I hate buying shoes. I almost always wear tennis shoes, because I cannot find comfortable shoes. What are some tips on find good comfortable shoes? I bought a pair of Sketchers, because I was told they were so great and they were dressier than tennis shoes. After being on my feet in them for a couple hours, my feet were killing me. It is difficult for me to wear slip on shoes - my heals, slip right out. Please help.

Try web sites Foot Smart and Auditions. They specialize in comfortable shoes.

It is hard to find comfortable shoes for the long haul and not look dowdy. Some brands I am fond of - Dansko, Keen and Born. Many, but not all, of the styles have more support and padding than most other shoes. Don't know what your budget it, and I hope it's okay to say that you can find them at a discount on 6pm.com, which I think is Zappo's outlet. I don't like to pay full price for these!

My suggestion is not so much about the shoes, but about caring for your feet... I would encourage you to go to a podiatrist and have her take a good look at your feet. You may get fitted for orthotics which slip inside your shoes and give exactly the right support that your specific feet need. Modern orthotics can be worn with a wide variety of shoes, even cute ones.

I agree with suzer1 about caring for your feet so that, hopefully, shoes are more comfortable for you. While orthotics might help, I'm going to make a suggestion that might be more controversial and that I believe will make most people have good feet without having to be dependent on orthotics. I am a runner and I'm moving toward barefoot running. Well, not actually barefoot but wearing shoes with no padding and no support so it's the next thing to being barefoot. There have been many studies on this issue and there are increasing converts to it. One of the major issues discussed is how wearing shoes, especially a dependency on support shoes and/or orthotics, is actually detrimental to our feet. The reason why is that they take away from having to use the muscles in our feet to support our body properly and that shoes, especially support shoes or those with orthotics, change the way our feet are used and the way our feet strike the ground, thus, causing problems. I suggest walking barefoot around the house. I take my shoes off as soon as I get in the door. If I'm not totally barefoot due to it being colder, I'm either just wearing socks or wear socks with moccasins...that's about as close as you can get to barefoot conditions. This will strengthen your foot muscles. There are also a lot of exercises you can do to strengthen your feet. Two examples: (1) writing the alphabet with your toes and (2) picking up a cloth with your toes. There are more and they are easily found with a web search. Of course, I'm not a doctor and you could have issues more extreme than just weak foot muscles so this may not work for you but I do believe, for most of us, a combination of strengthening our foot muscles via barefooting it as much as possible and exercising our feet, combined with wearing shoes that allow our toes to spread naturally and to keep a natural gait/foot strike, will go a long way to reducing any kind of foot pain or other problems. Hope this helps a bit.

I hear you, tiewis331! I have multiple foot issues and struggle with this very thing, too. And I see that "shoes" is the topic for MSP this week. Honestly, that is really tough for me. I KNOW what looks cute, but wearability is another matter. I may just ignore this week's advice for the sake of my morale ... I have the same issue with slip-on shoes. Love how they look, and I have a pair that I can wear for limited occasions - but they just don't work so well if I actually need to WALK any significant distance. Check out Orthaheel's Melissa Mary Janes. A slip-on mule. Not the cutest shoe out there, but hey, it isn't the uglist either. And it is COMFORTABLE. Better looking than a tennis shoe or Sketchers. A friend recommended them to me and it was a wonderful tip. This shoe works for me for shopping or just running around. Great arch support. Can wear them barefoot or with socks when it gets colder. I am so happy to have found these!!!

I know, I can't wait for the shoe article! Lately I've been working with my shoes: stretching, padding, etc., and it has helped. I also have an appointment with a podiatrist tomorrow to see about my toes that are going crooked. I'm assuming I will get an orthotic and that will have to fit in my shoes, too!

I'm considering taking the plunge on some EEE width, wide calf tall boots. I haven't had knee-high boots since... ever :-) They are expensive but they are an investment -- if they are comfortable/fit well.

Elaine in CO

Land's End has very cute flats for running around town. They have a suede mary jane which is very cute and easy to put on and take off. They are not extremely well supported, but sure beat heels for comfort and sneakers for style. They can be worn with socks and tights for winter. I have 3 pair which are my go-to shoe on my days off. I was a bit disappointed in the shoe article. The tips were good, but black tights with the colored pump was a bit off-putting. Maybe with a lighter stocking it would look better. My mom used to wear dark tights with sparkly or colored shoes, and it just doesn't look right.

You might try the Barking Dogs website. The blogger reviews shoes, and lists different types for different foot problems. She also lists specials and discounts for the shoes at various stores.

I also have foot issues from spending 38 years on concrete and square dancing for 30 years in 2" heels. I got so I could only wear tennis shoes. A couple ladies I square danced with told me about a stainless steel insert that has been a life saver for me. They are called Feather Springs and you would not believe the difference it made for me. I think if you put add .com and make it all one word, you can go to their website. Someone also mentioned that they could not keep the slide shoes on. I had the same problem until I tried Clarks. They may not be the dainty little ballet slippers, but they sure as heck look better than sneakers. I think the part your heel fits down in is deeper than on a lot of the slide shoes. They work well for me as I have a very narrow heel. You just can't find AAAA heels anymore! Hope this is helpful to some of you!

Nataliet, I'm guessing your mom grew up in the eighties. Don't hold it against her.

Have you tried the Soffts line or the Softspots line? You can look on ebay and get some for reasonable prices.