How to Choose the Right Shoes to Wear on a Date

We’ve all spent hours trying on different outfits for a big date, whether we like to admit it or not. Deciding on the right pair of shoes to go with the outfit can cause problems. You don’t want to make an unwise shoe selection, so learn from these foolproof tips.

Instructions

1. Find out where you are going on the date. This is highly important, because you need to know how much walking or standing you will be doing. Knowing this in advance will greatly affect your shoe choice.

2. Consider where you might end up. Is the date going to involve one location or a few? Think about this as well before deciding on shoes.

3. When in doubt, choose ballet flats. They come in casual and dressy styles, most are fairly comfortable, and they go with every type of outfit: skirts, dresses, pants, jeans, shorts and anything else that you can think of. Therefore, they are suitable for any occasion or circumstance. Flats are appropriate for miniature golf, bowling, movies, dog walking, dinner, dancing--you name it. Many shoe companies make ballet flats, and they are available in a myriad of colors and styles.

4. Choose heels (and wedges) for a more formal date, or when you know the shoes are comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time. Make sure that you are comfortable walking in them. This is another reason why it’s so important to know where you’re going on the date. You may love your 3" heels. But if they kill your feet, they are not a good choice. Plus, what if you fall? That would hardly make a good impression.

5. Choose sandals--whether flip-flops or heels--cautiously. Are you sure that you want to show off your feet, especially if it’s a first date? When was the last time you had a pedicure, or even painted your toenails?

6. Choose boots in the same way that you would choose heels or flats. The same rules apply. There are two particular problems here, though. First, boots are not all-weather footwear, and are obviously not an option in the middle of the summer. Second, they can make you somewhat sweaty, even if it is 20 degrees outside. And at some point in the date, the boots may come off--to put it delicately. In such a case, do you really want to have smelly, sticky, sweaty feet and legs? Probably not.