Is there an upcoming formal event you’re excited about? Or perhaps your new job has a strict business dress code?

Either way, formal business outfits are important for maintaining professionalism. And choosing the right footwear with those outfits is equally essential.

It’s not uncommon to feel completely clueless when it comes to formal footwear.  Those feelings are compared to the situation when you are looking at your assignment and understand that you can’t handle it without professional help with dissertation. We are here for your rescue. While some rules are different for men and women, some universal rules apply to everyone. 

Factors like the design, colors, heel size, quality, and comfort of the shoe not only determine how you feel but also contribute to the image you’re building.

And before you search for your dream pair of formal shoes, you need to get a good grasp of this information.

Luckily for you, there’s no need to look any further.  This article will give you a run-down of everything you need to know about choosing the ideal pair of formal shoes.

Shoes are often the first thing people notice about you. Footwear says a lot about your personality and how seriously you’re taking a situation.

For instance, wear a pair of crocs to an interview, and the recruiters will undoubtedly know you love comfort. But they’ll also think you’re incapable of professional behavior.

While there are many different types of shoes in various designs, professional settings call for a specific set of criteria. 

So, what exactly is a formal shoe? 

It’s more of a spectrum. Just think of it as any footwear that says you mean serious business!

Confused? 

Well, don’t you worry! Keep reading to find out how to pick a decent pair of formal shoes.

#1. Get the Right Fit

I’m sure you are aware that before purchasing a pair of shoes, the first thing you should get right is your feet’ size.

But did you know that your feet can swell up later during the day? Yeah, this explains why sometimes perfectly fitting shoes at the store might seem a little tight during the actual event.

When body temperatures are running higher than usual, our feet might expand slightly, resulting in a swollen foot. This phenomenon might not happen to everyone to the same extent, but it’s best to take precautions. 

So, the wisest thing to do would be to go shoe shopping or do the feet measuring in the afternoons or evening.

Also, formal shoes are often worn with socks, so make sure to try on the shoe with socks on as well. The thickness of your sock will also affect the fitting.

#2.  High Heels or Not?

It’s an age-old question- do formal shoes need to have heels? 

Well, if you’re uncomfortable with them, then no. But generally speaking, most formal shoes for professional settings should have a bit of a heel. However, you also don’t want them to be too high.

The right size heel for dress shoes is one that is not more than an inch in height. This applies to both men and women.

But if you’re a woman looking to dress up for a fancy formal event, higher heels are sometimes required with the outfit. In that case, please be careful about the type of heel you pick. 

You don’t want to be in pain or have bad posture when giving an important speech. It’s best to choose wide heels or ones that look like wedges. Also, avoid wearing heels that curve or are pencil-like in shape for long periods.

#3. Exploring Colors

For men and women alike, neutral colors like brown, black, and grey are the best and safest choice for formal footwear.

However, black is the most versatile and will match any colored outfit you are wearing. So, if you can only get one pair -always stick with black. Brown shoes are also another good primary color to have in your formal collection. 

Women, however, have a bit more leeway in this aspect. When you’re wearing pastels, nudes are a better option. You can even try on silver, cream white, blues, and purples. 

You can get a little more creative and bolder by adding a different pop of color on your feet. Sometimes even pairing patterned shoes, like those with snake prints, might give your formal look more character. 

Just make sure the shoes aren’t clashing with the outfit. Avoid neon colors and stay away from tacky and loud patterns.

#4. The Perfect Design

If you can afford it, splurge on some designer shoes for formal wear. Look at it as an investment, and pick comfy, good quality shoes with a neutral design you can wear with all sorts of outfits.

Men’s formal or business shoes should usually leather, but if you’re on a lower budget, you can find artificial leather shoes as well.  Oxfords, derbies, cap toes, monk straps, and loafers are popular formal shoe designs for men.

But make sure to pick a toe shape that is moderate and not too long.  The shape you choose might not look good with all your outfits, so to be on the safe side, pick one that is the right balance between square and pointed. 

As for women, professional settings are not the place to try out extremely strappy designs. Opt for closed-toe, less extravagant shoe designs instead.

#5. Comfort is Key

Never sacrifice your comfort to look good for an event. In the professional world, where confidence is the best attire you can wear, shoes play a pretty significant role.

Don’t try anything super new on the day of your event, and definitely avoid breaking in shoes you’ve just bought for the first time. Also, think about how much you’ll have to walk around during the event. Some brands actually do a great job at providing stylish shoes that have good support and cushioning. 

If you find a good pair of shoes, make sure to walk around a couple of times wearing both of them. Also, opt for shoes that fit on the very first try. Don’t fall for the whole “you can stretch them in later” tactic.

And don’t forget to check the minor details like whether your toes are feeling cramped and the flexibility of movement.

