Prioritize built-in arch support, padding on the front of the foot or back ankle, soft interior materials like memory foam footbeds and enough room to wiggle your toes. ✔️ Features: When it comes to shoes, comfort is key. The most common forms include loafers, ballet flats, booties, pumps and mules. ✔️ Style: You may think you're stuck choosing from the same blah options, but there are a ton of comfy dress shoes that match your personal style well.

No matter how trendy the pair is, if it's uncomfy from the beginning, it's not the right shoe for you. You cannot rely on the shoe stretching with wear to get comfier.

✔️ Immediate comfort: While many people still believe you need to break in your shoes, the shoes really should be comfortable to wear right away. Deming notes that 'shoe sizes aren't standardized and they vary by brand' with some running smaller/larger or wider/narrower. Try pairs with wide sizing if the toe box feels cramped. 'Bunions or other deformities will be under pressure if your shoe isn't wide enough,' cautions Deming. ✔️ Sizing: Deming suggests starting with sizing as 'numerous studies have shown that more than 50% of women are wearing the incorrect size.' Don't just consider the number size, but also the width. Once you've read our recommendations, scroll on to learn more about how we test shoes in the Good Housekeeping Institute as well as a shopping guide with tips from a podiatrist to help you find your perfect pair.

Keeping these valued features top of mind, we rounded up the most comfortable women's dress shoes out there. In these tests, we evaluate comfort, fit and support from testers' feedback, while podiatrists weigh in on the shoe's support and stability. We tested and vetted a variety of shoes with built-in arch support, cushion footbeds and lower heels, including options from our most comfortable shoe and best walking shoe guides. 'It can be a challenge, saying it mildly, to find a pair of dress shoes you like cosmetically and a pair you’ll be comfortable in,' notes Deming. To find the most comfortable buys, we collaborated with Ira Deming, D.P.M., a podiatrist in Maryland who has been a three-time past chair of the Subsection of Podiatric Surgery at Suburban Hospital - Johns Hopkins Medicine, to give expert advice on how to find dress shoes that won't hurt your feet, even if you suffer from plantar fasciitis or bunions.

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