Do You Choose Shoes for Comfort or Style?
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16679)
Boston, Massachusetts
November 8, 2015 5:52am CST
I can't be elegant. I would like to be, but it never works out.
For one thing, I have never had matching shoes. I have always worn whichever shoes didn't hurt my feet. I once had a paid of cordovan low pumps that were deliciously kind to my poor pedal extremities and I wore those to work every day for more than a year. It didn't matter if my clothes were brown, black, navy, red, etc., I wore these reddish brown pumps with everything, every day. I finally had to stop wearing them when my left great toe had worn a hole clear through the sole and every time it rained or snowed, my foot got wet.
So, today I decided to wear a dress to church. I rarely wear dresses now, because my only comfortable shoes are sneakers. And I guess I will wear sneakers with my dress, because... well, no one expects more from me anyway.
How about you?
For the Women: When it comes to shoes, are you going for those killer heels to make you look leggy and sexy? Or do you go for the comfortable athletic shoe?
For the Men: When you look at woman, do you even notice the shoes? How important are they to you?
37 people like this
46 responses
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
8 Nov 15
I totally agree with you. As a woman, I can tell you that there is an age of invisibility and once you pass it, it really doesn't matter what you wear. I think the ladies with the red hats and purple clothes are a symbol of the fact that unless you are wildly inappropriate, no one will even notice you.
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
8 Nov 15
@boiboing but black shoes with brown trousers are okay?
2 people like this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
8 Nov 15
@hereandthere Oddly, I guess you could get away with that but I don't have any brown trousers.
1 person likes this
@Cristi_Ichim (3741)
• Bucharest, Romania
8 Nov 15
But the ideal would be to be able to find something that is comfortable and sexy at the same time. It is not easy though
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
8 Nov 15
I will wear comfort no matter what, I cant bear shoes that hurt my feet
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
8 Nov 15
@Jessicalynnt It seems to me that really comfy shoes are always heavy and make me tired. I wonder if we were really meant to be bipedal. Sigh.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
8 Nov 15
@Rollo1 and I have been dealing with plantar fasciatis. So many shoes just aren't good for me. Getting better though, have to wear special inserts, get shots, and do stretches. In crappy shoes today, but don't plan on walking in them too much, and my feet get tired, those inserts make my shoes heavy, which, ironically also hurts my feet
1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
8 Nov 15
no amount of high heels would ever have made my legs look sexy... I had one pair of platform shoes ... during the 70's, but have never worn a heel..., I try and mix fashion and comfort, but comfort will always trump fashion... but... I do colour co ordinate my shoes to my clothes.... lol's 
3 people like this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
8 Nov 15
I tried to wear heels when I was young and platforms didn't bother me, except when I tried to play tennis in them. Sprained ankle from falling off. But my feet and I do not get along, so I have never been comfortable in anything, hence the obsession with knitting socks and slippers, lol.
1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
8 Nov 15
@Rollo1 like you... most of the shoes in my cupboard are trainers or sneakers or something very similar.... 
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
8 Nov 15
Shoes are not important to me. I have bad knees and have to wear inserts in my shoes so i wear runners all winter long along with good boots. All summer I wear Birkenstock's and runners. I do have one pair of black flats that I can tolerate if I'm not standing up for an event but sitting down - they are my dressy shoes.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
8 Nov 15
@Rollo1 I remember wearing heals when i was younger and it was painful. Thankfully in the 60/70,s those clunky heals were popular. By the 80's I said NO MORE. I know how you feel.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (82582)
• United States
8 Nov 15
@Rollo1 my bad knees & achy feet dictate what kind of shoes I wear. I prefer to be barefoot most of the time
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
14 Nov 15
I buy shoes for comfort too.
I do not care about matching bags or shoes or dress or anything.
For me, it is all about me. I care about my freedom to wear what I like, and I do not bother about how others feel about it.
After all, it is my money, and my choice.
1 person likes this
@Cristi_Ichim (3741)
• Bucharest, Romania
8 Nov 15
Hmm, I do not have much experience in buying shoes so I cannot answer this question to you. Or was this question just for women anyways? Anyways,...
1 person likes this
@Cristi_Ichim (3741)
• Bucharest, Romania
8 Nov 15
@Rollo1 I don't know the exact meaning of the word shoe but anyways. I guess you are right
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
8 Nov 15
Comfort for sure. I haven't owned 'dress shoes' since the 90's...sneakers or barefoot no other options for me.
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
8 Nov 15
I don't do bareffoot anymore, even in summer. I have crocheted some little footies. My feet hate me, they hate shoes and they hate the floor. I have to put something between them and the floor or they get callused to the point of pain.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
8 Nov 15
@Marilynda1225 Except when I go to a store! No shoes, no shirt no service.
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
8 Nov 15
My life is made of flip-flops--the only time I wear shoes is to go to the theater--hey, I live in South Florida--that is part of our uniform!
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
8 Nov 15
i'm all fer comfort, particularly these days. gimme a pair 'f cowboy boots 'n i'm a happy gal!
1 person likes this
@marguicha (222366)
• Chile
8 Nov 15
I spend in shoes what I don´t spend in clothes. But some shoes last me for 6 or 7 years. And I don´t have a lot and most are not on style. I watch those models in stilettos and I pity them.
My feed are first and I agree with you. But I have found Winter shoes that look nicer than sneakers with dresses. Still, I lovethe time of the year when I can use some nicer comfortable sandals.
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
8 Nov 15
i only wore heels (2 inches) when it was unavoidable, like being part of the wedding entourage.
1 person likes this
@workguddu (155)
• Shillong, India
9 Nov 15
From childhood i was very perticular about comfortable shoes and always wants to purchase and put comfortable shoes apart from style .
1 person likes this
@iamshane487 (1139)
• Manila, Philippines
8 Nov 15
I would pick both. Shoes with good style and comfortable to wear.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (82582)
• United States
8 Nov 15
In my younger days stylish shoes were very important to me but now I only own 1 pair of decent looking shoes for those occasions when I can't away with wearing sneakers. I"m all for comfort these days
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
8 Nov 15
@Marilynda1225 I remember a few years ago, Marc Jacobs introduced the reverse heel, which was a backwards shoe. I don't know why anyone would even try. And the really tall ones which only cover part of the toes are ugly, they make feet look ugly, too.
@Marilynda1225 (82582)
• United States
8 Nov 15
I"d like to add....I don't know how women walk in the heels that are so popular now. My granddaughters are reaching the age where they are interested in wearing heels and both of them gravitate toward those ridiculously high ones. Can't help but imagine how many feet problems are down the road for anyone who wears these heels religiously.
1 person likes this
