The 6 shoes you *need* in your closet

kay so I have to tell you what happened.

I did a full closet clean-out with a stylist last week and it was one of the best things I've done for my brain in a long time (I documented the whole thing on Instagram, check it out here). Seeing the clutter actually leave your space does something to your head. 

But here's where it got humbling. We got to the sneakers and my stylist's face said everything.

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She said most of them weren't working with my outfits. Obviously it’s not what I wanted to hear, but beauty is pain, so I tossed away my Dior shoes.

I thought I got through the worst of it. But then I sat down with Dr. Courtney Conley, a foot health specialist, and I learned that not only were pretty much all of the shoes I was wearing bad for my style, but from a physician’s perspective, they were bad for my health, too. Not just kind of bad–they could be the root of the back pain I've been dealing with for years.

Dr. Conley reassured me I wasn't alone. Actually, she explained, most of us are buying shoes that are built wrong. You know those super cushioned sneakers you love? They're actually messing with your balance. And those pointed-toe heels we all love? Over time they can actually change the structure of your foot and shorten your calf muscles, which she says is one of the main causes of back pain. So that explains a lot.

The good news is she gave me a list of what shoes I should be wearing instead. I even got my stylist to approve of them, which feels like a miracle at this point, and give me a few more suggestions. I put them all together for you below.

1. Vivobarefoot. These have a wide toe box and thin sole. Dr. Conley calls them the OG of functional footwear.
2. Topo Athletic. These are a great everyday walking shoe. They’ve got a low heel drop and enough cushion for walking in the city.
3. Feelgrounds. These are the shoes that Dr. Conley wore to the studio on set.
4. Grounding. These are physician-approved boots.
5. Asics. My stylist recommends these and I already ordered a pair.
6. Hoffs. I had never heard of these before, but they’re super fashionable and have a ton of unique styles. I got a pair.

This doesn’t mean I’ll never wear heels again. Dr. Conley said there’s a time and a place for every kind of shoe, but I will be swapping a lot of my everyday shoes out with the ones her and my stylist recommended. I linked them all in my Shop My, which you can check out here. And if you want to hear the full conversation with Dr. Conley, including the part where she tells me why flip flops are worse than the F word in her house, the full episode is out now wherever you listen to podcasts. Every week I try to bring you conversations that make you think, maybe laugh, and walk away knowing something you didn't before. This episode does it all.

One more thing. Do you have a friend who would love this? Someone who is also navigating midlife, trying to take better care of her body, and could use a little straight talk mixed in with the good shoe recommendations? Forward this to her. It would mean a lot to me, and honestly, it might mean even more to her.

🧡 Tamsen

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