pairs back this year already while trying to find a couple new spring/summer options. The gold tone Clarks were going to be sent back on first glance, but then I realized they looked really good on, felt very sturdy, book ended my hair and had just enough heel height and gave me some shine to up the dressiness of my summer outfits. Bonus is they are super easy to get on/off and the heel strap holds snugly (on me). I have a feeling I will be able to walk quite a bit in these. The other sandals bought at the end of last year are also very comfortable and the two pair will probably be my "go to" choice this year.

If I want inspiration of what is new and current, I refer to Angie and the collective wisdom that is YLF. I also check out Preston Davis's web site "Keep it Chic" to see what styles she recommends. Whilst these are generally designer picks from Net-A-Porter and designers, she has a great eye and it helps to know what to look out for in inspiration. She was into the Gucci loafers in a big way for summer 2017. Interestingly for Preston, she tends to rely on shoes and handbags to update and keep her more classic wardrobe current, so you are in very good company there.

For summer, I bought orange metallic sandals (they also have a clear plastic strap just after the gold toe strap, so they stay on my feet) these are surprisingly comfortable. I always feel a bit 70's disco in them. The navy tie up sandals and gold booties are my summer work shoes and have been workhorses.

I am still in high boot season, as March has been much more wintery than February here. At least I have some variety. I've worn sneakers and perforated booties on warmer days. None of this will be much help to you... especially as I'll be wearing sneakers more when Spring rolls around. I'm good with wearing them to work. I also have black mules, and just bought my first pair of Danskos.

I do need a pair of black flats. My last pair gave out, but most things I've seen in that category lack the edge that I'm currently craving.

I did find this one pair by Botkier that I might order. It also comes in gold.

(I don't wear sneakers to work either. It's fashionable, but not professional. I can be very "old school").

My 2 cents, if you're talking closed toe footwear:

• heeled loafers and oxfords (since you don't like them with a one inch heel like I do)
• sling backs
• low block heeled pumps
• ankle strap pumps with a low block heel
• Western mules
• hard edged loafers
• d'orsay flats
• Cut-out booties
• Booties that you don't have already - so NON-black

Ignore the colours - just look at the shapes of the Finds for inspiration:

To answer your question, I'm Modern Classic and Retro with footwear. I'm high fiving Smittie and suggesting you try a classic direction too.

Personally, I like pretty shoes that look refined and dainty. I don't do chunky, black (unless they are tall riding boots), very trendy, or uncomfortable. I make zero compromises.

I am in a one inch heel or lower 80% of the time. Sometimes I go to 1.5 inches. I wear a two inch heel a few times a year (with my hectic bell bottoms). These are my Spring and Summer shoes:

The Stella inspired Brogues are fun and I can totally see you in them. I really like the idea of a slingback but I've not yet found a slingback I can wear because the strap never stays put on me. So I've been looking at a similar style lower block heeled pumps. I've been seeing some people wear them and I don't think they look matronly because their outfit is not matronly at all. I'm currently wearing a refined loafer but I want a heeled option as well. Also, a heeled mule is a bit dressier than the flat version IMO, if you can wear them. Here are some finds I'm considering (the black loafers I own) and a style of sandals I'm considering for summer. But it's still cold here and I'm wearing booties because I'm freezing.

Weeping and gnashing teeth at the sight of all these lovely sling backs, pumps, loafers.

Hoping against hope that maybe the Franco Sarto silver ones might work for me. But it's a dim hope....

I may try a mule if I can find one that stays on. At least I don't have the heel issue there, or rather, it's the same issue everyone has with them...clomp clomp.

I love all the shoe suggestions you're getting. You can see my shoes in my WIW's but I mainly wore boots and booties all winter. They're not particularly edgy or trendy. It's warming up here and I'm starting to pull out my transition shoes (loafers, pumps, sneakers, ballet flats, etc). Basically shoes that can be worn without socks but are close-toed (still need that bit of extra warmth).

You know what I've been wearing because I keep my shoe collection very tight. These are the four pairs of non-boot, non-sandal work shoes that I currently own. And I am really THIS CLOSE to chucking the black Halogen loafers. I'm just tired of them. I've worn them on every work trip for the last three years, I think. I am completely over the shape. They feel just too boring. And the red loafers are VERY flat. Which leaves me, really, two pairs of non-boot/sandal work shoes.

I'd like to keep an eye out for another pair of something. I love the light-colored perforated bootie idea. Do you remember the ones I had for a couple of years? I finally got rid of them last year because they just got too knocked about and out of shape. It's a problem with me and light-colored suede.

I've also been inundated with FB ads for The Office of Angela Scott and have been eyeing her expensive and fun menswear-inspired shoes, but I just can't afford them.

I love the look of the Vic Mattie tri-colored loafers from YOOX that Anna posted, and they're half the price of the Angela Scott's. I'm seriously considering.

I sympathise with your shoe dilemmas,it’s not easy is it finding comfy shoes that fit properly and hit the right note style wise is it.There are some lovely looking suggestions given by people above,I hope you find something that you love.
Suz-I feel your pain in seeing all these lovely shoes that you just know won’t fit.I used to be able to walk into any shoe shop in the UK and know that I would find a pair of shoes to fit,then we went to continental sizing which basically meant doing away with my shoe size,this combined with shoe sizing being somewhat random as shoes are now made all over the world means that I very rarely buy shoes these days because finding a pair that fits is very difficult and I don’t even have particularly difficult feet!I would like a pair of casual closed toe summer shoes in red or navy but would have to try them on so ordering via the internet is out,i m not holding my breath.

