shoes for walking | ABCs of Style.

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comfortable flats, comfortable shoes for walking, comfortable stylish walking shoes, Crocs, hush puppies, shoes, shoes for walking, sketchers, supportive flats, walking shoes

Amy’s gorgeous mum has sent us the following question:

Good morning girls, I have a shoe dilemma! Soon I am going on a holiday, there will be an amount of walking…..not hiking or anything extreme, but city walking and exploring. I will likely wear 3/4 pants most of the time and am looking for ideas for comfortable shoes, that don’t look too much like a sport shoe, but that offer some of the comfort. Price is also a consideration…..haven’t got hundreds of dollars to spend. Any ideas, thoughts would be welcomed…many thanks

Firstly thanks for dropping us a line Tina! Secondly that is a really good question and it has made me consider something that I would never normally think about, you’ve pushed me out of my comfort zone.

One word – Crocs

Yes those Crocs… Now don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t be caught dead in the normal ones and neither should you however I recently saw a pair of these when I was walking around a convention and tried them on, I am almost ashamed to say how comfortable they were:

They are like Crocs in that they are durable and made of a material I am pretty sure you can hose off but they are unlike Crocs in that they are not as ugly as f#$k (Sorry for swearing Tina). In fact when I had them on I walked up to a friend who dislikes Crocs as much as me and asked if she liked my flats and she called them cute before she realised they were Crocs, then she said some swears and I had to buy her a coffee to make her forgive me for tricking her into liking Crocs even for a minute, she probably won’t be buying a pair.

There are some other styles out there that you can probably get away with wearing because they essentially look nothing like Crocs:

A wedge heel with a good solid grip on the world you could walk around all day in them with a casual outfit and then wear them with a cute dress at night. I probably wouldn’t get the pink pictured above but the black with a hint of silver looks a lot like a normal pair of black wedges.

You can wear these with jeans or even leggings if you want a sturdier boot. I found these looked very chunky on the shelf but when I tried them on I didn’t mind how they looked with long pants.

A wee little heel which is an attempt to combine fashion and comfort I guess. I found the toe a little rounded for my taste but then I am a fan of the peep or pointy toe.

The great thing about a pair of Crocs is that they hold up to wear and tear like almost no other shoe and in the past I would have said that it was because their sheer ugliness was repelling the scuff marks but these options aren’t so unattractive and to be honest might be a practical solution for a trip when you’ll be walking in multiple types of terrain.

Crocs claim to provide great support for your foot and the prices on the website seem reasonable, there is a chance you could get two pairs for about $100 (orders over $100 get free postage) which is pretty good value.

I’m not 100% sure I’m a convert but I won’t be quite so judgemental about the brand in general from now on and I hope it gives you another option to consider as well.

Amy

HEY MUM!!! 😀

Comfort and style USED to be hard to come by, but in now day and age you can find just about anything to suit your style while still being super comfortable when forced to walk for hours on end. Just ask current Amazing Race Australia Contestant Sarah who has convinced the word that her ‘Hunners’ are extremely suited for a brutal race around the world. Someone should have probably told her that a decent bra was smart too, but hey, whateves.

Sketchers are my favourite shoe makers at the moment when it comes to making sure you are at ease on your feet but still looking cool. If you know you are going to be walking LOTS try and avoid straps across the foot in order to steer clear of a foot that looks like a string ham by the end of the day.

Here are some of my favourite options from the sketchers webpage

All of the above shoes could easily translate into the average woman’s wardrobe quite easily and trick viewers into think they are just wearing your average ballet flats. Cool, if you ask me.

If you’re not a fan of the sketchers above because they are still a little too ‘sporty’, check out Hush Puppies kickin range (pun intended)! Sleek and stylish with the added comfort of freaking awesome cushioning to make sure you feel like you’re walking on clouds all day!

Check out the websites for these pages to find stockists (although Myer is usually a good place to start). Dont forget to wear all shoes in for a couple of weeks around the house before embarking on your big trip, blister are inevitable on new shoes and you don’t want to spend the first day of your trip resting your feet in a warm bath… Or do you? Hmmm.

So fashion lovers, what’s your go to comfortable shoe?

Love you Mum! Cant wait for yours and Dads trip to visit me! 😀

Lots of Love, Amy xo

Caitlyn

Hi Tina!

Thank you for writing in about comfortable yet stylish shoes for general walking around during the day.

Unfortunately the price of comfort can be an expensive one but I’m hoping the suggestions we come up with today are in your budget range and more importantly stylish enough for you!

I have generally sacrificed comfort and quality in the effort to spend as little as I can on shoes. This will not be the case for me anymore. I spent way too many years continually buying cheap flats for everyday wear.

I’m just going to come out and say it… I LOVE Ecco shoes!! My current Ecco shoes are by far the best pair of shoes I have ever own and still going strong. I think I might actually get a whole year out of them before they start falling to pieces.

The only reason why I bought these Ecco flats was because they were on sale and sadly I would not have bought them if they weren’t. The flats seem to be about $200 a pair which is a lot of money but if you’re lucky enough to get them on sale you can pick them up for around $129! Very fair price for comfortable, stylish, beautifully made shoes and so far it’s been 7 months going strong. That equals around $19 a month and I would be spending just as much on cheap shoes.

So here are some suggestions.

– Look for something with a thicker sole. I believe this will help with ‘shock’ absorption while walking.

– Definitely try and find some flat shoes with arch support for walking

– Allow yourself time to get used to your new shoes. Nothing worse then having your outing ruined by horrible blisters.

– If you get leather flats I would suggest to waterproof them simply because it will protect them further against water damage. Who knows what mother nature has in store for you!