without a doubt flats!!! i love sparkly flipflops and sandles. We always go for a walk after we have eaten our evening meal, me tottering about in heels is not a good look!!!!

Lily. x

I haven't worn heels in the summer for years and have come to like my variety of flipflops and flat sandals. However, I've developed a foot problem recently and apart from the genuine fitflops my foot is in less pain when I wear a bit of a heel. So I'm in the process of trying to find some comfy sandals with a medium heel for my next holiday in April.

shirley

next have some nice sandles with medium heels, i was looking at them today. http://www.next.co.uk

Lily. x

I have worn flip flops all summer for years and like shirley have developed a foot problem . After 18 months of on/off pain I'm now going to physio and the class is full of ladies with the same problem . It's all been caused by the constant wearing of flip flops and then changing to flat boots in the winter and is the achilles tendon. I'm now having to do exercises each day to restretch the achilles and rebalance both of my feet .

A slight heel is much better girls , just half -1 inch or the fit flops type with a bit of arch support. Not the most attractive of footwear of course.

As a test Shirley , Stand on your bad foot only and see if you can balance for 10 seconds as well as just your good foot.

Thanks for the link Lily. There are a few I fancy there. I'll have to try some on when I'm next in town.

Lyn, I've now got two problems with my foot, neither of which is an achilles one. I went to the doctor about a year ago after putting up with a really painful ball of my foot. I get pain starting on the left side of my foot pad and reaching my 3rd and 4th toe. After checkingsymptoms over the web I'd diagnosed myself with a metatarsel injury/inflammation but my GP said it was because of a fallen arch on that foot. I can't see any difference in either of my arches tbh but I took her word for it. I was advised that nothing could be done and I'm supposed to an inbuilt insole to help with the fallen arch. Not very practical in the summer when I'll be wearing open sandals.

I didn't bother with the insoles until I went to London a few weeks ago when I thought I'd invest in some as I was going to be doing a lot of walking. The support definitely took the pain away but after wearing them regularly, I've now developed a problem on the upper part of my foot near the ankle so I can't win.

Hi
Sandels and flip flops every time, heels are part of my past
We like a walk after dinner and for some reason there always seems to be a hill involved.......
On the subject of foot problems, I suffer with bunions, so cannot wait for the warmer weather so I can wear sandels in UK.
Bunions and sandels.. not pretty...but of much more comfortable than boots
M

Hi Shirley,
I also have a problem with painful arches. I was recommended Crocs and they have really helped me, they are good for holidays and I also find them great for wearing instead of slippers for around the house! Definately worth a try and they can be found quite cheap in sports shops. Amber

Definitely low heel or flats here. I too have a problem with a fallen arch on one foot. Last year I bought a lovely pair of gladiator shoes come sandal in a distresed grey colour, from Next. They are so comfy.

no shoes at all on the boat..just barefoot for a week
except for wetsuit boots

then when on land..flip flops...

flip flops and a small wedge heel for me

both,,i take quite a lot of shoes away wih me but mostly sandals gladiators, although when I do wear my high wedges / heels my feet feel too hot and swell so i normally go back upto the room and put my gladiators on..

Flats and flip flops for me too. Did used to take a pair of heeled wedgies, but found that they were so uncomfortable I only wore them once so what was the point in taking them My feet got so hot and sweaty that they just slipped around in them anyway and I was more likely to blister. I have different colour flip flops depending on my outfit so im happy and they dont take any room in case either

Normally flats for the day and medium chunky wedge heels for the evening. I do have some high wedges but they are never comfortable so I have given up taking them away!

Flip flops through the day and crocs for daytime excursions, nigfht time, gladiators or wedge heels, depending on what I'm wearing.

Flats during the day and most nights but I do have a few pairs of low heels that I take with me for after dinner walks.

Helen

I prefer a bit of a heel because I'm so short but I also take flip flops for when I go on the beach.

I can't wear flats as they make my calf muscles ache so usually wear sandals with medium wedges during the day and about 2½" heels in the evening.

I'd love to be able to wear flip flops but they always rub blisters on to my big toe, not that sandals or shoes don't either. Just about every pair of shoes, sandals, boots that I buy will rub blisters on my feet the first few times that I wear them and the balls of my feet will burn after a short while. I walk round with a selection of plasters and gel pads stuck to my feet getting new shoes to be comfortable and some shoes I eventually have to give away as they never stop rubbing. I've tried everything.
Mostly I wear flat shoes or sandals,occasionally wedges, heels I save for weddings . I ruined both my feet and legs through wearing very high heeled shoes with pointed toes 50 years ago when I was a teenager.

Hi Judith, have you tried the dancer's best friend - Compeed moleskin? It is a fairly thin self-adhesive felt that comes in a roll and you put it on in advance to the areas where you know you suffer. It both stops your foot moving around in your shoe and it provides a little extra padding to relieve pressure. And I prefer it to putting gel insoles in my dance shoes because it's much more comfortable when your feet start to get hot and, erm 'damp'! The silicone in gel insoles makes my feet itch in those circumstances.

I too find that the balls of my feet tend to burn after a while, especially when wearing sandals and or heels - I think its because my foot isn't held firmly in place in the wider fit shoes I now have to buy to accommodate the bunion on the left foot - but a piece of moleskin cut to size and stuck to the ball of my foot works wonders. Make sure you don't buy ordinary chiropody felt - that tends to be quite thick whereas moleskin is relatively thin. So thin that it looks as if it won't do the business but it does and is virtually invisible in wear. Lots of ballet dancers use it on their toes when wearing pointe shoes and on their bunions which are an occupational hazard.

And if it's any consolation my podiatrist says that most bunions etc are not caused by shoes but by the way we walk. The first time I saw her I was flaberghasted by the way she could tell me key incidents from my own life story just by watching me walk! Before I'd even taken my shoes off she asked me which style of dancing I'd trained in - ballet or ballroom - on the basis of my 'turnout' and then said that if I didn't have bunions already I soon would have because of said 'turnout'! Turned out to be very true and once she examined my feet she pointed out the early signs of them even though I hadn't yet noticed anything amiss. In addition she asked me how long ago I'd damaged my left knee (a climbing accident in my 20s) and what had been the problem with my right hip (a benign tumour that had started to push my femur out of the socket before it was picked up - I'd attributed the discomfort to the onset of arthritis which runs in the family). So never, ever walk in front of a podiatrist if you don't want them to know your life history.

SM