Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really bugs me how women are judging other women for choosing to wear comfortable shoes with comments about them being hideous or disgusting. As someone who walks a lot and has some foot issues, many of the sandals posted here would absolutely kill my feet. And PSA - if you want to be active through middle and old age, take good care of your feet now!

I agree. My main issue with this thread is all the people who seem to think that a sandal that offers ANY support in the form of a thicker sole, molded foot bed, or thicker straps is de facto "ugly". Like the only way to have a cute sandal is for it to have a really thin sole, or for the straps to be thin and non-existent, or for it to have a heel.

This attitude strikes me as very old fashion, and reminds me of certain attitudes on women appearances in the 90s and early 00s -- tight, restrictive clothing designed to show off your body, push up bras (the Victorias Secret era), high heels, hair had to be smooth and straight at all times, thongs and very minimal swimsuits and underwear gave rise to the expectation that women would remove basically all of their body hair, etc.

Modern fashion is less misogynist and actual factors in womens comfort and preferences, plus inclusive of disabilities, different body types, etc. Fashionable shoes now include supportive sneakers, sport sandals, Birkentsocks. Fashionable clothes can include items that are size inclusive and comfortable, not just tight, low-cut items designed to be alluring to straight men and only straight men.

A lot of the attitudes in this thread just feel retrograde to me. It's fine to have more restrictive standards for your own fashion, but to look at any pair of functional supportive sandals and deem them ugly (even super trendy ones like Birks) just feels backwards to me.

I agree. My main issue with this thread is all the people who seem to think that a sandal that offers ANY support in the form of a thicker sole, molded foot bed, or thicker straps is de facto "ugly". Like the only way to have a cute sandal is for it to have a really thin sole, or for the straps to be thin and non-existent, or for it to have a heel.

This attitude strikes me as very old fashion, and reminds me of certain attitudes on women appearances in the 90s and early 00s -- tight, restrictive clothing designed to show off your body, push up bras (the Victorias Secret era), high heels, hair had to be smooth and straight at all times, thongs and very minimal swimsuits and underwear gave rise to the expectation that women would remove basically all of their body hair, etc.

Modern fashion is less misogynist and actual factors in womens comfort and preferences, plus inclusive of disabilities, different body types, etc. Fashionable shoes now include supportive sneakers, sport sandals, Birkentsocks. Fashionable clothes can include items that are size inclusive and comfortable, not just tight, low-cut items designed to be alluring to straight men and only straight men.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really bugs me how women are judging other women for choosing to wear comfortable shoes with comments about them being hideous or disgusting. As someone who walks a lot and has some foot issues, many of the sandals posted here would absolutely kill my feet. And PSA - if you want to be active through middle and old age, take good care of your feet now!

I agree. My main issue with this thread is all the people who seem to think that a sandal that offers ANY support in the form of a thicker sole, molded foot bed, or thicker straps is de facto "ugly". Like the only way to have a cute sandal is for it to have a really thin sole, or for the straps to be thin and non-existent, or for it to have a heel.

This attitude strikes me as very old fashion, and reminds me of certain attitudes on women appearances in the 90s and early 00s -- tight, restrictive clothing designed to show off your body, push up bras (the Victorias Secret era), high heels, hair had to be smooth and straight at all times, thongs and very minimal swimsuits and underwear gave rise to the expectation that women would remove basically all of their body hair, etc.

Modern fashion is less misogynist and actual factors in womens comfort and preferences, plus inclusive of disabilities, different body types, etc. Fashionable shoes now include supportive sneakers, sport sandals, Birkentsocks. Fashionable clothes can include items that are size inclusive and comfortable, not just tight, low-cut items designed to be alluring to straight men and only straight men.

A lot of the attitudes in this thread just feel retrograde to me. It's fine to have more restrictive standards for your own fashion, but to look at any pair of functional supportive sandals and deem them ugly (even super trendy ones like Birks) just feels backwards to me.

Anonymous wrote:It really bugs me how women are judging other women for choosing to wear comfortable shoes with comments about them being hideous or disgusting. As someone who walks a lot and has some foot issues, many of the sandals posted here would absolutely kill my feet. And PSA - if you want to be active through middle and old age, take good care of your feet now!

