Footwear Philosophies

Shoe shopping is the hardest for me out of all the fashion categories (clothes, handbags, accessories, etc.)  Finding shoes that don’t pinch, blister or otherwise hurt your feet is not easy.  Upon reflection, I recognize that this is probably because shoes are carrying the weight of your body – literally pounding the pavement, especially for those of us running around New York City.

I’ve owned all types of shoes – flat and heeled, expensive and cheap, leather and plastic, you get the idea – and there is no one factor that seals the deal in terms of comfort.  Over the years, however, there is one rule that has become clear to me, and that is: when you do find shoes that fit your feet perfectly, seek out and stock up on footwear from that particular brand.

For my feet, which are a bit wide, I wish I could say that some marvelous brand like Gucci provided the perfect fit.  The brand that I’ve actually found to be the most consistently cute and comfortable is Guess.  I don’t shop at Guess and find most of their clothing to be a bit too racy, and not in a good way.  I first encountered Guess shoes several years ago at Bloomingdale’s (tied with Second Time Around for my Favorite Store).  Prices for Guess pumps and flats at Bloomie’s tend to hover at just under $100.  The bonus is that Bloomie’s has incredible sales and even more incredible discounts for card-holders.  Here are photos of some Guess shoes in my closet, all purchased for about $60 per pair.

In my recent Forever 21 Store Guide post, I advised that their shoes were not a good purchase, no matter how cute or how cheap.  Now I’d like to propose a viable inexpensive yet trustworthy footwear option instead: Payless Shoe Source.  Among my friends who shy away from stores like Payless with very low price points, I know the assumption is that the level of quality is as low as the prices.  It’s not a bad assumption, and with many stores cheap really is cheap – but Payless is an exception to the rule, for a few reasons:

First, their rubber soles last longer than any other type of sole, including the “vero cuoio,” i.e. real leather of virtually all middle- and high-end brands.  I’ve had several pairs of Payless shows for years that have never required a visit to the cobbler.

Second, Payless was among the first companies to come out with “diffusion” lines – collaborations with other designers – and currently offers very fashion-forward options from the likes of Isabel Toledo, Christian Siriano and Lela Rose.

Finally, the Payless BoGo (buy one, get one half off) sales that happen every few weeks bring the price points down even further.  Even if you aren’t shopping for shoes, I recommend stopping into a store to pick up shoe supplies, such as heel cushions and gel soles which are also eligible for the discount.