It’s Saturday night. You’re out with your friends after a long week. You go to a new, hip club to dance the stress away. Three songs in and you’re already struggling to keep up with those on the dance floor. Several thoughts come to mind: Stop stepping on me, you oaf! Who touched me? Who spilled that? Why did I wear these shoes? Ugh…these shoes! You excuse yourself and find yourself sitting at the bar when a seemingly harmless man asks what you’d like to drink. You order a gin and tonic and after a polite conversation, you realize that he looks familiar. Wait a second… He was on yesterday’s episode of America’s Most Wanted. Suddenly, he begins displaying uncouth behavior. You clear your throat and excuse yourself, but still feel his piercing gaze at the back of your head as you walk away to alert the police. Now, if it wasn’t for your uncomfortable shoes, you wouldn’t have caught a wanted criminal. But then again, if it wasn’t for those shoes, you wouldn’t have conversed with him in the first place.
Improbable situations aside, the hunt for great shoes meant for tackling the nightlife is a difficult task. You want to lengthen your legs? Gotta wear pumps or wedges! Then you have to find a good heel height that you won’t have to sacrifice your comfort for. Don’t care about looking taller and want to wear flats? Good luck not getting stepped on! The shoes you wear when you go to a bar can be more casual, but club shoes (as well as attire) call for more effort and unfortunately for many, discomfort. Jeffrey Campbell Mary Roks wedges tend to be my go-to going out footwear. They are comfortable, stylish, and I can run away from criminals if need be. However, even these shoes couldn’t last me the three hours I spent on the dance floor one Saturday night. I was forced to retreat to the benches and wait for my friend, who wore Toms, to finish dancing. Although conversing (read: being hit on) with a fellow patron was enlightening, I went out for dancing and my shoes failed me.
My go-to wedges:
As I am a stubborn person who consistently dresses impractically, whether it be wedges and a body con dress to the supermarket, or my propensity to never wear pants, even in the dead of winter, I tend to refuse wearing flat shoes when I go to the club. I hold an average stature of 5-foot-4 and even those with several inches over me don four to five inch heels. Needless to say, I simply cannot wear flat shoes! I don’t have a logical reason behind this stand, but it’s a matter of preference.
On an average Friday or Saturday night, I can put up with wearing heels or wedges for about an hour if I get to rest my feet for ten minutes or so. Then back onto the dance floor! But the last time I went out made me reassess sacrificing my feet to the fashion gods for the sake of looking chic. To be honest, the flashing lights and lasers and occasional fog only provide glimpses of what you wear, so maybe you don’t need to look like you have supermodel legs! But who says we dress to impress others? We dress for ourselves for the most part, right? So, if you’d like to feel tall, wear those five inch pumps. Want comfort? Then, go ahead and wear your chucks or oxfords.
Here are some common problems I think we ladies tend to encounter in relation to footwear and possible solutions:
1. My feet are killing me!
Solution: Wear flat shoes! Loafers, flats, oxfords and booties are all stylish alternatives to stilettos that don’t render you bedridden the next day.
I can’t seem to be able to pull off the loafers look, so I’ve been loving oxfords! They can be casual yet classy at the same time.
2. Please stop stepping on me! Or, this guy’s being a jerk!
Solution: Wear tall shoes that have heavy material or combat boots if you’re at a more casual club.
Even when I’m wearing taller shoes, I still manage to get stepped on by strangers and my friends alike. It’s a miracle I can still feel my toes!
Try on these pewter Dr. Marten 1460s for a little bit of glam and futuristic look in your boots:
Wear these Jeffrey Campbell Litas and you’ll be protected from anyone stepping on you:
And if anyone’s being a jerk, you can just kick them! Nobody will mess with you!
3. My feet are killing me, but I’d still like those few extra inches (That’s what she said).
Solution: Wedges are your new best friend. They’re more comfortable than heels, you won’t get them stuck in the holes of subway grates, walking on grass is easier and you won’t break a heel!