Anonymous wrote:These are very chic and comfortable: https://www.nordstrom.com/s/nisolo-go-to-flatform-slingback-sandal-women/5913579?color=ALMOND&utm_content=33817189095&utm_term=pla-820430821617&utm_channel=low_nd_shopping_standard&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=662927176&adpos=&creative=145503088523&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&acctid=21700000001689570&dskeywordid=92700049882462571&lid=92700049882462571&ds_s_kwgid=58700005470151424&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007631122&dsproductgroupid=820430821617&product_id=37887465&merchid=1243147&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&locationid=9008168&targetid=pla-820430821617&campaignid=662927176&adgroupid=33817189095&gclid=CjwKCAjw9J2iBhBPEiwAErwpecK0ROu5PF-DJ0EHb_JEM583nCGCw2G7S6ddmaE_F5eJHf_0XbKEvxoCgxUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Anonymous wrote:You can choose to wear something that’s unattractive. That’s absolutely no problem. What gets me is the ones that come on here, post a hideous sandal and then get hurt or whiny that people hate them. If you are posting them to ask if they are hideous, they are hideous.

Anonymous wrote:I have had problem feet all my life, low volume feet but somehow still have high arches. And I refuse to wear any shoe that I can't walk at least 1 mile in. Some of you might think these are hideous but I love them. Very adjustable and I can walk forever: https://alegriashoes.com/collections/bailee

Anonymous wrote:These
https://www.chacos.com/US/en/townes-sandal/56580W.html?dwvar_56580W_color=JCH109474#cgid=women-footwear-sandals&start=1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing I'm learning on this thread is that other people have vastly different capacity for wearing very flat, thin-soled shoes than I do. I'm all for cute and can even do a little wedge or heel (little, though -- no more than like an inch and a half or I simply will not get enough wear out of them).

But there are so many flip flops or very flat soled sandals in this thread. They are cute! I would have worn them when I was 22. I am not put off by the prices since everyone has different price points, and I don't judge the Old Navy or Croc versions either.

But I could never make a shoe that flat and low my "go to" for anything. I would maybe take a pair on vacation to a resort where I was mostly walking from my room to the pool or beach or out to dinner on property. But that's it. Shoes like that kill my feet even if I just wear them to walk a few blocks to a restaurant or my kid's school, plus having my feet so close to a city street in the summer is just gross to me. I am in my 40s. I want arch support, some separation from the street/sidewalk, and straps that will be comfortable even in high heat when my feet tend to swell or after an hours stroll around a museum.

This is why people are defaulting to the brands deemed orthopedic or grandma -- Birkenstock, Naot, even (shudder) Keen. What I do is look exclusively at shoes with proper soles and arch support but then try to find the cutest possible version. Will they be the most flattering, dainty sandal in the world? Nope. But they'll be a reasonably cute version of something that will actually function the way I need a shoe to function. There are cute Birks and I like the Naot Kayla someone posted recently. For sportier shoes, Cole Haan or Sorel are decent options (I'd even look at Teva as they have cuter shoes than they used to).

Anyway, finding cute but comfortable sandals that are actual shoes and not just a piece of plastic or cardboard with straps is weirdly hard. Last year I must have tried on or ordered and returned 50 pairs of sandals, from brands like Nisolo, Sofft, Naot, etc. The divide between (1) cute but impractical, or (2) practical but hideous, is pretty hard to navigate. I wound up with a pair of Birkenstock Madrid sandals in a narrow fit and pale pink leather that I think work pretty well. No heel, but they are incredibly comfortable and go with almost everything in my summer wardrobe without being embarrassingly old lady-ish.

Oh come on, you're in your mid 40s. Unless you're very overweight or have some serious orthopedic issues, you're saying you can't possibly wear flat-ish shoes to walk from your car to brunch with friends, or down the street to the bus stop? At 45 with kids, you don't live in downtown DC anymore so you're taking your car most places. And you can't do with anything but an orthopedic shoe? You're either being purposefully argumentative or you've just given up.

Not the PP you're talking to, but you really think everyone 40+ with kids has moved to places with low walkability? That's bonkers.

- 50, in Adams Morgan, and walk everywhere with kids. (Like my friends, relatives, and their kids who all live nearby....and all of our neighbors!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was also looking for something I could wear for almost any occasion (from pool or vacation to work or nicer dinner) and settled on, of all things, these Crocs (specifically the black/tan combo):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BF89BLM1

Haven't had them for even a season yet, so can't speak to durability or comfort walking for long periods of time, but my feet felt fine after a day at the office.

I mean, this comment (no offense) does kind of capture the absurdity of this q taken to the extreme: What can I wear *in* the pool but also for a night out

Not in (although I guess they can be?), just pool-adjacent...question is about a summer sandal so pool/beach-friendly is what I was looking for in finding that shoe!