Comfortable High Heels — an Oxymoron?

Yes and no. First a history. I am a complainer. I hate discomfort. I never wore high heels until my 30’s and now that I am approaching my 40’s I’m finding it harder and harder. The good thing is my feet are not misshapen like my sister and mother’s (who DID wear high heels in their 20s.) Sidenote from Kelly: My feet are NOT any more mishapen than Kate’s.

The first high heels I found I could wear were slip on sandals. No higher than 2 inches, but still, I liked that the front was open and I could grasp with my toes. Also without a back (I have very narrow heels, quad A) there wasn’t the blister issue, nor were the balls of my feet hurting because I was able to stretch my toes.

But I moved on and found Stuart Weitzman shoes. Their crepe shoes only run about $200 bucks and they have a flexible sole and what they call a combination last. It means that the heels are narrow, the fronts normal size. The soles of my feet certainly hurt after a while, but no blisters, and I just haven’t found that with cheaper shoes. (ie. Nine West, DSW, etc.) Kelly swears by Jimmy Choo, and I must concur that their flexible soles make it much easier to take the eventual pain of gravity. And the nice thing about spending money on a pair of shoes is that you can make them last by taking them to a good cobbler. In New York, we are partial to Leather Spa on W. 55th.

Then I found Cole Haan Nike Air. I have never had good luck with Easy Spirits or Aerosoles. The soles of my feet might be comfy but the rest of my foot tended to get ripped to shreds because of the narrow heel thing. So when someone told me that they could RUN in their Cole Haan Nike Air I was intrigued. All three of the McMenamin sisters have a pair. Becca and me are both complainers about high heels and we could dance all night long in them. Now I have tried two different pairs of the Cole Haan’s and I find the ones with the hidden platform like these on the left are more comfy. (Yes, the peep toe CAN hurt a little, but because the tops of my big toe flips up, I find the open toe quite liberating!)

Another high heel I love are these from Dansko. In general, open toe, sling backs with a wedge or thicker heel are going to be more comfortable than not. It’s just a bit more casual and perfect for summer and these are ridiculously comfy. I don’t know if they’re that fashionable. I have a feeling that Kelly (or other Classics) won’t be getting these and frankly my pair has a narrower strap in back which tends to make it look fancier. Oh well. Why do good things never last?!