At Last: A Supportive Flat Shoe for Unhappy Feet
By Corrie Pikul
For those with hard-to-please feet, autumn is the awkward season. We can't keep wearing our orthopedic (yet vaguely Euro and therefore chic) sandals, and it's not yet cold enough to strap sensitive or injured feet into boots.
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This in-between weather calls for in-between shoes: flats that cover toes but expose ankles and can be worn with or without tights. Unfortunately, those of us who rely upon our podiatrists for style advice know that the prettiest flats don't often offer enough arch or lateral support. The clunky flats that tend to look more appropriate for clogging than ballet.
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After dealing with foot problems for half a decade, I've found a few pairs of supportive shoes that won't make my bad feet worse, yet also won't age me by 30 years. This fall, I'll be expanding my safe shoe collection with a pair of moccasins by Dr. Andrew Weil. Yes, that Dr. Weil -- the integrative doctor launched a specialty footwear line last year, and the Discovery moccasins are one of the collection's first closed-toe styles. The podiatrist-designed footbed in these gray suede shoes makes them supportive enough that I don't need to wear my prescription orthotics (but if I did, the footbed is removable). They have some of the most prominent arches outside of St. Louis, as well as a sturdy rubber sole so I don't feel like I'm pronating, or rolling my ankles inward (which can happen in flimsy shoes).
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Best of all, they have the same slouchy charm of regular moccasins, which means I won't need to make my usual excuses for my supportive shoes ("I'm injured," "My feet hurt," "I'm getting old").
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