The World's Most Practical (and sexy) Heel?

Hard-Working Shoes: I base my clothing and accessory purchases on a combination of three things: comfort, practicality, and a gut feeling. While the first two considerations seem really boring, hundreds of unworn items and numerous "WTF was I thinking" moments have taught me to be much more vigilante about what I spend my money on. I want my wardrobe to do some serious work for me; I want to be able to wear an item (especially shoes) until they are worn out and I can look at them and say "Thanks...it's been a great run!" OK, if I spend under $25 for a pair of shoes, they are allowed to be a little impractical (for example, my really uncomfortable but very rad neon yellow heels from the 80's), but if they cost more than that, I want some staying power. Because of these qualifications, I have a notoriously difficult relationship with heels -- they have the ability to make almost any outfit "sing," but with so many cute flats out there, I have been harder and harder pressed to find excuses to pull my heels out of the closet.

A Good Buy: So, out of the fear that I might be headed down the path of Birkenstocks and orthopedic shoes, I made it my quest a few weeks ago to find a pair of heels that I would actually want to wear...often. I decided light brown leather sandals would be the most versatile, because they would look great with all of my variously-colored tights and most of my skirts and dresses. They can also be worn more casually (with a pair of great pleated pants), which is a plus in my there's-never-an-excuse-to-dress-up world. In addition, I wanted a heel that was slightly chunky, so the hobble-factor would be cut to a minimum. After much searching and list-making, I found my dream pair on Zappos.com -- a pair of strappy, chunky Seychelles made out of the softest leather...and with the cutest liberty print floral detail on the inside:



These were some of my runner-ups; so hard to choose:

All shoes from Zappos. com. First Row: Frye Amy sling-Back; Nine West Antonela; Nine West Sulliban; Michael Kors Bergen platform Madras; Second row: Frye Gabby buckle-T heel; Ralph Lauren Erin; Matisse Gilligan; Mia Worship.