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Backless loafers are undoubtedly the one flat shoe you should be wearing this season–but the only problem is that they’re actually kind of hard to wear. If you’re a fast walker or someone with a long stride, it’s especially difficult. You end up flexing your toes to try to keep them on, which leads to charley horses (muscle spasms), blisters in weird places and/or foot pain. Not good.
Even women who believe in sacrificing for great shoes would agree that if you don’t *have* to suffer, don’t. I’m here to bring you some life-saving (okay, at least foot-saving) tips for walking in backless loafers without them slipping off or causing you foot issues. Here they are:
1. Use no-slip shoe inserts.
There are tons of products on the market for this purpose–I personally like these Foot Petals Tip Toes ($14.39 for 3 pack)–but the idea is that they are adhesives that either go inside the shoe or on the ball of your foot to prevent the food from slipping out while you walk. They have a texture that prevents your foot from slipping–it’s simple yet very effective. They’re cheap, reusable and definitely worth trying (any cushion, insert or liner from brands like Hollywood Fashion Tape, Dr Scholl’s, Dr Foot, etc should work). They also alleviate foot ball pain from wearing heels–so you can use them in your other shoes, too.
2. Spray your feet with hairspray.
This is not for everyone–it will make your feet sticky and smell like hairspray–but if you already own hairspray it’s a cheap way to solve the problem. Spray the bottom of your foot or the whole foot.
3. Use double sided tape.
Line the shoe with double-sided tape like Hollywood Fashion Tape ($7.98) or place strips of it in a few keep places like the toe, the ball, the sides, to create a sticky surface that your foot can better adhere to. Use doube-sided tape that you already own (it’s also known as “occasion tape” “fashion tape” or “garment tape”) or buy it online. I like the Hollywood Fashion version (above). You’ll definitely get more uses out of it, too–this stuff is great for keeping dresses and tops in place, hemming jeans, etc.
READ MORE: How To Make D’Orsay Flats More Comfortable
4. Put deodorant on your feet.
Antiperspirant is the most effective way to keep your feet from sweating–which might be part of the problem of why you’re slipping out of your backless flats. You can use your regular antiperspirant that you use under your arms. Apply a layer of it to the bottom of your foot, then wait for it to dry completely before putting on your shoes.
5. Make the bottoms of the shoes less slippery.
If you’re wearing new shoes and the ground is slick, you run the risk of having the bottom of the shoe itself slip on the foot (which, in turn, causes your foot to slip out). Prevent this by taking a nail, knife, or something with a sharp pointed end, and scraping it on the bottom of the shoe. You will create scratch marks or visible indentations (don’t worry–the shoe will be perfect fine otherwise). This will make walking WAY easier.
[Photo: Bethany Marie]
