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For work, if you are on your feet, have a look at Dansko and Alegria. You can often find these brands in major department stores. You might also try Ecco shoes, which have a narrower, more fashionable look, but are comfortable for some people.
In terms of young and cute, when you are on your feet during the day, you might have to give up some style to get comfort. But I understand that you don't want to wear ugly shoes! I don't either.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Børn Shoes. They are straight up magical! I traipsed all over Europe in a pair of their 4-inch heels. No lie, they are the second most comfortable pair out of the dozens of pairs of shoes I have, including athletic shoes, heels, flats, boots, etc. (The most comfortable are a pair of slip-on Skechers, but they are utilitarian rather than "pretty.")
After seeing the Sketcher's selections, I think I definitely made a mistake with the Crocs and dress jelly shoes, but I'll know for sure after I get them.
I've had good luck with Shoes For Crews. Affordable, comfortable and occasionally you'll see non-clunky designs in their dress shoe and casual section.
I wear their dress shoe called "Kate". Unfortunately, I no longer see "Kate" on their website, though you might be able to find it elsewhere. This is what it looks like: http://img.directindustry.com/images...00-5615031.jpg
Also, search for cabin shoes worn in the flight crew industry.
There are a lot of great selections here. The Shoes For Cabin Crew section has some relatively dressy ones. It's nice to know I don't have to kill my feet to look good. Do even the pumps provide good support?
After seeing the Sketcher's selections, I think I definitely made a mistake with the Crocs and dress jelly shoes, but I'll know for sure after I get them.
I have more sketchers than crocs, the sketchers are much better looking, but, I prefer my crocs as far as being more comfortable for walking. It varies greatly from person to person how any of these styles will work out for any individual. I used to love my Clark shoes and I have quite a few of them but, as time has gone on, I'm not loving them as much, especially the ones I've tried on at the store of late, they seem to be too hard lately. Born was mentioned, some styles are very comfortable, some not so much, I've found them to be hit or miss, but, I would definitely look into them. I think most of the shoes mentioned will be fine if the foot issues one has aren't too bad.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Børn Shoes. They are straight up magical! I traipsed all over Europe in a pair of their 4-inch heels. No lie, they are the second most comfortable pair out of the dozens of pairs of shoes I have, including athletic shoes, heels, flats, boots, etc. (The moo
t comfortable are a pair of slip-on Skechers, but they are utilitarian rather than "pretty.")
I was reading this thread, thinking to myself "No one has mentioned Born yet!" and was about to correct that. I LOVE Born shoes. They make flats too, by the way, OP.
A few years ago I took a common antibiotic (Cipro) which subsequently destroyed both my Achilles tendons (WORD UP!). I had to have both of them basically surgically rebuilt. Now, though the surgery was pretty successful, my Achilles tendons are tender and scarred, so I have to be careful about shoes that may rub the back of my foot. I discovered all the clogs made by Born - and then I discovered the other styles as well. I love these shoes - they are super cute and comfortable, and Born makes boots and even pumps.
They're pretty expensive - right up there with Dansko (which also makes comfortable shoes - I have several pairs of Danskos). But Born and Dansko have very consistent sizing. Any shoe they make in my size always fits my foot. So I find great deals pretty often on eBay. I can often get a pair of Born or Danskos on eBay for under $20. I love finding those deals!
A couple of years ago, when we went to the UK, I bought a couple of pairs of Borns and a pair of Dansko tennis shoes, and like you - I traipsed all over Europe without missing a beat - super comfy and cute too.
I was reading this thread, thinking to myself "No one has mentioned Born yet!" and was about to correct that. I LOVE Born shoes. They make flats too, by the way, OP.
A few years ago I took a common antibiotic (Cipro) which subsequently destroyed both my Achilles tendons (WORD UP!). I had to have both of them basically surgically rebuilt. Now, though the surgery was pretty successful, my Achilles tendons are tender and scarred, so I have to be careful about shoes that may rub the back of my foot. I discovered all the clogs made by Born - and then I discovered the other styles as well. I love these shoes - they are super cute and comfortable, and Born makes boots and even pumps.
They're pretty expensive - right up there with Dansko (which also makes comfortable shoes - I have several pairs of Danskos). But Born and Dansko have very consistent sizing. Any shoe they make in my size always fits my foot. So I find great deals pretty often on eBay. I can often get a pair of Born or Danskos on eBay for under $20. I love finding those deals!
A couple of years ago, when we went to the UK, I bought a couple of pairs of Borns and a pair of Dansko tennis shoes, and like you - I traipsed all over Europe without missing a beat - super comfy and cute too.
My foot issues aren't super-severe. I just had a few broken toes from trying to dance on hard concrete. I didn't want my toes re-broken or to pay for expensive surgery, so I just let the bone grow back a little crooked. My toes do hurt from time to time, and my balance isn't great; I can actually trip over my ankles, but I don't know if that is related to the broken toes or not. Plus, I'm supposed to be on my feet a lot as a teacher, and walking starts to hurt after a few hours. I'm hoping a shoe with good support would cut down on a lot of that, but I tried on some of the Clarks in the shoe store, and they made no difference to my sore feet. Maybe it was because my feet were already sore, though.
They're a little too big. I usually wear a nine-and-a-half, but Crocs don't carry half sizes, so I thought the best thing to do would be to go a half-size up and get a ten. After I walk in them for a little while, they get a little loose and start slipping off of my feet. I'm debating whether or not to send them back and try a nine, but I really think a nine is going to be too small. I was also thinking about just wearing them with some good insoles and thick socks. Maybe that would work? They look great and feel nice, too.
They do have more padding than my regular ballet flats. It's like walking on a bed of soft rubber, and they're waterproof, so my feet will not get soggy and uncomfortable in the rain and I won't have to worry about changing in and out of rain boots. The only problem is that they are quite slippery when wet, and my feet try to come out of them. I think I got the wrong size.
That can be a problem, my crocs except one pair are open toe, living here in FL I own very few closed toe ballet styles. The one ballet style I have is from a long time ago, I had to put extra padding in because they did slip, but they were so comfortable, I really liked wearing them. I see if I can upload pics the camera I used to use I dropped one too many times and I'm not so good with the phone camera upload to pc.
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