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Monday, August 16, 2010

Beautiful Bridal Shoes vs. Comfortable Bridal Shoes

In a perfect world the best shoes would be both beautiful and comfortable. Sadly, all too often, women realize that a choice of one over the other has to be made... Beauty or Comfort.

When we were kids didn't we all have a toy similar to this? You know, the one where you fit a shape into a similarly shaped hole? As kids it made sense once you figured it out and in most aspects of an adult woman's life it still does, with one exception...

Why do so many women think the shape on the left "fits" into the shape on the right?

This morning I spotted a really informative bridal shoe post on the I Want 10 Courses bridal blog... Echo, the blog's author and Bride-to-be, ran through the pros and cons of wearing flats to high heels on your wedding day. The article (associated to an image she used) was FULL of information about how high heels do damage the wearers feet, nerves and joints over time.

And I've seen or heard about most of this damage firsthand because I used to sell Ladies Shoes at Nordstrom. The hammer toes, bunions, corns, post op surgery scars, deformed toes and all kinds of funky weirdness that comes from fitting rectangular shaped feet into pointy toed and high heeled shoes. Honestly, seeing the cumulative damage shoes can wreck on a woman's feet cured me from ever wanting to wear beautiful shoes just for the sake of fashion on all but truly special occasions.


To view this page on The Washington Post CLICK HERE



For my own wedding I can only tell you that I struggled with "Do I want beautiful or comfortable shoes?" I'm sure a lot of brides ask themselves the same thing. In the end I bought two pairs of shoes, one beautiful, the other comfortable...

And ended up wearing the comfortable ones on the right. It turned out to be the right decision as my gown was so heavy that by the reception my shoulders were aching from the sheer weight of the skirt. Had I worn the stiletto pumps I'm sure my feet would have been killing me. And I didn't want to have to take off my shoes during the reception because I know the hem of gowns can be ruined by dragging them on the ground. Fine if you're shooting a trash the dress session with your photographer after the wedding but if your gown is going to be something you save and hand down or resell, you'll want the hem to remain clean and intact.

The flatter, wider straps on the uppers and the wider heel base were the right choice. By the end of the night I hadn't experienced any blisters or pain at all :)

If you're wondering what shoes Echo purchased for her wedding just CLICK HERE to visit her blog and read the post. Hopefully the advice you find there will help you to make a decision if you're shopping for bridal shoes and aren't sure which way to go... Comfortable or beautiful.

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