Judging from the comments in my email inbox, a number of you seem to think that I hate wedges. This is not true. I hate ugly wedges, the clunky, platformed kind that look like hooves.
Sleek wedges are a lifesaver if you plan on working a campaign. That bit of added stability will save your ankles.
Elected Official
Normally, I would choose the Kate Spade wedges, but I could only find them in black.
Hill Staffer
Paid Intern
I’d love to see more wedge sandal options that have more substantial heels and don’t have really skinny straps. I have wide feet and muscular calves, so sandals with thin straps just make my foot look wider and along with ankle straps and lower heels, more dainty sandals make my legs look bigger.
I’ll admit it–I hate wedges. I always just think that if a wedge looks good, the same shoe without a wedged heel would look even better. And for me, the main foot pain I get from heels is from my feet sliding forward and mashing into the front of the shoe–wedges do nothing to fix this, so they just seem pointless to me.
Style by Joules
I have this in both colors. Similar to the intern option but with a lower heel. Very comfortable!
https://www.dsw.com/shoe/cl+by+laundry+marcie+patent+wedge+pump?prodId=298989&productRef=SEARCH
Thank you for this! I have back issues and have found that wedges provide the extra support that regular heels don’t. Keep ’em coming!
I have the Kate Spade heels in black suede and LOVE them. Found them at Nordstrom Rack for $100. They have a lower heel than I would usually wear (they’re lower than they look in the picture), but the wedge makes them look higher.
Do any wedge heels have an flex to them? Whenever I try them, I feel like I am clomping around because they don’t flex. My feet need a lot of flex to remain happy.
I don’t know if Rockport, Geox or Michael Kors Flex make them, but those would be the brands to check.
I have a love/hate thing with wedges. Some are just so ugly. Even the ones I like, I don’t like a whole lot. Wedges will never be my first choice, but I recognize their necessity for outdoor events. Grass and heels do not mix.
Agreed. Wedges aren’t my absolute favorite of all time, but with three outdoor weddings on my calendar this summer, I can admit the value of a comfortable, reasonably stylish pair.
I agree with this. They’re never my first choice, but some are definitely better than others, and I need them from time to time.
Calvin Klein makes a sleek wedge that I swear by.
Nine West Mela wedge. I swear by them!
For the totally broke, I think Payless actually has some really nice wedges.
These ones sort of look like what Belle recommended:
https://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=cat10088&subCatId=cat10284&skuId=138485120&productId=74180&lotId=138485&category=&catdisplayName=Womens
@Nina, thanks for the PayLess suggestion! The shoes at Target are too wide for me, but Pay Less seems to fit. Also, I like that the wedge is slightly wider, which makes it much more stable to me. I don’t like the super thin wedges because they don’t feel very stable.
Can’t say enough good things about LK Bennett’s Zahara wedges. I have the Spring/Summer raffia ones and ones for the rest of the year with tortoise shell wedge heels, and regular wedges. All are SO unbelievably comfy. Love them. I routinely travel in them and have never had problems with my feet hurting. LOVE.
Another time when wedge shoes are important that you don’t necessarily plan ahead for – graveside services.
i own three pairs of wedges — the j crew martina wedge, some cole haan (with the nike air insoles) wedges, and some cheap fake suede target wedges. the j crew ones amazingly comfortable for a heeled shoe so they’re my favorite and get the most wear. they are my heeled shoe BFF (if that can be a thing). i think i need to break in the cole haan ones more. the j crew ones run small (i had to size up half a size from my normal size), and the target ones run slightly large.
err, that should say “the j crew ones *are* amazingly comfortable…”