Can slides be your perfect alternative to wear instead of high heels with holiday dresses? Pretty party slides seem like the perfect solution to wear for the holidays, esp if you can't wear heels or have high heel pain. They look so comfortable! But their dainty, pretty looks can be deceiving. It will not be the heel height that will cause trouble - it's their instability. Slides are shoes you can slide into and also slide out of backwards or slide off at the sides - even when you didn't intend to.
Even the most experienced high heel wearers - women who wear the most stylish coveted brands of heels fitted exclusively for them - can have problems with their shoes. Superstar Mariah Carey on an evening outing in Los Angeles can be seen with her feet slipping out of her high heel sandals. High heel wearers' everywhere can empathize with her. Problems with walking naturally in heels, feet slipping forwards and pain in various parts of the feet are common issues with high heel shoes. If you have these problems they will spoil the way you and your outfits look - nobody looks good hobbling in heels or grimacing in pain or with their toes hanging out - but worse is that improperly fitted high heels can cause injuries from falls or lead to chronic foot pain. There are rational steps you can take, and precautions you should follow, to make your high heel heels comfortable to walk in and your feet pain free and protected from injury.
Five tips for perfect fitting, no pain, high heels:
1. Buy shoes that fit. Buy high heels by matching the LENGTH of your foot in inches with a size chart, and then try on only those shoes and larger ones.
2. Outfit your high heels with contoured foam high heel inserts.
3. Try out your high heels for at least ten minutes of walking about in the shoe store to make sure you can walk easily in them.
4. If you are buying spike heeled shoes make sure the heel end of the shoe does not wobble about when you walk and the shoes feel balanced.
5. Avoid buying high heel shoes with heels over 3.5” unless you intend to mostly sit while wearing them, and you will not be walking or standing for longer than 20 minutes without a rest period.
Even the Duchess of Sussex has high heel issues !
Three important tips for how to wear high heel slingbacks comfortably and safely and be able to walk naturally are:
1. Wear contoured PORON foam rebounding inserts made for high heels in shoes to keep the foot from sliding forward (especially critical with narrow toe shoes), plus cushion the ball of the foot from pressure inside killer heels.
2. Wear contoured PORON foam rebounding inserts in shoes made for high heels to keep the heel of the foot firmly inside the heel area of the shoe. The contoured foam will keep the foot from falling off to the sides at the heel, plus keep more of the weight of the wearer on the heel end of the shoe so there is less pressure on the ball of the foot.
3. Wear contoured PORON foam rebounding inserts made for high heels in them to keep the foot from moving inside the shoe, either sideways or forward at the heel of the shoe and at the front end of the shoe. High heels, especially ones that are open at the heel end, or at both ends - like high heel sandals - are very vulnerable to wobbliness. Wobbliness affects the wear of the shoe by making it unstable and unsafe. It also affects the way you can walk in heels. If high heels fit snugly to the foot then walking in them is much easier, with a more natural gait and less tiring because you are not clenching your foot and leg muscles trying to keep your shoes on your feet while you walk in them.
The Cole Haan 3" heels (in the photo) are an excellent example of shoe that is comfortable and easy to walk in that I can vouch for personally with my feet! I put Killer Heels Comfort high heel shoe inserts into them for long time walking comfort.
Wearing comfortable heels takes two steps. Step one buy well designed, well balanced high heels that you can easily walk in and that feel comfortable for at least 1/2 hour of walking- then, step two, customize them with rebounding, never flattening inserts that cushion the ball of the foot and stop your foot from moving about so you can wear heels comfortably for much longer - up to four times your personal best.
FYI well designed heels come in all price ranges - some very expensive famous brand name heels (that look great) are badly designed, hard to walk in and very uncomfortable while some inexpensive shoes may fit perfect and be easy to walk in. Most less expensive shoes usually have less cushioning. They will benefit a lot from additional custom cushioning provided it does not crowd the foot. Always buy shoes that fit properly, and if in doubt about the fit buy shoes that are too big - never, ever too small!