Things to Keep in Mind

Although these tips are for all genders, men and women will have different experiences when choosing footwear. Here are some extra gender-specific tips you should keep in mind when looking for formal shoes- 

For Men

Footwear for men may seem boring, but it’s a pretty complicated world to navigate. Always make sure to feel the leather the footwear is made of. The shoes should be shiny and smooth, but not so much that you can see your reflection on them.

Overly shiny, plastic-like shoes might actually be a sign of fake leather. Now, there’s no mandatory rule for choosing leather shoes, but they last longer and are sturdier than your average options.

Another tip – for formal settings, it’s a good idea to wear lace-up shoes. While slip-on ones are definitely easier, lace-ups give more of a professional and serious look. Not to mention, they look really great with suits and tuxedos.

For Women

Women have a myriad of options for formal shoes. However, it’s very easy to get carried away with too many choices. 

Sure, there might be a really great pair of shoes for your particular outfit. But you need to make sensible choices about how appropriate it is for the event.

You don’t always have to wear heels –ballerina shoes or loafers can be a pretty good formal look for women.

Ultimately, it depends on the type of event you’re attending. If you want to go glam and glitz – nobody is stopping you. For more serious, professional vibes, an elegant pair of shoes will speak volumes without appearing too flashy.

Also, don’t stress about matching your shoes to the color of your outfits. Color blocking and mix and matching is all the trend right now – just make sure it all ties together well.

Final Thoughts

The saying “Give a woman the right pair of shoes, and she’ll take over the world” isn’t wrong, you know. In fact, it stands true for all genders.

Shoes not only can transform your look entirely but are also responsible for the aura you give out to people. 

And if you have the right pair of formal shoes in professional settings, you’ll feel confident, supported, and comfortable enough to do your job efficiently.

Now that you know the basics do your research and make smart choices. Remember, much like finding the right outfit, and you need to be patient and thorough when looking at your options. 

So, try not to rush and give yourself enough time for the selection. 

Here’s wishing you find the perfect pair of formal shoes that make you feel like a boss!

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Over the years, zero-sized or skinny models ruled the global fashion industry. Curvy and plus-size women’s representation in the fashion world was almost next to none. But soon, popular brands started being more inclusive when it came to women’s fashion. And now, we see curvy women on the ramp and gracing front covers of fashion magazines. From plus-size models to curvy fashion influencers, helping you along the way, it is easy to find apparels and accessories that can enhance your fashion sense.

The seasons of autumn and fall – usually defined by coffee, Netflix, and comfy sweaters – are happily embraced by many. Yet, as a curvy woman, you might hesitate to layer up for fear of looking bulky. But worry not! We have come up with some classic looks for you with sweaters. For a perfect casual or vintage look, all you need is a couple of accessories and the right footwear.

We are all decked up to provide outlooks that you feel comfortable in and can easily carry at all times. If you are looking for an Instagram-worthy sweater style this winter, here are our top suggestions that you must try. 

1. Wrap Style Sweater

Styling a sweater or a more layered look is sometimes difficult to achieve, especially if you have an hourglass figure. The key is to style plus size sweaters in a way that flatters your curvy look. The first style that we have designed for you is a wrap style sweater. This particular design can help you achieve a slim look overall. The wrap at your bust allows you comfort without revealing much of your skin. As the wrap sweater ends near your waist, it also highlights your legs, especially wearing fitted jeans.  

If you want to be bold and beautiful with your choice, we suggest that you wear a dark or bright color sweater that brings vibrancy to your overall look. Again, wearing high boots can give an effortless, charming look. 

You can further widen your options with a wrap-style crop sweater. Just like crop tops, you can easily pair crop sweaters with high-waisted and distressed jeans or a summer dress. A piece of funky jewelry, a watch, or sunglasses will also come in handy when making the final look much more appealing.

2. Oversized Sweater

A few years ago, oversized sweaters were a big NO! But today, the case is different. Oversized sweaters not only provide warmth and comfort in chilly winters but portray an overall cute look. Yet, if not styled correctly, they can give you a frumpy look too. 

To make the most of an oversized sweater, you should be aware that there are two of its kind. The first one is a square and shorter oversized fit, while the second is a straight, longer fit. The best way to style both types is with a tailored bottom such as skinny jeans, ankle pants, or leather leggings. For a chicer look, you can always tuck in the oversized sweater. 

To make your appearance more dramatic, you can further pair these sweaters with long or short skirts, accessories like hats and boots or high heels. But as a curvy woman, you should avoid wearing loose pants or jeans with this type of sweater because it will give you a frumpy look. Wearing an oversized sweater with a flexible bottom will fail to accentuate your hourglass figure.

