Shoefinder: Jora On Her Feet

After a brief summer hiatus, Shoefinder has returned, and today we will be finding shoes for Jora:

Jora has a fine job as a firmware engineer, working in what I believe is the "small things that sometimes go 'beep'" field, and for some reason her employers have seen fit to give her a standing workstation. So Jora needs comfortable shoes.

She also, being a sane and sensible person, needs cute shoes. That's where we come in.


First, allow me to say that I am fully aware of the existence of flats. I love flats. In fact, I'm wearing some right now. But I am not going to be featuring a lot of flats here because the fact of the matter is, it simply does not create that much of a challenge-- comfortable and attractive flat shoes exist all over the place. And I am all about a challenge.

I like these for being work-appropriate but still kind of funky, and the relatively low and wide heel should keep them stable and relatively comfy. Other pluses: will go with anything, fashionable without being trendoid, so they can stay in the rotation for a long time. Unlike these, which I have an unaccountable fondness for, but even I have to admit the the oxford thing is probably not going to stick around forever. Also, that is one serious platform.

In terms of wedges, I think these would be much more along the right lines. Yes, they're a bit on the summery side, but we're moving into fall-- or, as we call it in the Bay Area "summer"-- but they have a kind of retro-preppy charm and I know from experience that Sperry makes very comfortable shoes.

Another product of experience: Faryl Robin. Yes, I've talked about them a bunch of times before, no, I'm not going to stop. Ideally, I would like to imagine a day when I have personal knowledge of every major shoe brand available (I'm working on it) and could dole out advice on quality, comfort and sizing accordingly. But until that time you are just going to have to put up with me going back to the same well, and trust me when I say that Faryl Robin makes good shoes that are, in my experience, very comfortable for their height. And I'm sure these would be no exception.

On the other hand, like the man said, you don't have to take my word for it. Sofft, as a brand, comes to me highly-recommended, and for a brand that's so well associated with the dumpy side of comfort, they've done a good job adding some stylish offerings to their lineup. I like these for an everyday sort of look; the gray makes them neutral but the green keeps them (moderately) interesting. Or, if you'd rather embrace the nude-shoe trend that is sweeping the nation (or at least about two-thirds of the actresses on the nation's red carpets), you could certainly do worse than this. As every editorial on flesh-toned shoes has pointed out since pretty much ever: it's leg-lengthening!

I see no reason to doubt them.


All right, you say, these are all well and good, but how about something a little more French? Are you just bitter because you've burned all your vacation days for this year and airfares are ridiculously high to Europe right now, so you're avoiding the topic?

Not at all, I reply. In fact, I was just waiting for you to ask.

So chic! So cute! So entirely designed by a couple of girls from Massachusetts, who have no connections to France at all! But no matter, I still like them. And anyway, it's the spirit of the thing that counts.

Also, while we're on the subject of sliver wedges, these have pink, python-embossed uppers and Nike cushioned soles. I'm just saying.


Which brings us to our grand finale. I really wanted to post these, because I think they're great, but they're only available in a size 10, which I realize is kind of limiting. So instead I think I'll go with these, for being work-appropriate but still kind of funky, available in a range of sizes, and making comfort a front-and-center claim. Because if you can't trust advertising copy, then what can you trust?