Although I’ve mostly been showing you a good, bad and downright ugly selection of shoes over the past couple of weeks, the real function of a shoe superhero is to help rescue you all from shoe disasters, so here’s my first mission, in the shape of a plea for help from Shoeperwoman reader Chloe (Who, by the way, has one of the cutest little puppies in the world: I know because she sent me picture. Squee!).
Chloe writes…
Hi Shoeperwoman!
I am after some shoe help. I use a wheelchair all the time but do stand/walk when getting into cars, going to the toilet etc. Because of this I am unable to wear heels as it isn’t very safe. I love the look of ballet pumps but have very high arches and scrunched up toes so ballet pumps don’t stay on my feet. I am after some flat, smart and cute Mary-Janes, preferably not too expensive! I can’t stand brogues or other flat lace up shoes so that’s not an option.Thanks in advance for any help!
Chloe x
‘Clipper’ bow Mary Janes, £15, Office
Of course, the issue with these is that although flats tend to be more comfortable than stilettos, they don’t always offer a huge amount of arch support, and that could be an issue with your high arches. If you can manage a small heel (or possibly a low wedge) you may find it gives you more support, or you can also look into buying arch supports if your flats aren’t giving you enough support.
And now I’m going to turn this one over to the readers, and see if they can come to the rescue with some more suggestions for you. So, anyone spotted a flat Mary Jane that Chloe might like?
(P.S. I’m assuming from Chloe’s email address that she’s in the UK, which is why I’ve picked shoes from UK-based stores)
Yes! I have similar feet (high arches, short toes all due to having club feet when I was born) and I love Mary-Jane’s too because they stay on!
I love my Juicy Couture flats: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yBgMsQP6crs/SWwc6f9_ruI/AAAAAAAAD0o/F5I7Bm1Tsec/s1600-h/disney+pt2+033.JPG
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n302/karinahalle/candy051.jpg
They go with everything (more or less) and are super comfy – I wore them for 10 hours a day in Disneyland, walking and running around.
I know Juicy makes other types in other colours too…I got these off of Ebay. Just type in Juicy Couture flats in the search and go from there (or just type “mary-jane flats).
Hope that helps!
How about these? I like the above choices, and found this one of a slightly different style
http://www.aldoshoes.com/uk/women/shoes/flats/69280266-janean/97
I don’t know if the pointed toe is comfortable, but the shoe does not look too pointy, so maybe it works.
If you happen to be in the US and not the UK I can recommend Naturalizer brand shoes and Payless for affordable Mary-Janes.
Or how about these?
http://www.aldoshoes.com/uk/women/shoes/flats/72831794-prast/35
Priceless have these for £10
http://www.pricelessshoes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?freeText=wriggly+homepage&storeId=11051&catalogId=11051&langId=-1&cm_re=Homepage-_-slot%203-_-fashion%20favorite-%20wriggly
these are £8
http://www.pricelessshoes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=11051&langId=-1&catalogId=11051&productId=68962&quantity=1
And these come in a whole range of colours and are between £5 & £10.
Oops, would help if I left the last link, wouldn’t it?!
http://www.pricelessshoes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=11051&langId=-1&catalogId=11051&productId=78551&quantity=1
My fault, Fi: you did leave the link, but the site was set to send any comment with links in it to be moderated – have fixed it now!
I love these, for something a bit indie-ish
http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Shoes/Body+Electric+Ballet+Flat
I am so in love with these but I’m in the UK :[
Thanks for all the help and ideas, I have now probably got too many pairs! And Lily is proud of her internet mention =]