Tween Shoes for Success

Your shoes should never hold you back!

I've got some really sad news and I'm not sure how to break it. This might be one of the last few years of cute, sparkly, brightly colored, and bedazzled shoes being readily available in your size. I don't understand it either, it's like shoe manufacturers don't think teenagers or adults can have fun, which is especially heartbreaking if, like I was, you're a foot-size bigger than other tweens.

My advice: wear those shoes! Don't worry about whether they'll match everything in your closet. One of my biggest regrets is not wearing glittery, hot pink sneakers when I had the chance. That, and wearing shoes that were uncomfortable. That's why I think the concept of shoes for success is brilliantly awesome. We wear shoes almost everywhere, they should never hold us back, never stop us from our goals, and especially never keep us from having fun.

Here are some tricks for making sure you're wearing shoes for success:

• Shoe sizes vary from brand to brand, so don't hesitate to go up or down a few sizes until you find a comfortable fit.
  
  
• You'll notice that shoes (like feet!) come in a variety of shapes: narrow, wide, round toed, different round toe. Before shopping, trace an outline of your foot on paper. You want to find a shoe whose sole is as close to that shape as possible.
  
  
• Stand up. Your big toe or second toe (whichever is longest) shouldn't touch the end of the shoe. There should actually be enough room for you to squeeze a finger between that toe and the end of the shoe (since you can't actually put your finger there, you'll need to guess a little).
  
  
• If you look at the bottom of your foot, you'll notice the widest part of it looks like several circles mashed together. This area is the "ball of your foot;" it should fit comfortably in the shoe's widest part, bonus shoes for success points if the shoe has extra padding here!
  
  
• Fun fact, most people have one foot that is larger than the other! Make sure you try on both shoes. It's better for a shoe to be a little too big on one foot than too small on the other.
  
  
• Another fun fact: feet are bigger at the end of the day than in the mornings, mostly because gravity causes feet to swell throughout the day (they shrink again after a night of horizontal sleeping). Many celebrities attend red-carpet events in high heels that are too big, so after a night of standing and foot swelling, their shoes aren't uncomfortable. Celebrities are a little extreme, but if you're going shoes for success shopping, go after school or in the evenings.
  
  
• Don't buy tight shoes, hoping they'll stretch out. Don't buy shoes that are too big planning to "grow into them." It's bad for your foot and you'll feel clumsy wearing them. Buy shoes in your size, if you outgrow them, that's okay! Treat them well and someone else can have them when they stop fitting.
  
  
• Get active! You'll be living in these shoes: walk laps around the store, jump rope, bust a move, climb steps--if they're church shoes, take a knee! Make sure your heel isn't sliding around, sandal straps aren't rubbing uncomfortably, and the back of the shoe isn't biting into your achilles. Don't be shy about it! You are young and vibrant, if anyone's bothered by dancing in the shoe aisle, shame on them, they don't know skill when they see it. Keep dancing!
  
  
• Lastly, don't ever sacrifice comfort for fashion. You don't just need shoes for success, you need shoes that make you feel unstoppable.

If you're looking for fun ways to show off or highlight your shoes, try wearing them with a similarly colored belt or purse! I once found sunglasses with the same glittery zebra print as my tennis shoes...though I don't think anyone else noticed. *SMH*

And in case you are also one of those awesome people who enjoy browsing photos of shoes, here's a quick sampling of fabulous, tween-approved shoes for success.

Happy Sunday!