Not Ready to Give Up Sexy Shoes

Although I have a touch of arthritis and a funky broken toe that didn't heal right (a constant reminder of why it's a bad idea to feed a horse while wearing flip-flops), I am not ready to wear so-called comfort shoes. Which isn't to say I don't want to wear comfortable shoes.

Can you tell that like most boomer women, I am somewhat in denial about my aging?

For me, giving up sexy shoes is sort of like giving up my femininity: the day I can't wear knee-high boots or hot-looking wedges I think I'll truly feel old.

But at the same time, I expect too much out of my fashion pieces to suffer while I wear them. I figure that if they can build a girdle into jeans or convince consumers there's such a size as a 00, the least the fashion industry can do is make a pair of cute shoes that don't kill your feet.

Shoes have never been more important than they are right now. The fashion cycle is all about statement shoes: great-looking wedges, flashy sandals, sky-scraping stilettos.

Even clothing trends  – like ankle-crop pants – are designed to make the shoe the focus of a woman's outfit. Where it used to be the "It" bag that defined your fashion status, now it's the shoe.

Here's how I compromise to get comfort and style:

• Wear a substantial heel. I like wedges because they seem to distribute the weight better than a spindly stiletto heel. You get all of the height, without the discomfort of a typical high heel.
• Save the fabulous (but uncomfortable) shoe for special occasions. I will suffer for style, but only to a certain extent. I'm better off wearing more comfy options day to day, and saving the heels to wear for short bursts of time (at a wedding, girls' night out, etc.)
• Make flats sexy. Sometimes it's the little details that make a shoe sexy. Sure, a strappy, high-heel sandal is dynamite, but a flat shoe with a peep toe can be alluring, too.
• Use color or prints for impact. No more teetering  platforms for me;  now I look for a great color to make the style pop.  Brights like red, yellow, purple and green are all statement makers; nothing is sexier (or more leg-elongating) than a nude shoe. And I love a great animal print shoe (my favorites are a pair of animal-print flats.)
• Make it mostly about embellishment, not height. Go for crystal-embellished sandals in the summer or velvet embellished flats in the winter. Opt for luxe fabrics and trimmings instead of just high heels.