We’ve been giving side-eye to the age-old concept that beauty (or style) is pain for, well, ever. Because in no way should you ever sacrifice comfort and happiness for the sake of fashion. Can I get a YES? Great. Alas, even so, there are standard items—in the shoe department especially—that inherently come with a side of soreness.
To be honest, you’re probably well-versed in some of the basic shoe trends that are bad for your feet (ahem, sky-high pumps). But what about the other classic shoes that are stocked in all of our closets? To assess the specific shoes that could cause the most pain and damage, we went straight to an expert by tapping Benjamin Tehrani of Kings Point Foot & Ankle in Los Angeles.
What’s interesting is that he didn’t just advise on the silhouettes that will cause the most pain; he actually ranked the basic shoes we all own from good to straight-out horrendous. Intrigued? Keep scrolling to check out the doctor-endorsed rank list (starting with the best first) and see where your favorite shoes fall on the spectrum. If you’re looking to upgrade your offering with some of the top shoe styles, we curated a range of fresh silhouettes that fit in the most comfortable categories to shop as well.