Everyone has their definition of fashionable. Your main concern needs to be healing your foot. If these fit great and are very comfortable, go for it.

If you'd like more choices, do you have a store near you that sells ABEO? Taos also sells cute supportive sandals. It's all about the fit though.

Check out the brands Naot and Vionic. Also look at the blog Barking Dog shoes, she reviews all sorts of shoes for special feet.

I wear a Vionic flip flop as my summer indoor slipper and a pair of clogs for winter slippers. The clog is as ugly as sin but it never leaves the house and it's comfy and supportive. Both have perfect arch support for me.

I have three pair of Naot sandals. They're $100+ but worth every penny to me. They are supportive and well made.

In one of our many threads about supportive shoes, someone shared the "baked potato test". If you are worried that your supportive shoe might be ugly, look and see if the shoe resembles a baked potato. If it does and you are worried about being fashionable, you should probably keep looking. Your sandals do not look like baked potato :)

Hhireno, I've been doing much reading on Barking Dog! It's a great site that I first heard about here previously.

The sandals above are Naot. I have ordered a pair of Vionic flipflops for quick trips to take the dog out in the morning, etc. - realistically, I know I'm not going to stop to put sneakers on every. single. time. I've also ordered a pair of sandals from Walking Cradles.

I don't anticipate having too much trouble finding solid, supportive sandals to wear to work. Besides Naot, WC, and Vionic I'm also looking at some sandals by Aetrex. I haven't heard of ABEO, d_gw, so I will check them out.

I also think I'll be able to find some orthotic friendly shoes, and boots if I still need them as we get closer to fall.

The important feature with the sandals above it that they have a removable footbed, and will accommodate my custom orthotics. That is what I am having trouble finding - sandals that are custom orthotic friendly.

Thank you all for chiming in. :)

Those are cute. A shoe lesson I've learned through trial and error: you get what you pay for. And a good feeling shoe in one style by a manufacturer doesn't necessarily mean all their styles will feel the same.

I have a bad back and if I don't wear a good shoe with great support I suffer. I've worn Ecco Yucatan sandals for many years (they hold up a long time too). It's the only shoe I can walk all day in and not have a problem. They have multiple points where you can adjust the strap for foot comfort; across the toes, front of ankle, behind the heel. The sole, though a bit clunky looking, is not heavy and packed with support. This spring I switched to a cork bed sandal from Merrill, loved them at first but their support wore down quickly so they're causing some issues. So I'll be going back to my Ecco sandals. They aren't the dressiest looking things, but for casual wear or lots of walking I highly recommend them.

Also just a note, I tried on a pair of Naot winter shoes last year. They're made in Israel and can be found in specialty shoe stores. I was blown away at how good they felt. I haven't tried any of their summer shoes. It's a brand I'd recommend looking into.

Also, if you try Ecco, beware great Amazon deals. I bought a couple pair for less $ and didn't notice till I'd worn them awhile that the straps were too long for the velcro, so they were probably seconds. Make sure they're sold from Ecco. I've also found them at specialty shoe stores and larger Macys.

They run true to size. My favorite is the Atmosphere/Ice color, nice neutral and if you have lighter skin the straps blend in better, IOW it doesn't draw eyes right to your feet, if that makes sense.
Ecco Yucatan

I should also have mentioned that I live in a smallish city in eastern Canada, so there's not a lot of choice locally. I see plenty of ordering and returning in my future. :) I have a place I can ship-to in Maine, I'm not too far from the border, so that's helpful too. My tentative plan is to order a bunch of options and try on / return when we go on vacation.

And yes - expensive! I can't tell you the last time I bought sneakers, and was shocked at what they cost! When it's all said and done, this won't be an inexpensive endeavor. The sandals I posted above, from a Canadian site, are $189 + tax. Ouch. Oh well - I know I am fortunate that spending $189 on good footwear is even an option, and also for having insurance with 100% coverage on custom orthotics.

I think they're cute - not orthotic looking.

Those are the cutest, orthotic friendly sandals I have seen lately. I have been shopping for some myself and have found Naot is not very comfortable for my foot, so I can't wear them. I hope you have better luck!

I bought Naot last year for a trip and didn't like them. I recently developed what I think is plantar fasciitis. I bought some flip flops by SuperFeet from Amazon and they are helping. Lifts my arch enough that my heel doesn't hurt....you know that stepping on a rock feel. Also bought inserts for my sneakers for when I return to walking.

Maybe I'm wrong, but if I were to purchase the Naot sandals I've pictured above, I'm not sure I would get a 'real' Naot experience as I would be using my own orthotics.

The important feature that I am looking for is a removable footbed to allow the use of my custom orthotic inserts. This fairly easy to find in shoes, but is significantly harder to find in sandals.

Naot is one of the few brands I've found that have removable footbeds in some of their sandals. That is the primary appeal of the ones I've shown above.

The shoes that you posted are cute and on the west coast there would be no hesitation about wearing them. The asymmetrical straps give a nice touch of style that take it above orthotic-looking shoes.

smhinnb just wanted to say I sympathize! I've had sore ankle/tendon/arch/orthotics problems for 20 years! I like the sandals. 20 years ago the selection was not as good to put it lightly.

i either have no fashion sense or vanity, probably both i wear birkenstocks 95 percent of the time even when cooking family meals in the kitchen took dh to the podiatrist for foot, leg pain last month the doc took one look at my shoes and told dh to get himself "some of those" and wear them regularly they would do wonders for his feet..... i figure if i have to go somewhere "nice" i can afford to wear whatever shoes i like for those short periods of time

I wear Vionic flip flops because I had plantar fascitis so bad from wearing $1.00 flip flops all summer. They are on sale right now too. They run a little big in sizing. They have some cute wedges for summer too,

I am not sure I understand. The sandals that you posted, you can wear them as is? If so, I think they look great.

For comfort, I wear the Ecco Atmosphere. I call them my ugly walking sandals. They are the most popular and are never on sale. Even outlets charge the same price for them.

I also have a pair of SAS sandals. They look better than the Ecco's, but still a wide looking shoe.

They can be worn as is, yes.

But you can also remove the footbed and replace it with a custom-made orthotic - which is what I would like to do so I have a sandal that I can wear for a day of walking, etc. For now, my doctor has recommended I wear my custom-made orthotics whenever I am going to be walking or otherwise on my feet for a significant length of time.

I'd take out the Naot footbed, and put mine in.

I have a very similar Josef Seibel sandal and similar need for support. There are not a lot of options that fit my feet but the style you posted looks flattering a stylish in my world.

You're doing the right thing. I move my orthotics from shoe to shoe. I even have ones made for my dance shoes (I'm a lindy hopper). Take the footbeds out of your favorite shoes and use them for the orthotic fittings (they trace it). Then you can use them in any shoe, even sandals.

Smhinnb, I really like the sandals, and I totally get it about the removable foot beds. I have gravitated to Naot and a couple of other brands lately. They are well made and comfortable. Finally the makers of low-heeled shoes seem to get it that we want some more stylish shoes. Those almost look like some Born or Merrell brand shoes I have seen in the past.

I love Birks, but my long 2nd and 3rd toes aren't shaped right for them to he comfy on my left foot.

I think the sandals you pictured look very nice. Another option is Portofino, I know they make sandals with removable inner soles.

I recommend Vionic. You said that your foot is rolling to the inside. That is called "pronation". Vionic shoes are designed to correct that. See here:

Vionic Natural Foot Alignment

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who commented. Lyban, I will check out Portofino - another brand I'd not heard tell of. LucyStar, I have a pair of Vionic sandals ordered - I'm hoping they might even arrive today. For now I'm wearing mostly my Birkenstocks as they are the best choice I already had in my closet. They definitely help, even though I'd almost given up on them. I'm not sure if it's because of my foot but it took a loooooooong time to 'break in' my Birkenstocks. I've had them since last spring and it's just lately I've found them remotely comfortable.

I go back to the specialist to pick up (and start wearing) my custom insoles on Monday. Wish me luck.

I have had custom orthotics for many years but had kind of fallen off wearing them for some reason. all of a sudden plantar fasciitis flared up big time!! Vionic shoes and sandals have saved the day. I wear the slippers every minute in the house, the sneaker types whenever I can and the sandals actually can get me through a day if I don't have a ton of walking. I am recommending to all!

I can wear my Vionics without my orthotics. They have lots of nice sandals and shoes, not just flip flops. I don't know of any Vionics w/ removable footbeds.

All of my Vionic sneakers have removable insoles.

patl8, I had a bad case of plantar fasciitis last year. Went to the podiatrist and had multiple sessions of laser therapy and extracorporeal shockwave therapy. I also had custom orthotics made. But the orthotics that helped me the most were the PROFOOT orthotics for plantar fasciitis. You can get them at Walmart, most drugstores, and Amazon. They are under $10.00. I urge you to try them.

PROFOOT Orthotics

For me the vionics have the correct support that I would not need to switch out the insoles. I did also get vionic insoles to put in my non-vionic shoes. Thanks for the insole tip Lucy.

I did acupuncture, trigger point massage (both helped temporarily) soaked my foot in Epsom salts, used castor oil pack at night, wear a night splint. Yikes, this is hard to live with. But lots of folks have told me that they had it last 5-6 months, so I try to not panic. What is your assessment of the laser therapy and shockwave therapy? It is hard to know if things help or it is the passing of time allowing it to heel. but I don know that putting on those vionic slippers when getting out of bed allows me to walk right away, otherwise I'd be hobbling around.

@eld6161, Is this the sandal? They are on sale @ Macy's.

I think that for most people it is time that heals it. I got it last April and had it for almost a year. I went to the podiatrist for 6 months and had the laser therapy and extracorporeal shockwave therapy treatments. I would say that they helped somewhat. I still had the pain after 6 months and when I asked him what now, he said surgery. I knew that I was not going to have surgery. Not after less than a year anyway. He also offered to inject me with AmnioFix. It is made from the membrane of the amniotic sac that surrounds a baby. There was no way that I was going to be injected with tissue from someone else's body, unless I was in a life or death situation.

I used a night splint and did stretching exercises.

I had a cortisone shot that burned like hell and did nothing to help the pain.

There is one thing that I wish I had done at the beginning, but I did not find out about it until after about 8 months. That is to roll your foot on a golf ball (I used a hard massage ball) for half an hour a day for two weeks. Doing this helped me tremendously. This doctor calls it "the magic cure":

"Finally, the magic cure is to roll a golf ball under the arch for a half-hour once a day. This may hurt the first week. Keep going because by week two the pain will be gone! "

The Running Doc on Plantar Fasciitis

For plantar fasciitis, I use these Birkenstock inserts (buy cheaper on ebay). During an acute episode wear 24/7, between a layer of socks when sleeping. Have found this to be very efeective treatment.

http://www.birkenstock.com/us/blue-footbed-casual-arch-support/1001172-1001173-1001174.html?dwvar_1001172-1001173-1001174_color=01105&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzOT5mrf41AIVSY1-Ch3ysw5bEAQYASABEgKVAPD_BwE

I think the sandals you posted are ok. I think they could be more versatile than some orthotics I've seen. Truthfully, if I needed something to correct pain I would be wearing whatever did the job.

My one friend picked up a pair of brand new Vionics Orthaheel at a second hand store and gave them to me because they were in my size and she heard great things about them.

These.

I don't care for metallic shoes and they're a little clunky looking in general but they are COMFORTABLE. FWIW, I have high arches and no pain other than the occasional times I'm really stupid with my footwear. I wear these around the house often. If I do have any pain these correct it. They really do have support and an arch. They have more support than any shoe I've ever tried on.

I have a pair of leather Naot sandals too and they're comfortable (also clunky looking IMO) but my foot tends to ever slightly slide around in those (front to back) and I find it annoying. I don't think they're as comfortable as the Vionics. As for fashion, doing a quick search I saw they make a Naot wedge that's cute (Naot Pixie). Don't know if they is a great idea for your foot but thought I'd throw it out there! :)

Naot Pixie search

I have been wearing sandals made by Finn--a German company. They have a removable footbed but the one that comes with them works just fine for supporting my ankle and arch.

Also, this is a very useful blog:

Podiatry Shoe Review

My feet are extremely flat and I have lots of problems with them. Spenco is the brand my doc recommended. I have had excellent results with them. They have some cute ones. Look at that brand.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005FZ814C/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have those, so comfortable.

Comes in lots of colors and patterns.

Well this is very timely. Yesterday I had my first PT session. I had a knot/bump come up on the back of my heel. It is from an imflamed bursa. Went to a food dr./surgeon. She thinks most of my problem is an extremely tight achilles tendon. However after my PT evaluation and treatment yesterday (ouch!), which was a more thorough examination, the therapist said that the problem is also with the calf muscle. (Which is so, so sore today btw!) The dr had told me to wear mid heels for now, severely limit my time in flats as that was causing the most pain (stretching). Once PT gets the tendon/muscle stretched out, flats will feel better but she did encourage me to alternate shoes/heel height. The therapist yesterday looked at my shoes and encouraged me to wear tennis shoes (which I absolutely hate other than for exercise) and I expressed my dismay. LOL So, I'll be looking at some of these sandals! My husband wears orthotics for PF, but they haven't been mentioned for me. My therapy yesterday included cupping (painful!), laser and massage where they use a CAR BUFFER wrapped in a towel. It was the weirdest feeling! I may have needling and cutting in my future (cutting with blunt scissors, not an actual cut), but he is reserving these for last resort. LOL I am trying at all costs to avoid surgery.

I too am watching this thread with interest. I have a litany of foot problems going back years and up until a month or two ago, had considered Vionic flip flops as my go-to miracle shoe -- so much so, that I mourned the end of summer and kept wearing them into November when my feet were freezing and people looked at me funny (I'm in PA, so November is definitely not flip flop weather.) But over the last few months, like Tina, I developed an inflamed bursa on the back of my heel due to achilles issues, and the vionic flip flops are too flat for me. Two weeks ago, a few days in advance of our vacation where we had planned a LOT of walking, I went in on an emergency shoe hunt for sandals with a moderate wedge heel - nothing too high because I have ankle instability issues, and it had to be soft and cushiony on the bottom (nothing too thin) because of bone problems I have on the ball of my foot. I ended up finding Bzees, which I think is a company owned by naturalizer. The heel is high enough that it doesn't hurt my achilles and the bottom is supportive enough for the rest of my issues. And while they are expensive, they aren't insanely so -- they run about the same as my vionics and you can actually find them on sale (which the vionics never seemed to be!) I specifically bought the bzees Desire and the Debut models -- you can see them both on this page: Nordstrom Rack Bzees listings

The Desire is actually quite cute but did give me blisters at first where the elastic upper rubbed on my toes. The Debut was unbelievably comfy right out of the box but the way the upper is made out of thick fabric and velcro kind of reminds me of wearing an immobilization boot on my foot. But hey, they allowed me to walk about 10 miles a day through the hills of San Francisco so I quickly got over what they looked like. I don't think any of the Bzees models will work with orthotics but they might help Tina or others with achilles issues.

I'm also watching this thread, I have wide feet, orthotics and a fused ankle. My orthopedic surgeon really wants me wearing "rocker" shoes all the time because of my fused ankle. The ones out there are pretty ugly. I wear Vionic sneakers and have Finn shoes from years ago that need to be replaced. I buy lots of shoes that don't fit/feel right.

Wear whatever makes your feet comfortable. I haven't been able to wear anything except flat shoes until I found these. I was afraid they would look or feel clunky, but I get lots of compliments and they're very comfortable.

FitFlop Cha Cha sandals

I ordered Vionic and Spenco flip flops from Zappos. The Spenco were comfy the second I put them on. The Vionics are going back. The arch is too high for me and it felt like my foot was being forced to roll outwards.

I had the same reaction to the Spenco, super comfy the second I put them on. I have been wearing them daily since I got them. Guess my doc knew what he was talking about! Nice that they have lots of styles and colors too.

If anyone is interested Spenco website has some of their shoes on sale for great prices. I just ordered the Spenco Nomad moc shoes for $39.99 way way below regular price, plus there is a code for 10% off FRIEND10

https://www.spenco.com/closeouts.aspx?catid=53

These sandals have great reviews from people with foot problems ... also a few mentions of added custom orthotics working well. Funny enough before my vacation I wouldn't have thought of buying metallic anything for a casual shoe or sandal. However, the somewhat understated casual fashionably dressed ladies around my age and older in Cheltenham and Bath mixed them with denim but mostly white linen, white ankle and winter white slim jeans. The tops were of more muted tones or like tones so a metallic sandal or shoe just added a bit of hip. I loved the look and bought a pair of cushioned metallic closed toed lace ups for myself. My feet are slightly narrow so unfortunately these sandals wouldn't work for me but I think they are very cute. They come in a few colors.

http://m.zappos.com/p/sofft-mirabelle-anthracite-grid-metallic/product/8647013/color/603896

I thought I'd drop back in and post an update re: my foot issues & quest for sandals.

The custom orthotic inserts I had made have been a bust so far. IMO, they are far to aggressive / rigid. I feel like I'm walking over a golf ball in my shoe.... imagine a teeter-totter.... that's what it feels like, my foot is rolling up and over. Hard to explain. I'm planning to go back to see if they can be adjusted but between my vacation schedule and the pedorthist's, I don't have an appointment until next Monday. Because I've been unsuccessful so far with the custom orthotics I did not buy the pair of sandals that we talked about at the beginning of the thread.

I've ordered / bought 7 pairs of sandals. I'm having great luck with the Vionic sandals (3 pairs) which, if anyone is wondering, I find run very large. I wear a 1/2 size to a full size smaller than usual in the Vionics. All three are very casual, basically an updated structured flip-flop.

I have one pair of Spenco that I like but they're not as comfortable as the Vionics for me. Not quite enough support. I also find the pair I ordered very, very casual looking, more so than the Vionics. I've mainly been wearing the Spencos around the house and out in the yard with the dog, etc. I'd wear them to the beach. They seem to be okay for that but I don't think I could wear them to walk any distance. (edited to add: I also find the Spenco pair I bought run a bit small).

I'm also having good luck with this pair of Naot sandals.

I ordered a pair from Walking Cradles that I sent back - I found them unattractive and awkward and they were too small.

I also bought a pair of Wolky sandals, a brand I had never heard tell of before. They were recommended to me by a clerk in a shoe store. I'm a bit torn on these ones. I like them, and I find them comfortable to walk in as far as my particular foot issue goes. But it seems by feet are also swelling a bit, from walking a lot and the heat I suppose, and the strap across the top of my foot digs in after a bit. The straps are adjustable but even at their loosest they end up too tight. I'm hoping they'll stretch a bit with wear. In hindsight, I wish I had tried them on in a 1/2 size or even a size bigger.

The orthotic insoles that are sold at Costco have also been recommended to me by several people so I may try them in my sneakers. I'm still working to find something to wear specifically for walking - - I often walk the dog 2 - 5 km and I still don't have anything that is great for that. At least with Costco I can return them if they don't work out.

I've also been going to massage and physio, working to strengthen by foot. All in all, it hasn't been too bad so long as I'm careful regarding my footwear. Some days I even manage to forget about it. :)