Sergio Rossi Aisha Strauss; $799 at Zappos

Love the heels but can’t bear the pain? In the latest issue of Marie Claire, Sergio Rossi’s creative director Edmundo Castillo offers shoe advice for walking comfortably in high heels.

1. Change heel heights several times a day. Feet and legs shouldn’t be allowed to mold themselves to any one shoe shape.

2. Shoes are an emotional accessory; hurt your feet, hurt your feelings.

3. Befriend a salesperson who will tell you if a shoe will actually feel as good as it looks.

4. If you feel all the weight in the front of your foot, this heel’s your arch enemy — literally.

5. Your foot needs to sit in a shoe. If you can wedge two fingers between your sole and the shoe — bye-bye!

6. Platforms should be no more than one-and-a-half inches high — or you’re dangling off a cliff.

7. Think Cinderella: A heeled shoe must fit perfectly. Faking it with the wrong size will get ugly. (Hmm, I think Victoria ‘Posh’ Beckham didn’t get this memo. Didn’t she once say ‘If they don’t have my size I just stick toilet paper in…If that’s what it takes to get a nice shoe.’)

8. Don’t shoe shop with swollen feet — e.g., when it’s hot or right after exercise

9. To elongate your legs, ankle straps should sit above the ankle bone.

10. Still wobbling when you walk in your heels? Practice!

The advice makes practical sense to me. Well, except for #1. I’d love to change heel heights every hour but my shoe wardrobe is not extensive enough, my purse can barely fit my wallet and cell phone much less allow me to carry spare pairs, and my pant lengths would look goofy if I switched from a 6″ to a 1″ heel.

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Apart from the obvious (shoes, duh!), there is something else you can give that special friend, sister, mother, aunt, cousin, or grandma, who appreciates shoes as much as you do. Since shoe fit is such a delicate matter, you might be better off with a cute little trinket like this:

Shoe and handbag tic-tac-toe set is $65 at Neiman Marcus. True, nobody can really win this game…unless they get distracted by the rhinestones, silver plating, and general cuteness.

For something a little more practical, you can go for this set of two servers, shaped as a shoe and a handbag (but of course!):

The shoe and handbag servers are $50 at Neiman’s and they also come in silver (for$45).

Happy Christmas shopping, shoe lovers! We’ll be back with more shoemania in the gift department!

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Here’s a recent inquiry from one of our readers who has a common problem.  Common enough, that I figured I’d share the answer with everyone here.

I’m in desperate need of your advice!  I recently purchased cute closed-toe pumps, which I tried on with the little nylon footies you get at the store; they fit perfect at the store.  I now tried them on with thin socks and my foot slips forward, allowing my heel to slip out the back when I walk.  A smaller size will not work - it’s too small in the toe box.  What do you suggest?  I’ve heard of a sticky pad of some sort that you can adhere to the inside of the shoe (in the heel part) - do these really work?  If so, which one do you recommend?

 

THANK YOU in advance for your help - I HATE to give up a pair of shoes that I fell in love with!

 

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Ever wonder how Christian Louboutin’s signature red soles came about? In Net-a-Porter’s exclusive video interview with Christian Louboutin, we learn the origins behind the red soles.

I did not really choose the red sole. Its more like the red sole came to me and had to stay with me. It started as a happy accident, which I kept. I was very inspired by pop art so all my drawings were really full of colors. So the first prototype arrives. Its very similar to my designs so I was very happy. But something was missing. Thank God I had this girl with me who was painting her nails. Grabbed her nailpolish - thank you to Chanel for that!  I grabbed the nailpolish and I painted the sole.

Fashion by Bowie offers great tips on how to shop for shoes online

Steve Madden is back on his feet again in Newsweek Magazine

Manolo the Shoeblogger has already pre-ordered his copy of ‘Shoe-Fleur: A Footwear Fantasy’ by Michel Tcherevkoff. To see why you should order a copy too, check out the fanciful photos on Manolo’s blog.

