Ask the Strategist: Can You Help Me Find ‘Non-Fuddy-Duddy’ In-Beween-Season Shoes?
In our advice column, “Ask the Strategist,” we take your most burning shopping questions and survey friends, call up experts, and draw on our own personal experience to answer them. If you have an online-shopping question of your own, please send it to strategist@nymag.com with the subject “Ask the Strategist.” We’re here to help.
I am a woman of a certain age (55, to be precise) who needs shoes that aren’t sneakers, sandals, or boots for in-between seasonal wear, like today in NYC where it’s sunny/rainy/and between 50 and 70 degrees. The kind of shoes you don’t need socks with but also aren’t open-toed. They have to be comfortable out of the box, so no stiff leather. Please help — I am at risk of walking around barefoot!
These SeaVees I was sent are exactly that for my 29-year-old feet (I don’t have the same tolerance for uncomfortable shoes as I did a year ago). Arguably, they’re the nicest non-slip shoes in existence. Suzanne Rae’s Sport Ballerinas are another pair I’m trying out. The “sport” part of the ballerinas (a treaded sole) makes them easier on the arch than your average flat. Similar (but cheaper): Vagabond’s Hillary, available in a strapped style not unlike the Puma Speedcat flat (a new personal favorite). Of course, anything Rothy’s fits the bill — our contributor Erika Veurink walked 15,000 steps a day around Florence in the Square Mary Janes.
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I hate having an open toe on the subway, like many other people, and I am seeking a summer-shoe option outside my usual huaraches and sneakers. I found a pair of closed-toe sandals I love — the Anonymous Copenhagen Banie 20 — but the price tag is about $100 more than I want to spend. I love the elegant lines and slim sole here. Are there any more affordable options without a lug sole? Is this just how much shoes cost?
Far be it from me to get in the way of anyone and their shoes (I’m all for the pair from Anonymous Copenhagen). But you might go for some Franco Sartos. Or there’s a Zara pair that reminds me of Church’s fishermans. These Plasticanas are a “surprisingly practical summer city shoe,” says our writer Katherine Gillespie. (And by the way, better than a flip-flop on a Greenpoint sidewalk.) Maybe the Keen Newport H2? They may not have the slimmest silhouette, but that means more distance between you and the subway ground.
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Keen Women’s Newport H2
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The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
