Fashionable Footwear: The Best Shoes for Bunion Sufferers

I agree with Jen, you must not have bunions.

I had terrible feet, handed down from my Mom, bunions, hammer toes, toes going sideways, etc! By the time I found the right doctor, after 20 years of pain, I told him to cut them off at the knees, they hurt so bad. I was in my late 40’s then and he literally cut the toes off and reconfigured them, first foot, then the next foot 6 weeks later. Best thing I ever did. I’m in my 60’s and still no pain. As far as shoes the only thing I wear is Skechers Shape-Ups, and I was lucky to find a nice leather sandal Shape-Ups that works great. Haven’t been able to find those sandals again but I keep looking! I really don’t know how many other shoes I could wear today but I never want to have that foot pain again so I just stay with what works. I agree, I could of never worn any of the shoes that are shown on this site, dream on!

I agree. We need shoes that are beautiful, yet comfortable and functionable. I have a 6 1/2 – 7 WW foot, bone spurs on my heels, and problems with edema making it hard to find any decent shoes anywhere. I have went from all the normal shoe stores in the major malls to all the major department stores and cannot find anything but the SAS Freetime Walking shoe. Even Nordstroms who use to carry wide widths and narrow heels in the same shoe, no longer carry them. I love these shoes, SAS, and where I use to work, it worked because business casual was allowed, but for most business offices, interviews, outing on the town with friends, and special occasions they do not work. I could not even find flats that would make due. I use to wear Hush Puppies Body Shoe which had a leather upper but the bottom was all man made but very comfortable. It had a square toe box and came up higher so it came over the bone so it would not rub. They only make the Angel II now which is totally man made materials. Easy Spirits made their case by implying they were so comfortable that you could play basketball in them. The wide was so narrow and pointed that it caused my toes to stack up on top of each other making it so I could not walk in them. When I was in high school, my favorite shoe was one I got at Kenny or Thomas McCann. It was a hard leather, platform shoe with a round toe, a chunky heel, and laced up. I wore them for years but they finally got their use. They worked because of the round toe. My doctor has told me to wear flats because of the bone spurs and because my siatica acts up once in a while but I still would like to have a pair of pumps on hand for those occasions you need something more. Do you have any suggestions.

Sufferers, not Suffers —

I love Danskin clogs and most shoes by Born & Clark.

I have horrible feet! A bunion on my right foot at the big toe, wide feet, high arches and hammertoes. I have to agree with the other comments but I know some brands to look at! The brand Gabor has the cutest wedges and the leather is so soft that the straps don’t bother my feet. I can handle these for a few hours. They are the most comfortable shoes with a heel that I’ve found. A couple other brands to try are Soft Spots, Easy Street, Trotters, Cobb Hill, & Aetrex. You can find alot of these shoes at the following stores online; Dardano’s, Foot Smart, and the Walking Company. Good luck ladies! Oh, and Nordstroms carries wide width shoes too!

I have bunions and I disagree that the only shoes for me are ugly ones prescribed by a podiatrist. I’ve wasted a fair amount of money on shoes that did not work, but I have many that do, and my shoe stretcher was one of the best investments I ever made. Real leather shoes help, since they are much more amenable to stretching.

I just got a nice pair of non-leather shoes from DSW for $30. They are called Fidelity by Mix No. 6, a cute pair of slip-on flats with a diagonal strap. Even though they have pointed toes they are comfy because the design is such that the shoe does not cover my bunions. The down side is that they do expose my bunions, so if you’re embarrassed by the look of them this is not ideal. But these shoes are very dressy-looking, enough to wear with a dress, and I was desperate for that. They are available in black or ivory croc or cobalt blue or blush pink smooth leather-look.

Personally, almost any shoes by Merrell fit me and my bunions the best. Merrell has running shoes, hiking shoes, shoes for everyday wear, and some casual-nice shoes. A lot of their options are really stylish, while still having the comfy wide toe box and narrow heel.