Lifestyle

FEET WEEK

My Never-Ending Quest for the Perfect ‘Sexy’ Flats

Surely I cannot be the only woman conducting this search. Let’s combine forces.

Joanna ColesChief Creative and Content Officer

PublishedJul 20, 2026, 1:28 PM EDT

UpdatedJul 20, 2026, 2:12 PM EDT

Updated Jul 20, 2026, 2:12 PM EDTPublished Jul 20, 2026, 1:28 PM EDT

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Somewhere between the pointed-toe stilettos, block-heel boots, and chunky wedges, we forget to take care of the feet that wear them. Trends come and go, but healthy feet never go out of style. Welcome to Feet Week, our series on what to wear and how to care for everything from your ankles to your toes.

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Once upon a time, I regarded airports as an extension of the runway. I thought nothing of striding through JFK in five-inch purple suede YSL Tribute sandals with my laptop, an armful of magazines, and a cappuccino before boarding Alitalia to Milan. I can’t even remember if they felt uncomfortable—that was simply part of the glamor tax— but I know they looked fabulous and my sole focus was on staying upright.

Then came two hip replacements.

The good news is that thanks to Dr. Matt Hepinstall and his team at NYU Langone, I can walk for miles again. The bad news is that I now need shoes designed for walking those miles, which has plunged me into the greatest fashion crisis of my adult life.

Finding elegant heels is easy. Finding sensible shoes is even easier. Finding shoes that are both? Somewhere between impossible and a unicorn…

Yes, sneakers have come to the rescue. Veronica Beard makes good ones, and so does Loewe—though the high tongue makes them a bore to get on and off quickly. APLs have saved my feet. The Adidas Samba OGs in silver make me feel like an off-duty French film editor.

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Adidas Samba OG Sneakers in Grey

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But there are only so many times when sneakers are the answer. Sometimes I’m heading for dinner, not a reformer Pilates class.

The real quest is for the sexy flat. Not a “comfort shoe.”

Never call it a comfort shoe.

Every time I open Instagram, Vivaia and Easy Spirit appear, smiling with the evangelical certainty of people who believe they’ve solved my problem. They haven’t. I don’t care how many recyclable water bottles went into making them; if a shoe looks like it’s wandered out of assisted living, it’s a no for me.

Adidas

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Adidas Samba OG Sneakers in Grey (Women’s)

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The tragedy of the flat is not that it’s flat, it’s that it rarely gives you legs. It doesn’t alter your posture. It doesn’t make you walk into a room with that irrational surge of confidence that comes from wearing something completely impractical. A great stiletto isn’t just footwear. It’s architecture. It’s sculpture. It’s optimism.

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Yes, yes, I know kitten and block heels and wedges all have their place. They’re stable, dependable, the Volvos of the shoe world: respectable, safe, and almost impossible to lust after.

I’ve found a few survivors. Roger Vivier’s square-toed suede pumps have that delicious backwards pitch that somehow cheats the eye. I can still hurtle across Manhattan in my silver Vivier pumps—helped enormously by the fact that Catherine Deneuve paired them so beautifully with her trench in Belle de Jour. If they’re good enough for her, they’re good enough for me.

But surely I cannot be the only woman conducting this search. Where is the designer who understands that some of us have titanium hips but unchanged standards? We don’t want orthopedic chic. We don’t want shoes described as “supportive.” We don’t want to look “age appropriate,” whatever that means.

We want elegance with a lower center of gravity.

Somewhere between my old five-inch YSL Tributes and the determinedly unsupportive ballet flat lies the Holy Grail: a shoe that says: “Yes, I could comfortably walk three miles across Paris—but I also might accidentally run into George Clooney.”

If you’ve found it, please let me know.

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This article was originally published on Substack. Want to read more from Joanna Coles? Subscribe to PRIMAL SCREAM.

Joanna ColesChief Creative and Content Officer

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