The champagne has stopped flowing, the music has stopped playing, and the party is winding down. While other people are tipsily picking confetti and streamers from each other’s hair, you’re huddled in a corner, doubled over your aching feet wondering: Why, why, did I choose to wear those crippling stilettos?
Because, like so many women, if they make the outfit, you’ll wear the shoes, regardless of the pain.
So come Jan. 1, women everywhere will be limping in the new year after a long night of dancing in pointy, bunion-loving shoes because, well, they look good.
But do you really have to sacrifice comfort for shoe style? Is it possible that the Holy Grail of shoes–the stylish and comfortable heel–exists?
Well, sort of.
While the fashion slaves who are having their small toes amputated to fit into the latest styles (no kidding) are probably a lost cause, an increasing number of women are demanding more comfort in their shoes. Designers are responding by lowering heels and widening toe boxes. That means more choice when it comes to shoes that can make it more than a few yards without giving you a blister.
Even veteran stiletto designers, such as Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, are caving in and going lower. And that’s the bright side: Better designers making more comfy footwear means they’re getting prettier and more fashionable.
This season more than ever, shoes are a major statement, sporting bright colors, metallic sheen, rhinestones, bows, ribbons–anything with sparkle or pizzazz.
“Really, there are no plain shoes anymore. It’s all about detail. It’s almost like jewelry on your foot,” says Maria Clifford, fashion director for Naturalizer shoes.
If you are determined to put comfort first this New Year’s Eve, Clifford says there are certain characteristics to look for in shoes that will hold up to a long night of champagne toasts and getting down.
Heel height is critical, but also look at the type of heel. Generally, the thicker the heel, the more stability. The fashionable kitten heels are great because they curve inward in the middle, for a flirtier silhouette. Heels that then flare out again at the bottom will provide the best support.
Wider straps also provide more ankle support. And if you like vintage looks, you’re in luck because rounded toes are in, and they provide more wiggle room for your little piggies than a pointy toe.
But some women have no shame about the pain they will endure for great shoes.
Stefunny Hladek, founder and designer of the Cotton Candy line of novelty underwear and gifts, can rattle off the details of her latest excursion into the kingdom of foot pain.
“New York. Meatpacking district. Black stilettos. Last spring. My sister and I walked from the meatpacking district to the financial district back to the meatpacking district. And my sister was praising me the whole way, saying what a trooper I was, but she could tell I was dying,” she remembers.
What kept her going? “You feel, like, accomplished if you make it through the night.”
Actually, that’s not a bad way to start a new year, is it?
———-
Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