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As any regular Shoeblog reader knows, I’m always looking for the perfect blend of comfort and style when I buy new shoes. And so, apparently are some of the enterprising reporters for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. They rated a bunch of shoes under $155 on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being best) for comfort and style, as well as reviewing how it felt to wear them and how long they remained comfy.

So, what did these smart ladies find? It’s all here, plus added pictures.

Aerosoles Kin Ship wedge (shown here in all its various color options), $79.

Style: 3

Comfort: 4

Heel height: 3 inches

The dish: These cute espadrilles made it through a full 10 hour day retaining their comfort. You might want to order a half size down, since these apparently run a bit big, but their comfort was undeniable.

Born Monte Carlo wedge sandal, $94 at Zappos.

Style: 3

Comfort: 2

Heel height: 3.5 inches

The dish: These cute summer sandals only lasted a few hours before raising blisters on the reviewer’s feet. She says the footbed was comfy, and the rubber sole was great for anti-slipping power, but the leather was stiff and rubbed her feet raw.

Corso Como No. 4019920, $145 at Citysoles.com

Style: 5

Comfort: 4

Heel height: 4 inches

The dish: These made it through the whole 10 hour day, as well, but the reporter giving them a spin was happy to take them off at the end of the day. The footbed was cushioned nicely, and the platform under the ball of the foot helped alleviate pain in that area, but, as she put it, ”Four-inch heels are still 4-inch heels.”

One of Two Pacific Peep Toes, $148 at Anthropologie (although when I checked them, they were $168).

(You’ll have to forgive the tiny picture… Photobucket is being difficult at the moment).

Style: 4

Comfort: 5

Heel height: 3.25 inches

The dish: These lasted 10 hours easily. There’s lots of padding in the insole and through the arch, and the platform again cuts down on the feeling of height from the wedge. The leather is soft, and the ankle strap helped with a feeling of stability.

Sofft Noel heeled sandal, $92 at Shoeline.

Style: 3

Comfort: 4

Heel height: 2.5 inches

The dish: At first, these cute sandals didn’t last more than 3 hours before causing blisters, but after a little break-in period, they made it through the day with flying colors. The footbed was the most comfortable the testers tried, but the heel was a little wobbly and the gold metallic leather looked a tad on the cheap side.

Faryl Robin Fanny ankle-strap sandal, $148 at Zappos (although now it’s $158).

Style: 5

Comfort: 5

Heel height: 3.75 inches

The dish: I can’t really put it any better than the reporters themselves do, so let me just quote you what they say:

How long can they be worn without pain? All day, plus you can clomp down four flights of wooden stairs balancing a giant purse and a Glad trash bag stuffed to bursting. Now that’s a shoe a girl can count on.

Impressions: The perfect collision of bohemian style and orthopedic comfort. New York designer Faryl Robin follows a simple guiding principal when crafting women’s shoes: If they aren’t comfortable enough to take the kids to school in them — on foot — it’s back to the drawing board.

Natural Comfort D100 Rust Suede platforms, $143 at Zappos.

Style: 5

Comfort: 4

Heel height: 4.5 inches

The dish: Well, with tights, these lasted a full day, but without tights only half a day. The cushy footbed is made out of the stuff that pads football helmets, so it’s soft to walk on, but the toe box is kinda narrow, so it may squeeze.

Blowfish Swiss Cheese ballet flat, only $30 at Shoebungalow.com.

Style: 4.5

Comfort: 3.5

Heel height: flat

The dish: The usual issues with ballet flats: no arch support and digging into your feet by the end of the day. But the ”fabric” is a rubberized material instead of leather, so they’re veggie-friendly, and all the holes let your feet breathe freely.

And that’s it.

I’m skipping the last two entries.  One is the Geox D Megan wedge sandal, which can apparently be found at Zappos for $99, but didn’t appear there or anywhere else in my search.  They only get a 3.5 for comfort, anyway.  And the last one is a Steve Madden wedge with an ankle strap, but they don’t give a style name, so I’m stumped.

And there you have it.  The findings of several intrepid reporters in Cleveland.  Now go out into the world in comfort and style. 

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