Ask a Fashion Editor: Finding Comfortable Low Heel Shoes With Cushioned Support

Shoes

This week, Zoomer’s Fashion Director-at-Large Derick Chetty offers a range of options to a reader who is looking for low-heeled shoes with cushion support. Photo: PeopleImages/Getty Images

Have a style dilemma or query? Send us your fashion-related question via Facebook or email to [email protected] and Zoomer’s Fashion Director-at-Large Derick Chetty will select one to answer in his column.

QUESTION:  Can you please suggest some comfortable low heel shoes with a lot of cushiony support? — Mandeep Wirk, Abbotsford, BC.

ANSWER: Mandeep, you’re not alone in this quest for that proverbial unicorn — a comfortable pair of shoes with a bit of a heel!

Not to fear — they are in existence and out there. The trouble is, once discovered and recommended by word-of-mouth, they can be snatched up. Case in point; a few years ago, one shoe company created such a divine and comfortable low heeled shoe, it sold out in a day and ignited a waiting list reaching almost 30,000. The good news is that company has made sure that that particular style is now well stocked and available in a multitude of colours.

Another brand designed comfy shoes to be worn indoors. They were so successful, customers took to wearing the shoes beyond inside their homes. And one Canadian footwear designer even went as far as taking a cue from NASA in his quest to design fashionable shoes you can stand in all day.

Other brands have come to realize that women want both chic and comfort with their footwear. You shouldn’t have to settle for one or the other.

Please see below for recommendations on a few brands and styles which have successfully merged heels and a high level of ease to their footwear.

 

Ron White

Image courtesy of ronwhiteshoes.com

Ron White Cindy Prism Pump, $495, ronwhiteshoes.com

Here’s proof comfortable shoes can also be glamorous.  Canadian shoe guru Ron White mixes high style with high tech for his luxurious footwear collections. He created a footwear feat he named “All Day Heels” which uses Poron — a material created by NASA that holds thousands of microscopic air bubbles — and gives a cloud-like cushioned feeling to his shoes. He takes the engineering a step further by injecting rubber in the area under the ball of your foot for extra comfort. His lengthy list of fans include such A-listers as Celine Dion, Kim Cattrall, Rob Lowe and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

 

Sarah Flint

Image courtesy of sarahflint.com

 

Perfect Pump 50 in navy suede, $468.88, sarahflint.com 

“I obsess over the details of fit and construction to make the most comfortable and durable shoes, never sacrificing an ounce of style,” noted footwear designer Sarah Flint on her website. Her Italian-made shoes are sold exclusively on her e-commerce site directly to consumers — which helps to keep costs down by essentially eliminating wholesale markups. 

This navy pump — with a demure two inch heel — is a classic and can take you from day to evening. The comfort features includes a wider toe box to give ease to your toes, extra padding to the footbed and an anatomically shaped insole to follow the natural arch of your foot. 

The brand has a lengthy list of celebrities as fans which includes Meghan Markle, Amal Clooney, Gayle King and Cindy Crawford. (The supermodel is such a fan, she invested in the company.) 

 

Easy Spirit

Image courtesy of easyspiritcanada.com

The Camile Snake bootie, $225, easyspiritcanada.com

When you visit this footwear’s website, there is a section called the ‘Comfort Zone,’ where ordinary women from various backgrounds, different sizes and over the age of 50 are featured and celebrated for living their lives to the fullest. This is a brand which believes comfort should be uncomplicated. Whether it’s their sandals, sneakers, pumps or boots — their basic characteristic should start with being easy on the foot. Which is why their mantra, as noted on their website, states, ‘It’s never too late to live your best life — because anything is possible when you’re comfortable.” 

   

Everlane

Image courtesy of everlane.com

 

The Leather Day Heel Shoe, $217, everlane.com  

This San Francisco based ethical fashion brand (they offer pricing transparency on their website by breaking down the cost of what goes into making each product) had a blockbuster hit a few years ago when they launched their Day Heel shoe.  The chic office-ready shoe sold out in hours and reportedly garnered a waiting list of nearly 30,000 people. Naturally, it has since become a staple on their site. With a ballet inspired shape and described on their site as a ‘heel you can walk in. All. Damn. Day,’ customers rave about the comfortable round toe, the sensible block heel and the ease of the slouchy elasticized back. This every day shoe is available in six other colours in leather and three colours in suede. 

 

Naturalizer

Image courtesy of naturalizer.ca

The Karina leather pump, $159, naturalizer.ca 

This shoe company has been around since 1927 and claims to the first brand to make footwear specifically designed to the contours of a woman’s foot. Classic and lady-like, this leather pump features an innovative cushioning system which is sculpted to meet the contours of your foot to ensure a comfortable all-day wear. It also features a breathable lining.   

 

Birdies

Image courtesy of birdies.com

The Starling in velvet, $95US, birdies.com

This footwear company started out with the idea of making luxurious slippers for home entertaining (way before the pandemic) but customers so loved the sumptuous shoes they started wearing them outdoors. The brand describes their footwear as sneakers, slippers and designer flats all rolled into one shoe. And they have the technology to back up that claim — the cushy sole incorporates seven different layers to ensure the ultimate cushioned sole.

 

Lifestride

Image courtesy of thebay.com 

Sanya Lux Slingback Pump by Lifestride, $90, thebay.com

Comfort is one of the hallmarks of the footwear produced by this company. Featuring a padded insole and flexible outsoles, the mesh strap is elasticized for ease and wouldn’t give you that binding feeling after several hours on your feet. The sling back is also elasticized for comfort without any metal buckles biting into your ankles.    

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