Ever underestimate the importance of your feet?

Regretful fashion experience: attempting to wear fashionable high heels under the mistaken impression that if so many women wear them, my feet will probably get used to them after a bit.

Comfortable non-fugly shoes: Crocs

I don’t use or own any heels. Maybe I don’t look as cool as the next lady, but I just am not interested in wearing them. I love the way they look but won’t prioritize looks over discomfort.

I wear Keens, cute colorful flip flops, tan and black Crocs (NO other color), flats, Danskos, and my favorite are the wool Haflingers!

Sometimes flip flops annoy me. I’m currently looking for a comfortable, light summer shoe. I may get some of those “boat shoes”.

@Blackberry Only sometimes? The sound of that hideous “thok thok thok” makes my sphincters tighten and my shoulders go up as high as they will go!

These.
I just bought a pair of these Nike cushioned flip flops and love them! I have happy feet now.

I think life is too short to wear shoes that hurt my feet! The furthest I will go is to wear some that are not really comfortable, and I rarely do that. I like Danskos, and I have New Balance walking sneaks, and some Merrell hikers that I like. They are old, though, and need to be updated.

I actually find that RocketDog shoes are quite comfortable, and some of them are non-fugly.

If you ever have a 1400 pound cow stand on one of your feet you’ll learn the importance of feet real real quick

I used to wear high heels all the time as a younger woman. I would dance all night in them (sometimes until my feet were burning or I had blisters). They looked so good though and I do love pretty shoes.

Now, my feet do come first. I don’t know if you can buy this brand of shoe where you are but I always find Diana Ferrari’s Supersoft shoes comfortable. Also, if you go for wedges rather than a heel, your foot is more supported. The leather is usually nice and soft in these shoes. Most of Diana Ferrari’s shoes are comfortable I find.

I don’t mind the Easy Steps range either. There is usually something stylish and comfortable for work.

Having a few pairs of shoes you can alternate helps my feet too and my shoes last a lot longer.

I got a toe infection when I was a kid from cutting the nails too aggressively. They had to inject antibiotics directly into them, in an amount that made them visibly swell like little sausages. It hurt like what they do to terrorists on 24. Now I soak them in antibiotics twice a week.

Oh, and they had to cut the edges off all my toe nails.

At work I’m somewhat limited to what I can wear, and steel tip boots/sneakers are required to be worn. I’ve worked in very watery enviroments, and around high voltages, so comfort (to a reasonable degree) goes out the door in the name of my personal safety. As far as not being on the job goes, I tend to dress comfortably, as long as I don’t find the comfort to be too goofy looking or something. I have a great electric foot massager that I sometimes use, and it squeezes really hard. Vibration or water massagers just don’t do it for me.

No. I broke my ankle once (my talus and calcaneous) and tore 3 ligaments (car accident) and I used to tell people “Never take walking for granted.”

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought When I was a sick call Corpsman, I had to do all kinds of minor surgical procedures. Removing toenails was one that just completely wigged me out, and I avoided them until my new chief came onboard. His philosophy was; see one, do one, teach one. He forced me to watch, learn and perform. I got over the shakes fairly soon, but even though I got good at the mechanics of removing toenails, I still freak out when I see that commercial of the little fungus guys lifting up the toenail like a lid, which is basically what I had to do with each toenail I removed. (Shudders)

@Trillian That’s so gross. Owww.

@Trillian I was like 6, but I remember them putting the poisoned qtuips down each side of my toenail socket and jamming them in so they wouldn’t grow back…

I hate running shoes, I think they look too chunky and fugmo. However, they really are good if you stand or walk a lot. That’s what my job is, and usually have been, so I wear them. I work as a clerk for the clothes section of a big ass store right now, and most of my previous jobs have been waitressing. All this includes a lot of walking and constant standing. I guess a waitress with running shoes on isn’t the most fashionable image here, but fuck it. You want me to do good work, I need to be comfortable, and especially, not in pain all damn day. And I’m thankful too, because I’ve had the experiences of wearing footwear that isn’t designed for long periods of standing or walking, and I really regretted it. You can get nasty ass blisters and shit going on this way. Running shoes, for the most part, will prevent this.
I like my outrageous goth and combat boots, but they’re just no good for extended periods of activity if they aren’t actual combat boots. XD I think sneakers look ugly, but they are what I found to be best for my working environments. :/ A lot of people like them though, so it shouldn’t be hard to find nice ones you like, if you’re in need of more forgiving footwear that won’t make you think about it when going about your job anshit.

As a person who spent years standing on my feet all day I can profess that it isn’t the standing in high heels that is so bad, it’s the walking. I used to amaze people with my ability to wear high heels every day all day. Nowadays I think that flats look chic and fashionable so why suffer? Besides, I like to walk at least an hour every day for exercise.

