what to wear: work appropriate summer shoes
June 30, 2008 
4 Comments
It’s the last day of June — where did half the year go already? Now that it’s Summer, the ‘what to wear to work’ question becomes even more critical. In 80 degree weather, what do you wear to stay cool yet work appropriate? If your dress code doesn’t allow for sandals or open toes, what are your options? Below we address the shoe issue for one of our readers in DC.
Reader Question of the Week:
I’ve been a huge fan of your blog and swear by your recommendations. My problem is this – it’s summer and I live in a major city (DC). There are lots of adorable shoes but I can’t wear them to work – business casual attire frowns on open toe/sandal shoes. I also take the subway to work so I need something fairly comfortable. Other than changing in and out of flip flops or giving up on heels for ballet flats, what are my options? It just seems all the designers went for mega-heels this year or something very open and strappy. Where are the kitten heels?? My female friends and I (in the young professional category) struggle with this problem daily – how to look nice and pulled together and yet maintain some comfort. Thank you for any advice you can provide.
Wardrobe 911′s Style Prescription:
First off, if I catch you wearing flip-flops on your way to work I will scream. No matter how tempting it is, please don’t do it. There really are lots of great options and more and more shoe designers are incorporating features such as padded footbeds to help aid in the comfort area. Here are six prescriptions for keeping your cute, young, professional-self looking pulled together and comfortable:
Top left: The highest heel (2-1/2″) of the lot but known for their padded soles. Gentle Souls will make you feel like you’re wearing your slippers to work — so much better than flip-flops!
Top right: These black slingback kitten heels look great with pants or skirts and keep you cool in the hot weather.
Middle left: A little more on the pricey side but so worth it. Your hot feet will love you. These Donald Pliner slingbacks in camel go with just about everything. (comes in lots of other colors too.)
Middle right: Go ahead and break the rules with these Gabriella Rocha peeptoes. They have a small opening where just the tip of a few toes may be seen — and the heel height is comfortably perfect.
Bottom left: These lightweight leather 2″ heels by Franco Sarto have padded footpads and are super economical at $83.
Bottom right: A little more pricey but the Lumiani pump
in camel croc (it comes in 11 other colors!) is one of my favorites for understated style. They look great with skirts and pants, have padded footbeds and are a comfortable 2-1/4″ high. A less expensive, yet comparable version, is done by RSVP.
About the Author
I live in DC too. Isn’t the point of “business casual” to be more casual than regular business attire? In my (government) office we are allowed to wear open-toe shoes as long as they are tasteful and NOT flip flops. I think perhaps people in this town take their jobs (or their titles) too seriously….
I love these shoes – especially the peep toes – I am loving peep toes this year!
Thank you! I needed this post as well and was just about to ask the same question! My job involves going back-n-forth between office and laboratory during the day, and open-toe shoes are NOT allowed in the lab, but I need to look nice.
Thank you. I live in DC too. (Condi, you’re lucky. My dress code frowns on open toe shoes.)