Comfortable Shoes You Can Actually Dance In

Look for three things: a fastening, a bit of grip, and a shoe you have already worn for a whole day. Heel height matters far less than people think. A secured foot in a two inch block will beat a bare foot in a beautiful mule every single time, because the thing that ruins a day out is not height, it is your foot sliding around inside the shoe for six hours.

You are on your feet from three until nine, mostly standing, often dancing, on a floor that gets warm and sticky. A Dreamworx afternoon is a different job from walking to a table and sitting down.

Fastening Beats Everything

A strap, a buckle, a lace or a decent elasticated back. Anything that stops your foot travelling forward when you move.

Slip-ons and mules make you grip with your toes to keep them on, and you will not notice you are doing it until hour three. If you love a mule, wear it out for dinner rather than for a day of dancing.

What You'll Spend

You do not need to spend a lot, but this is one of the few things where the middle of the market genuinely buys you something. Expect somewhere around fifty to ninety pounds for a well made pair that will do this job for years.

• Under about thirty pounds, you are usually getting a thin sole and a stiff upper. Fine for a couple of hours, hard work for six.
• Fifty to ninety, and you tend to get a padded footbed, a sole with some give, and leather or a soft fabric that moulds to your foot.
• Above that, you are mostly paying for the name. There are exceptions, and you will know them by the sole rather than the label.

The other spend worth making is a couple of pounds on decent insoles, which turn a shoe you like into a shoe you can stand up in.

Be Honest About Heels

Nobody in their forties needs to prove anything about heels. If a stiletto is comfortable for you, wear it. For most people it is not, and after four hours you can see exactly who is thinking about their feet.

If you want height, the options that work are a block heel, a low wedge, a platform that lifts the front of the foot as well, or a flatform. All of them put your weight through more surface, which is the whole trick. Two to three inches on a block is a completely different experience from the same height on a spike.

And a flat is not a compromise. A good trainer, a chunky loafer or a sturdy boot looks deliberate rather than defeated, and you will be the one still dancing at half eight.

The Sole Is the Bit Nobody Checks

Bend the shoe in your hands. It should flex where your foot flexes, near the ball, and hold firm through the middle. A shoe that folds in half offers nothing, and one that will not bend at all fights you all day.

Look at the underside as well. A completely smooth leather or plastic sole on a warm club floor is skittish, and a dance floor at hour four is not a clean, dry surface. A patterned rubber sole, or a few passes over rough ground before you go, gives you something to stand on.

Getting the Fit Right

Try shoes on late in the day rather than first thing, because your feet are a slightly different size by the afternoon and it is the afternoon version you need to fit.

• Wear the socks or tights you will actually have on.
• Stand up, both shoes on, and walk properly rather than a few steps on carpet.
• Check the width, not just the length. Most people buy a half size up when the real problem is a narrow toe box.
• If there is a spot that rubs in the shop, it will rub for six hours.

Do not order online three days before and hope. Order three weeks before, so there is time to send them back.

Break Them In Before Dreamworx

Wear new shoes around the house for two or three evenings, an hour at a time, with the socks that make them slightly tight. Then wear them out for a normal afternoon. If they are still fine after that, they will do.

If one spot is sharp, a bit of gentle work with your thumbs or a shoe stretcher usually sorts it. What does not work is deciding they will be alright on the day. They never are.

The Small Print That Saves the Day

Put a couple of plasters in your bag before you leave the house. Not because you expect trouble, but because that is a thirty second fix at four o'clock rather than a decision about whether to go home.

Some people carry a pair of foldable flats. It is a fair plan, though the honest version is that if you need the backup pair, you picked the wrong first pair. Get the first pair right and your feet stop being part of the day at all, which is the whole point.