Pretty party slides seem like the perfect solution to wear for the holidays, esp if you can't wear heels or have high heel pain. They look the absolute picture of comfort - and what's not to love in new slide styles - silvery sparkles, floral cut outs and Christmas red in velvet suede? And of course slides have flat, flat heels!
But their dainty, pretty looks can be deceiving. It will not be the heel height that will cause trouble, it will be the overall instability of shoes that give you foot nothing to hang onto and no straps to keep your foot inside. Slides are shoes you can slide into and also slide out of backwards or slide off at the sides - even when you don't intend to.
Slides may become painful to wear after a while of walking because your foot will need to arch upwards and curl up at the toes to keep the slides on your feet. This is very tiring on the foot muscles because the toes have nothing to cling to inside the shoe as they try to keep your foot inside. When you lose a shoe it may become a painful tripping hazard.
Mules are like high heel slides in that they are also unstable to wear and the foot muscles get tired from clinging to the shoe trying to keep it on the foot, however mules have high heels so the foot naturally stays more forwards inside the shoe. But mules have other hazards issues such as the foot falling off sideways at the heel end from a height which can cause a twisted ankle.
This is one customers experience with slides that illustrates the problem she had and her solution:
" I had a pair of brand new shoes, the slide style that’s trending today, and I could not keep them on my feet. I’ve tried xxx gel inserts on other shoes and the gel is annoying to me. I found these inserts with Poron foam and it was like magic. My toes had something to grip so the uncomfortable 1 “ heel shoe I couldn’t wear was transformed into my favorite go-to every day pair. What a difference they made. I ordered 2 more pair; one is the high heel type since I have some heels that I dread wearing. I know I will buy more since these feel so natural on my foot..."
The Poron foam inserts she is referring to in an Amazon review are Killer Heels Comfort ball of foot cushions, and high heel shoe inserts. This customer has identified the main problem with slides which is that the foot has nothing to grip to help keep it inside.
The five tips for wearing slides comfortably that come from this customer and others are:
#1 Always buy shoes in the correct size. In slides it is very important that your foot fits completely inside the shoe with about a half inch of room for the toes at the front of the shoe. The heel should not overhang at the back.
#2 Slides such as the pointed toe ones from Aquazzura should be bought in a half size larger than your usual size to allow for the foot to fit inside the pointy toe part without being squeezed in at the sides.
#3 Ball of foot shoe cushions should be fitted inside your slides to stabilize them. The ball of foot cushions should have a toe grip so the toes have something to hang onto to prevent shoes from falling off and prevent feet from getting tired. Ball of foot cushions with a toe grip will stop the toes from overhanging the front of the shoe with a large front opening like the Aldo slides.
#4 Slides usually have little room inside but will need cushioning because of their thin bottoms. The insole should be made comfortable by a cushion that never flattens such as one made from Poron so the foot can be made comfortable without crowding. If you have a high arch a slide design such as the Isaac Mizrahi may leave very little room under the ball of the foot for cushioning without crowding the inside of the shoe.