Although attending a wedding always seems like it’s going to be a good idea when you receive a save the date with a typically cringeworthy engagement photo of a couple you vaguely know in the mail, there’s nothing that will kickstart your natural instinct to ditch plans to watch Netflix documentaries instead like trying to find a pair of dress shoes that won’t totally kill your feet.
Between moving locations all day, to dancing and having to look actually semi presentable, there’s pretty much no way to attend a wedding without ending up with blisters that have a 50% chance of lasting longer than the marriage will. While I’m pretty sure you’d end up with sore feet by the end of the night even if you showed up in your trusty Vans, it is possible to find some dress shoes that are wedding appropriate without sacrificing yourself from the ankles down. Here are a few almost comfortable options.
Steve Madden Tonya Sandal
While I’m still not sure if I’m necessarily sold on the whole mule sandal trend, I will say that shoes like this are actually low-key perfect for solving almost all of your dress shoe-related worries. First of all, they make everyone’s legs look ridiculously long. Secondly, they’re less likely than most other heels to give you blisters. If you think about it, dress shoes can only give you blisters in the places that the material touches your skin (duh), and the lack of a slingback or ankle strap means that half of your foot is totally naked, which gives these bad boys fewer chances to ruin your life. God, I’m literally a dress shoe genius.
Tony Bianco Barca Espadrille Wedge Sandal
To further prove my blister-free-living theory, let me please introduce you to these espadrilles. The ballet slipper-inspired ties are really easy to adjust to avoid cuts and blisters. Plus, you can totally fool around with them to disguise cankles, because you can pick the point along your leg that you want to cut. Although these have a five-inch heel, a good bit of that is just the platform and there’s a cushioned footbed to add some comfort. It’s, like, the look of a stripper shoe with the comfort of your grandmother’s favorite posturepedic clogs.
ASOS Honeydew Heeled Sandals
Last year’s low, chunky heel moment is still kind of lingering, so there are still tons of comfortable-ish options available in stores. Because these styles are kind of boring by design, you can definitely wear them in a metallic color without completely channeling your inner Deena from Jersey Shore. ASOS also carries a wide fit option, which can come in really clutch for summer weddings where your feet will probably be five times their normal size from standing around all day in the heat.
Seychelles Clancy Flats
I would just like to go on record and say that girls who are like, “flats are for quitters” need to chill TF out and go out drinking in flats just, like, one time. It’s so freeing to just galavant wherever you want in flats while your friends are struggling behind you in heels. Finding flats to wear to a wedding that don’t look like they were made for a flower girl can be really challenging, but if you try to avoid anything with a ballet flat silhouette or like, rhinestone embellished flowers, you should be good. These satin bow flats are a perfect example, plus they’re from BHLDN, which is to bridesmaids and wedding goers as Charlotte Russe is to newly initiated sorority girls.
Banana Republic Blake 12-Hour Pump
Banana Republic commissioned a team of scientists to create a heel that can be comfortable worn for 12 hours, then got lazy and named it the 12-hour pump. I’m not actually sure if the scientist part is like, totally true, but obviously a lot of thought went into creating these shoes with arch support, super stable heels, and comfort pads. Maybe next they’ll hook us up with like, an iPhone charger that doesn’t break, a bra that doesn’t suck, or a Bachelor that isn’t boring.
Images: Unsplash; Steve Madden; Nordstrom; ASOS; BHLDN; Banana Republic
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