If you look at all of your shoes, how often would you say that you bought them for the sole purpose of comfort? Practicality is hardly motivation for us when we’re shopping for a new pair of heels, as we convince ourselves the aesthetic appeal is far greater than the amount of pain we’ll endure while walking around in new suede pumps. Any style conscious person will tell you that shoes are the most important aspect of any outfit; they tie everything together, and as British designer Oliver Spencer tells the Telegraph, “Good shoes stand the test of time, and are almost oblivious to the ebbs and flows of fashion.”

The perfect collection will contain a myriad of silhouettes, including timeless classics, runway-worthy creations, and everything in between, according to advice by Lyst on the best contemporary shoes to have in your wardrobe. It’s clear that we’d rather sacrifice comfort than style when it comes to footwear, but there are certain things we can do on our part to minimise the pain while maintaining the beauty and self-assurance that stems from walking in a swanky pair of stilettos.

Here are a few shoe hacks to give your feet a bit of a break:

1) If you want to go shoe shopping, go late afternoon or early evening
Do you ever wonder why your feet fit perfectly in your newly purchased footwear but feel constricted the following day? Much like your height fluctuates during the day, the size of your feet depends on the time of day. How Stuff Works health expert Michael King says that our feet swell up throughout the day, with your feet the largest in the evening.

2) Give your shoes better traction with sandpaper
It’s hard enough trying to balance in heels, so if you encounter a polished floor it will most likely spell disaster. By simply rubbing sandpaper on the soles of your shoes, you’ll be able to walk on smooth surfaces with confidence.

3) Tape your third and fourth toes when wearing heels
This may sound strange, but according to contributors of Who What Wear, they swear by this heel hack, as taping these two toes will relieve the strain on the nerve that separates the two, alleviating the pain on the balls of your feet.

Have you got any shoe hacks that you’d like to share with us?

Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you in my next post.

*This is a guest post*