In spring I pretty much live in high heels, but my prettiest pairs rarely start out comfy. Some take doctoring up with press-in shoe inserts by brands like Dr. Scholl’s and Foot Petals.
I’ve mentioned Foot Petals before, but your comments about springtime on the Clarins Nature Temptations giveaway post (there’s still time to enter!) got me thinking about strappy spring shoes and sandals.
Foot Petals sells the Stiletto Survival Kit ($50), a seven-piece kit that comes with everything a girl needs to make all her high heels more comfortable.
My favorite spring sandals (these are $20 Aerosoles, circa July 2008. I have the yellow pair!)
The kit isn’t cheap (and there are workable drugstore alternatives), but if you’ve ever tried Foot Petals before, you know how good they feel.
With the kit Foot Petals covers cushions (they’re squishy and adhesive) for the toe, heel and arch areas of your shoes. Also included are a non-slip pad for shoe soles (have you ever had your heels slip on a slick surface? Not fun!) and thin adhesive strips to reduce friction (and the raw skin it causes) between sandal straps and your skin. You even get a cute shoe pouch, to boot.
My love for the line runs deep. Their $12.95 Killer Kushionz full arch inserts got me through my friend Jen’s 10-hour wedding and reception last November.
If you have a few pairs of high heels you’d like to wear more often but don’t because of comfort, the Stiletto Survival Kit might help you breathe some new life into ’em.
What are your favorite spring shoes?
I’m wondering what our favorites have in common. My guess is that most women like their most comfortable sandals, but I don’t know. Do you have a favorite pair of spring shoes or sandals? What makes ’em great?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
i am soooo with you !
i have these sandals in black and i love them
i recently discovered this stick like balm from bandaid to prevent those chafing blisters shoes give us sometimes – i tried it in jamaica and it was pretty darn good! this kit looks sooo fab i walk so much i have pretty much given up on cute shoes and stick to sneakers and flats in the winter and flops and sandals in the summer hopefully this kit will offer me some salvation lol !
Good morning, Yadi!
You know our shoes rock, LOL!
I have heard fab things about that stick. It sounds like I’ll be carrying it in my purse this summer.
When I’m wearing heels and hoofing it all day long sometimes I carry flip flops in my purse! You never know when they’ll come in handy.
i too carry flip flops in my bag all the time !
bliss makes a stick like that too but the bandaid one is waaaay cheaper and seems to have the same texture/ function
happy hump day! today is my lifting day my poor hands are getting calloused not fun i need to get workout fingerless gloves to protect my paws
Hey Yadi,
Yeah, those fingerless gloves really help. When I was lifting consistently they kept the calluses away and really helped my grip.
I miss lifting weights. 🙁
I love flip-flops for summer. I don’t do much in the summer so they’re all I need and I have them in possibly every color. They are the greatest!
Hi Katrina,
Me too! I have a few colors, but my favorite is a pair from Roxy. They are blue with yellow, green and white stripes. Do you have a favorite or do you love yours all equally?
bright colors flip flops and wedges! 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Totally! 🙂 Wedges are so comfy and add lots of good height.
My favorite spring shoes are my white, strappy, cork wedges by Kenneth Cole Reaction. I bought them years ago and they are unbelievably comfy!
Hi Shefali,
Cute! I bet they go with everything, too (including a cute coral color on the toes!).
I’m a sucker for sandals with heels that are at least 3 1/2 to 4 inches. I just bought a pair from Aldo the other day and I really love those sandals and I can’t wait to break them in.
Hi Tashia,
You and me both, girl! I haven’t been to Aldo in a while. They usually have some nice sandals!
I love 1-2 inch heeled wedges, but i like the bottom front part to be flat, I don’t like platform on the entire sole because I’m so tall (5’8). I love bringing out the bright colors though!
What do you think of gladiator sandals? I cant quite bring myself to buy a pair…
Hi Vanessa H,
I like the flat ones on other people but not on myself. I’ve seen versions with heels by BCBGirls and they’re pretty cute, so I’m not ruling those out. 🙂
I’ve got a pair of white leather slingback wedges with a small platform I got from Aldo a few years back and I LOVE THEM!! And the best part… I’ve NEVER seen anyone else in them! Yippee! 😀
Hi Mikele,
Nice! 🙂
I don’t really have spring shoes cuz I only have a pair of flat boots, a pair of sneakers, a pair of heels (too uncomfortable to walk on the cobble-stone streets here), a pair of 4-inch knee high boots that I bought months ago and wore only 3 times because they made my foot hurt and it’s also impossible to walk on the uneven road surfaces here, and lastly, a pair of sandals from Birkenstock that I wear everyday without regards for style as soon as it’s warm enough.
