Women's Shoes

Women's Shoes

Sandals, Flip Flops and Sliders

This is a warm weather shoe section, and saying so at the start saves anyone looking for boots or trainers a wasted click. What is here is sandals, flip flops, sliders and flat styles, plus a small group made for wet ground.

Sandals are the largest group and the most varied. Strap layout is what separates them - a single band across the foot is easy to step into but holds the foot loosely, while a two or three strap design across the instep and around the ankle keeps the foot still and is the better choice for walking any distance.

Flip flops and sliders answer a different question. They go on without hands, they come off at a door, and they carry a pool day without any thought at all. The trade is that a toe post takes a day or two to get used to if you have not worn one recently.

Between the three, the honest split is distance. Sliders and flip flops for short trips and around water, sandals with a heel strap for anything that involves being on your feet for hours.

Flat Soles and a Day on Your Feet

Every pair here sits flat or on a low heel, which is the practical choice for standing and walking - but a flat sole is not automatically a comfortable one, and the difference is worth understanding before ordering.

Three things decide it. A sole with some give underfoot absorbs pavement, a rigid one passes it straight through. A footbed with any contour under the arch supports the foot's own shape; a completely flat board leaves the arch unsupported for the whole day. And a sole that bends where the foot bends, at the ball rather than in the middle, lets you walk normally.

You can test the last two on any pair you already own. Hold the shoe at both ends and bend it - if it folds in half at the middle, it will fold that way under your foot too.

Width is the quiet part of the same problem. A sandal cut narrow across the ball of the foot presses the sides all day regardless of how the length fits, and the photograph taken from above shows this more honestly than a size chart does.

Shoes That Can Get Wet

A small group here is built for wet ground, and it fills a gap that ordinary sandals leave. Water shoes cover the sole and the toes, which is what a rocky shoreline, a river bed or a wet boat deck actually asks for.

They matter more than they sound at a beach with stones or shells. A thin protective sole is the difference between walking into the water at your own pace and picking your way in on tiptoe.

For everything else near the water, a synthetic strap outperforms a fabric one - it holds its shape when damp and dries by the time you are back at the car. Fabric and suede straps stay heavy for hours and mark where they were wet.

What pairs with a beach swimsuit is usually the shoe that can be left on a hot deck without worry, which is another point in favor of a plain synthetic slide.

Toe Shape and Getting the Size Right

Toe shape is listed on most of these styles, and it is more useful than it looks. Open and peep toe leave the front free, which gives a little length tolerance. Round toe suits a broader foot. A pointed front adds visual length but needs your foot to sit clear of the point.

A toe post style has its own rule, which is that the post should sit between the toes without pressing either of them. If the length is right and the post still presses, it is the strap angle rather than the size at fault.

For sizing, measure the foot in the afternoon rather than the morning, when it is at its largest, and compare that figure against the length given for each style. In open styles, leave a few millimeters clear at the front so the toes do not overhang the sole.

Sizes at the top and bottom of a range are worth ordering with a little more care. Straps are cut to a standard length for each size, so a wide foot in a small size and a narrow foot in a large one both end up using the very ends of the adjustment.