The profusion of wedges in the stores annoys me. Wedges look cool but they are so bad for yiour feet! They don’t allow yur foot to bend so it’s like walking on a pair of bricks. Crazy. I do have a couple pairs strictly for walking from car to, say, theatre seat. Sigh. Damn, I’m getting old!

For comfortable walking these are supposed to be great! I am going to get a pair soon. They can even be personalized. Cool.

But for comfort and a bit of fashion (albeit not drop dead sexiness) I recommend Sofft

These on the other hand, don’t even go there!!!

Lol, thank god for edit response! I put the last link for the first one by mistake!

No. I’ve broken my foot so not walking on it for 8 weeks makes you appreciate it! I have had many nights (previous to the breaking) where I wore high heels to clubs, dancing, walking to and from parties on campus (and by no means a small campus). And the next day, my feet would let me know what I had done. I don’t do that kind of stuff in heels anymore, but I do still wear them.
And there are a lot of shoes that are comfortable and stylish, but I find that those tend to be expensive ones. So if you are on a budget, it may be tough. I have a pair of Vince Camuto heels like those and they are incredibly comfortable with a cushioned foot bed. I find a lot of the times a cheaper shoe lacks that detail, and it makes all the difference!
@ccrow It’s funny, because my view is, “Life is short so I need to make my feet look beautiful” lol. At least while I can

I used to wear high (really high) heels all the time, pointy toed ones. I ended up getting hammertoes during my first pregnancy because of it, and was told “NO MORE” by the doc. These days, I’ll only wear them if I really must, and only for short time periods.

Crocs has actually started to make some more fashionable shoes, with uppers not made out of rubber/plastic, and styles other than the ubiquitous clog. Leather and canvas uppers on the shoes, but cushy insoles. Here’s an example that isn’t hideous.

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought Yep. They were probably soaked in phenol. They stopped letting us use that. It wasn’t just poisonous, it was carcinogenic. So is formaldehyde. We had to go to formalin.

@Trillian apparently it appears in whiskey too, so I can’t really sue anybody. :)

@augustlan Hey! Those are actually not bad!

I have the Landau and AnyWear clogs, and the Sketchers Premium. All good for all-day wear but limiting for what I can wear. I’m set for trousers or capri pants, but I have nothing to go with skirts. @Earthgirl Those are sweet, but not for my job. I couldn’t ever do heels like that on these 130 year old stairs.

I love shoes. For me they are just eye candy, but I do love to look. I can’t even try on high heels if I stay seated – my feet immediately cramp up. I have tried so many “comfortable” flats only to be disappointed. My shoe collection consists of several colors of the only shoe I tolerate well – Birkenstock’s “Arizona”. Fortunately my employer accepts them although they do not meet the dress code.

I don’t! I’m diabetic and I know my feet are pretty vulnerable. I’m not even supposed to wear sandals in theory sniffles

I think the state of your colon is also a largely underestimated contributor to well-being. But I’m Indian, that seems to be a thing.

I wore filp-flops once when playing football, that’s soccer to you yanks.
Every time I kicked the ball my kids screamed & ran for cover, unfortunately the referee had to have a touch of rhinoplasty as a result of the guided missile shaped like a flip-flop.

@Ponderer983 I used to have a lot of trouble with ingrown toenails; that has definitely influenced my outlook on shoes!

No way, they are pillars of strength. I don’t underestimate the value of anything on the human body! I even respect tonsils! Just not being able to walk because of tight shoes is torture, let alone something serious happening to them!

I treasure my feet. My poor toes are very ugly from practically living in ballet and toe shoes when I was a kid. I also wore high heels, when I was young and ridiculous. My feet are now cushioned in flats. My favorite shoes are Underarmour flip flops, that are cushioned and have arch supports. I got them on sale for 12 bucks at an off-season sale.

Nope, I love to take care of and pamper my feet but I still wear heels along with fashion sandals. Anne Klein heels have been a score for pretty but flexible and well cushioned, even the soles are cushioned just enough so they don’t clank across the floor. When I walked all day instead of sitting or standing then most of my shoes were Aerosoles, Naturalizer and Clark’s.

Well, I can’t now. I broke my big toe on my right foot this morning. :(

Oh, bummer @WillWorkForChocolate. That really sucks. Not much you can do either, besides keep saying “this really sucks.”

I ordered these, which aren’t too fugly (they kinda look like my Subaru) and it’s like walking on clouds. Still haven’t solved the dress issue, so I’ll look into some of your suggestions. Thanks, all.