Hi Sylvie,
Birkenstocks are indeed comfy. Gotta love the slip-em-on and go action. 🙂
I am obsessed with Old Navy flip flops. They are so comfortable. I don’t know how good they are for your feet, but I have no complaints about them! I will wear them as much as I can and get as many colours as I can and with their usual deals of like 2 for 8 or 3 for 10, it’s doable! I also have a pair of gladiator sandals from Gap that I love too but they are kind of getting worn out so I will have to look for a new pair this spring!!
Hi Rachel,
I love the look of colorful flip-flops, too. 🙂 How many colors do you have and what’s your favorite pair?
I looove my gold snakeskin gladiators for spring
Hi Blythe,
They sound pretty! I bet they function practically as a neutral and go with so many outfits.
hey, karen–
omg, you’re totally psychic! two posts in a row that directly relate to something that just happened in my life. yesterday it was the hair thing; today, you’re talking about painful shoes.
last night the sweets took me out for sushi to celebrate spring break (sidenote: if you like trendy sushi rolls, sansei in waikiki is a definite must do. if you tend towards being a sushi purist–meaning, nigiri all the way–then you can skip it). anyway, we strolled around after dinner and my cute pythony-red & black stilletos ended up killing me just after twenty minutes. it probably didn’t help that my left calf was still a little locked up from a recent workout, but most definitely i could have used foot petals or something like it.
do you think the foot petals are significantly better, performance-wise, than the ones from dr. scholl’s? i’ve tried the dr. scholl’s ones but i’m willing to spend more money on foot petals.
one other note, karen. if ever you’ve been here during spring break, you know the club scene in and out of waikiki can get pretty crazy. last night however–nothing but crickets. it was really strange to see all of our old club hangouts empty on a spring break night. i guess the economy is so bad that even the local college kids are staying home and playing x-box or something.
Hi Naira,
I’ve never been to Sansei. Next time El Hub and I are on the island I’ll have to drag him there because I love trendy sushi rolls! Thank you for the rec. 🙂
It’s crazy to hear that Waikiki’s been so quiet. It seemed like the last time we were there things were picking up. What are you studying? Are you going to UH?
Back to the shoes. 🙂 I think that if you have skinny, strappy sandals the Foot Petals work WAAAAY better. The inserts and thin and they don’t move for nothing. I usually reserve Dr. Scholl’s inserts for closed toe pumps or shoes because they tend to be thicker and bulkier. I get so much more mileage out of my shoes I’ll usually do Foot Petals for the strappy ones and Dr. Scholl’s for the closed-toe shoes and boots.
Flats, I’m all about flats. Why? They aren’t bad for your feet and your posture (i.e. flip-flops) yet aren’t brutal enough for your feet to hurt after an hour in them (i.e. high heels).
I have Cerebral Palsy in my legs so I have to extra careful with my footwear. I live in flats, tennis shoes (aka trainers) and shoes that have air chambers (aka walking shoes) to help alleviate as much pain from my legs as possible. I still own heels but I don’t wear them unless I need to as they do a number to my legs. Even with the most comfortable shoes, I still have my bad days where I’m in killer pain and can barely get out of bed without crying.
I have a favorite flats that I bought from Overstock from Tribeca. They’re black with a tan flowers embroidered on it with a white sort of wedge bottom with rounded toes. They are really comfortable. I wish they had a picture online of them as they are so cute and comfy.
I’m so jealous of your yellow shoes! I’m the hunt for a pair right now, just haven’t found THE pair yet (perfect combo of price, comfort, and sexiness….)
I live in flats and flip flops as they are so comfy! I have a pair of black heeled shoes that I absolutely love but I only wear them on special occasions cos they hurt my feet so much! And using Dr. Scholl’s shoe inserts doesn’t help at all, but hopefully this kit will.
gio´s last blog post..Celebs Beauty News
I’m currently into my gladiator sandals… I love them and wear them practically everyday. I also love my CL tan strappy wedges. They go with everything I wear
I am not a shoe person :blush:
I am happy with slippers, sandals (flip flops) or Chuck taylors. Comfort for sure!
Marisol´s last blog post..Untitled
i love my braided strap sandal from charlotte russe…not only is it comfortable but pretty!
My friend and I are totally going shoe shopping this weekend. And if I manage to find a cute strappy sandal that I love, I will totally cave on this set too. Because what’s the fun in cute strappy sandals if you can’t wear them??
Catherine´s last blog post..LEAVING FOR SPRING BREAK ’09! HOUSEBOATING!! 😀