Sneakers for stylish women over 50

I remember the exact moment my feet rebelled against high heels for the first time. I was 47, too young to have a mutiny on my feet, but this unexpectedly mutilated moment happened as I was walking down the aisle to marry James. My shoes are silver, strappy, and sexy, on four-inch heels. During the ceremony, the pain went away, but as soon as the ceremony was over, it was like being stabbed in the foot by a Ginza sword.

I was barefoot when we got to reception and I stayed that way for the rest of the day.

There is no part of a woman’s body that is not destroyed by time. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could choose which one we want to keep intact? Some of us may choose to keep our jaws in shape, but what does it matter if our memory isn’t on lunch? Then there are our hands and necks, which are deadly evidence of a woman’s age. Sure, we can walk around with our hands in our pockets like runway models.

As Nora Ephron wrote, we can put on “a mandarin duck collar that looks like a version of Happy Club.”

I’ve read that as we age, we lose fat pads on the soles of our feet. I’ve tried padding under the balls of my feet and I still feel like I’m walking on shattered glass, even in kitten heels. Nancy Pelosi is 81 and still wears four-inch heels. How does she do this? Do you think Mrs Speaker had Botox on the soles of her feet? It stops migraine pain and keeps underarms dry.

Maybe it works for feet too.

Since my feet are size 9 and width 6A, 99% of the shoes I try on are straight out, so my shoe closet is always a bit empty. Today I ordered my first pair of real white sneakers online. Pray they are narrow enough. I liked Keds decades ago because they were more streamlined than the bulky traditional sneakers that runners wear. There are a lot of streamlined sneakers these days that have better insoles and cushioning for our feet and look great with casual and even formal wear on the taller side.

Did you know that brides of all ages are wearing Common Project sneakers, a favorite of stylish women like my friend and HSN’s jewelry expert Carol Brody? Although if you read my interview with Carol, you’ll find that one of her guilty pleasures is her sexy high heels.