I have a pair of the booties shown below in the brindle color. I like them as you can show a little skin with pants rolled or down because of the cut out. They are pretty comfy with a small heel. They are perforated so I have even worn them the odd time on a chilly day in the summer. I just bought the Sperry loafers and had planned to take them to Florida this week before the huge snow storm in PA decided otherwise and thwarted my flight plans sigh. I have only worn them around the house but so far seem comfortable and quite bendy which I like. They look similar to Angie's Sarto loafers. They come in quite a few colors, I have the suede grey ones, IRL they actually look more grey blue. I am also eyeing up the silver.

Here's what I am currently wearing for my transitional weather - basically I ]'m sick to death of booties but it's not warm enough for sandals. I probably could use a dose of excitement too but these have served me well for a few years.

Here are a few that I've been looking at adding. I'm obviously in the mood for red!

AviaMariah: Those JC booties are really interesting! Love them. And I'd love to hear a review of the Everlane heels. I don't know anyone whose actually worn them. If you get them, let us know.

AviaM - I love all of your picks - although I'd have to switch my version to another colour. I've been interested in those Everlane loafers forever - and like Vivian, don't know anyone who has actually bought them. I love the Rag & Bone slingbacks, but don't even want to know how much they are R&B in Cdn dollars = scary.

All these nude perforated booties are great - but I can't see them with black and navy pants . Jeans, yes, but then that's a casual look. Am I missing an opportunity by not wanting to wear nude with dark pants? Gail - I love yours - what bottoms do you wear them with?

Colette - thanks for your input . We share a similar aesthetic.

I am VERY picky about footwear. They have to be comfortable, but if the style is not up to par, I won't buy . I'm not particularly hard to fit other than not wanting high heels. A 2" block is fine though.

Angie - yes, a more classic, feminine direction is of interest to me. I don't want chunky for work either, nor do I want colourful and kooky. You and I don't have quite the same preferences for shoe styles, but I do like what you've suggested for me. The sad part has been the shoes that Anthro offers - we can't get them in Canada for some odd reason. But Jeffrey Campbell seems to have quite a few styles that I like... The slingback and heeled mule are looking like the best option . LOVE the metallic silver ones!

Bijou - I'm a big Keep it Chic fan, and have been for years. I have those same open too booties as you - in a pewtery-silver colour. I'll be pulling them out in a month or two, hopefully.

So many fabulous suggestions. I really have nothing to offer, other than to drool over these offerings and use them as an incentive to get my fashion act together!

Once I'm out of boots, I'm into oxfords, which I love. I do wear oxfords year round. My recent purchases were higher soled oxfords—I hear you on wanting a little bit of elevation—which are great for spring weather. I also like sandal foot booties for spring too, and have a pair of light blue suede with a block heel that I bought several years ago. Glove leather oxfords for summer are great.

Shoes are the start of launching a fab ensemble. The great thing is there are so many choices out there you can go any direction. I have a mixed bag of footwear and that keeps me happy. I am not a one style girl. And comfort is key.

Lisa, I've thought a lot about Everlane's loafers too. I also like the look of their chelsea boots.

I have the Lucky Brand booties in grey. I don't know if you could find that or another color sold in Canada. They also have black on DSW's website, so that color exists. I think Lucky brand does a perforated bootie style every season. Nordie's might have them.

I absolutely cannot keep loafers or pumps on my feet due to a wide-ish forefoot and teeny tiny heel. The slingback patent pumps (which come in a number of colors and look better on my feet than the photo would lead one to believe) were delivered today in Wide, and I re-ordered in Medium to see which size is better since the cognac sandals by the same brand fits me in a Medium. I'm thinking my fussy nearly always cold feet do better in a covered sandal that gives me more support and warmth. Since loafers and probably slides fall off my feet, I thought I would try the Topshop slingback loafers (which also come in an animal print IIRC), but they have not yet been delivered.

Otherwise, I have a ridiculous number of Dansko clogs because they work on my fussy feet (more or less) and give me a boost in height. But sometimes they are simply too clompy and heavy looking.

Good luck!

Donna, can you keep a slingback on? They always come off me, even the elasticized ones. One with a higher vamp might work though. I really love the first two pair you showed here. But know what my fate would be in them...walking straight out of them.

Everyone covered it well already but I'll put in another vote for sling backs with a block heel or kitten heel (kitten heels are very polarizing, can't remember if you are pro or con!). And yeah, Jeffrey Campbell consistently makes high quality, on-trend shoes, and most are very comfortable. I got lovely Jeffrey Campbell suede block heel pumps last year and I have no idea why I don't wear them more often!

Any of these?

https://www.jcrew.com/ca/p/wom.....shed-pecan

https://www.jcrew.com/ca/p/wom.....d-flamingo

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....0b1018-002

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....2x2010-002

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....n30063-152

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....4-009-7351

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....03-002-l24

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....19788-opal

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....v74356-nvy

https://www.gravitypope.com/co.....10b1004-26