Get Ready to Swoon: The Ultimate Guide to Shoe Shopping

Whoever said “give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world” wasn’t lying at all. There’s this confidence that comes with having your shoes on point, and we all know (or should know) that shoes can make or mar your outfit.

Picking out the right shoes used to be a bit of a challenge for me for the longest time. When it was time for shoe shopping, I just go with whatever catches my eye with no plan whatsoever.

I’d often get grumpy and dissatisfied after each shopping spree because most of the shoes were either uncomfortable, purchased in the wrong season, or I simply couldn’t find the right outfit for it.

Before you start thinking I splurged unnecessarily on shoes, I did always have a budget but was that enough? Nope, it wasn’t.

While it’s good to have a budget when going shoe shopping, there are a host of other factors you should take into consideration. Since I stumbled on this hack, my shoe game has never been better!

I’ll be sharing this hack with you in this article so keep scrolling.

When shoe shopping, these are the factors you should consider to avoid regrets after shopping.

The Ultimate Guide to Shoe Shopping

Let’s go!

Comfort

When shopping for shoes, it’s easy to get caught up in the glamour of stylish shoe designs and trendy footwear but never, I repeat, never sacrifice comfort for style because you’ll always regret it. (I know I did)

Comfort should be your top priority when shopping for shoes. Go for shoes that are comfortable, your feet will thank you later. To identify such shoes, check for cushioning, arch support and proper fit.

Remember, happy feet, happy you!

Lifestyle

Just as your lifestyle determines a large portion of your outfits, same goes for your shoes.

With risk of sounding like a broken record, shopping for shoes isn’t about finding the trendiest designs. It’s mostly about finding footwears that complements your lifestyle and meets your daily needs.

For Instance: You’re in the corporate world and you’re always on the go. You daily activities involves showing up at the office on weekdays, meetings with clients at different locations and occasional field work. Your weekends are mostly spent in the gym.

Having this kind of schedule, your shoe racks should contain 70% work shoes, 20% gym shoes, then with the remaining 10% you can indulge yourself.

Imagine having a shoe closet filled with 6 inches heels and fancy sandals with this kind of daily routine, I bet wearing 6 inches heels throughout the day will be super uncomfortable and definitely impact your mobility.

By choosing shoes that align with your lifestyle and daily schedule, you’ll feel confident and comfortable every step of the way.

Quality & Durability

Quality and durability are also factors to take into consideration when shoe shopping.

Imagine a professional hiker who is also a gym instructor shopping for shoes going for flashy sneakers because they’re pretty instead of checking the quality of the shoes to assess how durable they’ll be.

Don’t get me wrong, there are quality shoes that are flashy as well, all I’m saying is, don’t get carried away by how pretty a pair of shoes look that you don’t check for quality.

Foot Shape

This has to be the most important factor to look out for when shoe shopping. The shape of your feet determines how comfortable you’ll be in a pair of shoes.

There’s the Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Celtic, Roman, Aboriginal, to name a few.

Find out what category you fall into and buy your shoes accordingly.

I have the Egyptian foot shape and I was always going for pointed heels, they were barely comfortable until I found out they weren’t the perfect fit for my feet shape. There wasn’t enough space for my big toe so it was a struggle. I then switched to square and round shaped shoes and I’ve never been more comfortable, I literally found my sole mate!

To see full chart check here.

Outfit

Your outfit to a large extent determines your shoes. If you’ll be wearing a corporate outfit, sneakers are not a right fit in this setting due to your outfit style, corporate heels will do a better job.

Sneakers on the other hand would perfectly fit a casual outfit or a business-casual outfit.

So, when next you go shoe shopping, have an outfit or several outfits in mind, then take into account factors like silhouette compatibility and color combination.

To achieve this, visualize one of your outfits and pick out a pair of shoes that best complements it. Think of the color, patterns and style. You can do this with several outfits depending on your budget.

Season

This is another important factor you should consider when buying shoes. Don’t impulse buy summer shoes during winter as you won’t be needing them for a long time and they just end up taking up space in your closet.

Buy shoes according to seasons, this will help tailor your shoe shopping spree.

Occasion

The last but not the least is occasion. Do you have an event to attend? Are you going shoe shopping with a particular occasion in mind?

If yes, then you should tailor your shopping according to the event you’re attending.

For instance, you’re attending an evening dinner party and you want to pick out a pair of shoes for the occasion, I’m guessing you’ll be putting on a formal dress so you shouldn’t be caught buying sneakers.

Or,

You’re attending a rave and you want to pick out some new shoes for the event, you should be leaning towards boots, platform heels and sneakers.

Conclusion

I guarantee this piece will help you when next you go shoe shopping.

Share with your friends and family via social media to help them as well.

If you have further questions I’ll be in the comments.

Stay stylish!