I am packing for a trip to NYC.
Here are the shoes women are wearing in Paris:
www.findingnoon.com

Are the same looks, ballerines, low boots and kitty kat heels in there, too? Also, the Paris sidewalks are murder on my heels. I am packing now, so any guidance will be appreciated. Merci!

comfortable walking shoes

Anything goes in NYC. But comfort is the priority, for me anyway.

All shoes should be comfortble. If you wear ugly shoes - your feet will look ugly. No doubt a bigger concern for you than for others. (Just like the French we CAN tell tourists from their clothes - if not their accents - and don't really care. But we do retain the right to laugh.)

Every shoe in the link would be appropriate in NY if you are a shoe/fashion person (even some of the brands are the same -- Tory Burch ballerinas, for ex., which are ubiquitous in San Francisco at least). And I think some of them are fabulous. But I wouldn't wear any of them as a tourist in NY! Comfortable but not ugly is my shoe mantra.

I wear platforms...stylish and comfortable. I have plantar fasciitis and flats are the worst for that! I also am 5'2" so no flats for me, ever. I wore Jimmy Choo platforms all over NYC last weekend.

Hi Phread - welcome to NYC!

It's been a wet, cold spring here too, well at least after the 80-degree temps in March! Finally supposed to be warming up today into the weekend...

I'd have to say the shoe styles in NYC are pretty much the same as you photographed in Paris, though I haven't seen those "kilim" styles yet. Any kind of boot at any time of year, too - I didn't see knee-high boots in your pics, but they're still in here.

As for sidewalks being murder on your heels, don't expect any different here. Less cobblestones, more potholes... If you think you'll be doing a lot of walking (museums, tourist sights), wear what you would be comfortable in for a long period of time - IMO, just like Paris!

* I have always been super-conscious of what I put on my feet in Paris. When I lived there as a student, the very first thing I bought were a pair of cheap-but-fashionable shoes so I wouldn't look like the Américaine - and then suffered terrible blisters and pinching for weeks LOL. There used to be such a difference in style! But IMO that difference has narrowed to the point of almost nonexistence. Voilà globalization!

What are you doing in New York City? If it's sightseeing, then I would wear comfortable walking shoes. Save the fashion statement for evening when you're going to a restaurant in a taxi.

Geesh - you women. My dad was a Podiatrist and you were his best customers - always trying to stuff your tootsies into tight, ill-fitting but very attractive shoes.

Wear what is comfortable - best for walking - and don't worry about it. At night - you can wear something more stylish out to dinner, etc.

Thanks all. I had six pairs out, think I've narrowed it down to 4. I purchased a gorgeous pair of relatively flat shoes last week and when I put them on to prep for the trip, they tore my feet apart!!!

I never travel with new shoes.

Personally, I think they boots in the second to last pic would be best for tromping around NYC all day. Then switch into something more chic for night (but still comfortable).

You will walk your feet off in NYC. You don't want your poor puppies barking (feet hurting) and burning while you are out- that is the WORST. Second worst is when they feel like that after you get back to the hotel.

Take some foot soak or get some at a Duane Reed drug store (they are all over Manhattan) and also some menthol/aloe foot rub. These are the ones I ALWAYS take to NYC w/me:

Johnson's Foot Soap (this is a fantastic mineral foot soak available from Amazon.com or other places online- soak for 10 min. and your sore feet will be back to normal, unless you have really damaged them w/blisters, etc)

Miracle of Aloe (the co.) makes a product called "Miracle Rub" that contains lots of aloe and menthol. OMG, when your feet hurt from walking so much this stuff really does the trick. soak in the Johnson's foot soap and then apply the miracle rub. Available online.

Those are my best secrets for dealing w/NYC walking and footwear.

Wear comfortable shoes.
New York City is a great city for walking.
See this week's "Modern Family."

HTTY

>>

I just thought the same thing

If you wear socks - and I realize many of you won't - change them during the day. That also helps keep the feet fresher.

And yes, soaking those barking dogs at night can help - as well as getting the load off with a cool one or two.

Geesh - I hardly ever watch the TV Soaps - and not Modern Family for sure.

Uno Mas - as Suze says: Never travel with new shoes!!! Try them on ahead of time and break them in - even if it's on your home carpet. Nothing like getting blisters, etc from a new pair of shoes and then saying to yourself: How could I have been such a dummy? ? ?

Nothing ruins a vacation faster than trying to walk on sore paws.

Forgot to add: Unless you are young and fit as can be (uber thin) - wear shoes with good support. I see these young gals in ballet slippers or stiletto heels and wonder how long it will be until they have some problems with their feet/lower extremities, but they just skip on along. (And yes, do look cute in them!!!)

Boots are NOT the best thing to wear all day. the weather is getting warmer and your poor feet will be burning in boots - never mind how overheated the rest of you will be. Wear comfy flat or low wedge heels - whatever is comfy for walking several miles. (On the weekend I have several pairs of pretty skechers mary janes that I wear - can walk in forever with not a twinge.) Just be aware that pavements can be uneven and that many streets have gratings (providing air to subway) so you need to be really careful of anything with any sort of narrow heel.

Tomsd,
Modern Family is not a soap. It is a sit com and is a riot.

Comfortable, fashionable walking shoes. They are not mutually exclusive. I go for comfort, otherwise I can't enjoy my vacation. Life is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes!