El Naturalista's 8 Hour Shoe!

Being an employee at Village Shoes requires: A. wearing our adorable footwear and B. wearing them while running up and down stairs and standing all day! It was a sad day when I realized that my 4 inch platform pumps weren’t the ideal shoe for my line of work. Thus far, I have slowly built up my Village Shoes collection and have categorized them by work-shift length: 8 hours vs. 4 hours. Classifying a shoe using the 8 or 4 hour method is something we shop girls like to use to know whether or not we should bring a pair of back-up shoes along depending on how long we’ll be at work that day.

My black Simple Carat tennis shoes I can comfortably wear throughout the duration of my 8 hour shift which is to be expected considering they have a super padded foot-bed and a recycled tire-tread outsole. I find that they’re a lovely vegan alternative to a more traditional sneaker.

Although El Naturalista’s N763 Dome pump has a 3 inch heel, I felt sweet relief when I tried them on for the first time after wearing a pair of (non-Village Shoes) boots all day. These gorgeous pumps have an incredibly comfortable insole and a hidden platform that makes you feel as if you’re walking on a bed of pillows while giving you the height of a higher heel. The round toe on the pump allows your toes to relax and lay naturally in the shoe. These heels were designed so well and feel so comfortable, my co-workers and I have decided that the N763 Dome pump is worth every penny, and in my opinion is an 8 hour shoe. Who doesn’t want a sexy, yet functional shoe?

A great example of a 4 hour shoe would be Mariana by GOLC’s Samantha dress shoe. We have noticed that this is a favorite of local dancers because it’s sexy enough to wear with a beautiful cocktail dress, practical with its 2 ¾ inch heel, and has a smooth bottom which gives you the look and function you want without compromising your dance floor twirls. On the other hand, a co-worker of mine, Jen, wears hers to work when the weather’s nice and has no problem running around all day. Some of us are braver than others!

If you’re a busy lady who runs around all day, or works on your feet, you’ll find that you can look in your closet and classify your shoes in the same way. We all have shoes that we can tango all day in, and some we only sashay in for about 5 hours until we wish we threw some flats in our purse before we left home for the day. I’m a lucky girl to be able to work at a shoe boutique that carries shoes that can meet everyone’s needs (including mine)!

- Post by Amanda