As a student, I attend many balls and events (which I also organise) which require me to be smart and formal. Thus, I have quite a range of high heeled shoes but often find that by the end of the night whether due to the sheer number of hours on my feet or a little too much alcohol, heels can be a painful nuisance.
So, a year and a half ago, I went in search of affordable shoes that would be comfortable, easy to walk in and smart enough to wear to balls and such. Asking a friend, she suggested wedges as a happy alternative to heels and I was on board. But whilst looking for wedges I found that most were very fashion forward or featured cork wedges which, in my opinion, are not all that smart or formal so not what I was looking forward.
Eventually, the morning before a fashion show where I had a long day and night ahead of me working as as an usher, I wandered into New Look in a last attempt to find wedges and found these!
They're a very conservative, plain black, fake suede wedge. The wedge itself is quite high but more than manageable. I have found that the height of the wedge means that I can wear these shoes to almost any kind of formal event- from meeting CEOs to winter balls. They add formality to almost any outfit, giving the long-legged look that heels would usually provide without the discomfort or added effort when walking.
The only issues I had with these heels was that in my rush to find shoes on that particular, I overlooked that the version I bought was the wider footed version so I later had to purchase an insole to ensure that my feet would not simple slip out of the shoe. I owned these shoes for a good year and a half and probably wore them around 30 times. Suede as a fabric is not particularly durable and can only be washed once so I found that during the winter it was particularly difficult to avoid damage.
Having said that, I did wear them until they were falling apart and the suede was quite damaged because they were simply so useful and so comfortable.
An added touch that I appreciated, being an avid heel wearer previously, was the plastic heel like addition on the sole of the shoe which meant I could still walk along hard wood floors and sound like I was wearing heels like all of the other women, whereas I was in fact wearing something far more comfortable!
Definitely a great buy, looking for another pair myself! Extremely durable and comfortable for something so cheap!