3. Turtleneck Sweater

Another major hit in winters is turtleneck sweaters. From children to adults, anyone can rock this particular style. Not only are they snug and cozy to wear, but they also look super smart on almost everyone. Being a curvy girl, you can style a turtleneck sweater in a million ways.

From the monochromatic look to bright colors, turtleneck sweaters will make you look attractive! To complete your final look, you can pair this type of sweater with fitted or flared jeans and even miniskirts. A vest, a leather jacket, and a bomber jacket can further emphasize your final turtleneck sweater look.

4. Sweater Dresses

Sweater dresses are one style that makes round every winter season. This particular style flatters all body types. If you pair it with various accessories and footwear, you can achieve your best look. Being one of the most versatile dresses, you wear this type of sweater with almost anything. 

You can wear over the knee boots and ankle boots with this dress for a casual winter look. The former pairing will give you a classic look, while the latter will make you look edgier. 

Since sweater dresses are loose-fitted and straight, they often hide your waist. To emphasize your body structure, you can accessorize your look with a wide belt. But if you think that a simple dress is not going to work in winter, you can layer it up with a coat or wear leggings beneath the sweater. 

Another pro of opting for a sweater dress on a curvy body this winter is that you can go for any color. You can wear nude, pastel colors or go for bold hues; either way, you are going to look fabulous as it is.   

Conclusion

Just like any other season, winter brings its line of fashion. From beanie hats to oversized sweaters, there are numerous chances for you to become a diva. Jumping on the bandwagon, we have created four different winter looks for you to sport this winter. From oversized sweaters to sweater dresses, you can pick up the right accessory and your favorite footwear to achieve that ONE look. 

You’ve probably been wearing a lot of clothing throughout your life. Well of course you have, you probably don’t walk around naked (I hope). But have you ever stopped and wondered why we wear some of the things we wear?

What started outfits like the three-piece suit? Who invented high heels? Like what even is the point of that tiny pocket inside the bigger pocket of jeans?

Where did it all come from? Was it one really entrepreneurial businessman who changed an entire fashion trend? Did it come from something random like a jackpot casino?

I didn’t know and I assumed you didn’t know either, so I decided to look into it and try and dive in and learn about and figure out where these things came from. A long story short is that the history of a lot of these things is kind of muddled. A lot of them are just stuff that has kinda been around and no one really knows where it came from.

The suit and pants

I thought I should start with what I thought would be the simplest. The suit and pants. I (horrendously wrongly) assumed that these originated around the same time as the industrial revolution. Boy, was I wrong!

Why did I think something like this for this long? Honestly, I’m not sure why I thought this other than I haven’t ever actually put more than a brief thought into where suit and pants come from.

The largest theory of where they came from was the military jacket uniforms they have used for a really long time now. And that honestly makes more sense.

It came from militaries starting to use them as fancier, yet easier to maintain, uniforms. Presumably, the look caught on, and over the hundreds of years that they have been used eventually they just became commonplace among anyone wanting to be fancy.

The three-piece suit

The three-piece suit is a bit more complicated because there wasn’t a practical reason that they first got invented.

If you don’t know what a three-piece suit is it’s a suit like the one above except out of three pieces. That’s it has the jacket and pants but also a vest under the jacket. Before this would just be any sort of normal shirt underneath.

Some of you may already know this story, I think it’s one of those tales that keep getting told. At least this one has some truth to it.

The story goes that King Charles the second of the British Empire invented the three-piece suit in 1636. I believe it even says the exact date. But nevertheless, he invented the suit or at least really liked the design someone who did invent it showed him and he made a statement about how he was going to change modern fashion.

He started wearing a three-piece suit and because he was the king many people of the court followed after him and also donned the three-piece suit. After that, it spread to the nobles and higher-ups until the sign of a rich or influential person was depicted in their suit. It wasn’t until the industrial revolution where more and more people were placed into positions of higher standing.

More people were landlords or factory managers and needed to look the part. So that’s how it spread to most of Britain and of course, with them controlling almost a third of the world their influence spread quite far and many other places started copying and using the style of the suit.

While most of the facts in the story are very true, King Charles the second did in fact say those things and probably believed he created the three-piece suit as popular fashion. I think you might be able to say that he did it honestly.

All that is true but there is definitely evidence of people wearing the vest and in fact three-piece suits themselves almost a hundred years before King Charles the second.  Oh, well….

High heels

High heels, shoes with high heels. Perfect for raising your height a few inches, making your legs look longer and making you seem more imposing. Also notoriously uncomfortable, painful and, some doctors would argue, dangerous to your feet.

Whether or not high heels are good for you isn’t what this article is about though. We are here for the history of the shoes, not the ethicallity of what they do to your toes.

The shoe’s history is quite complicated though, especially because the term “high heel” is so broad. A lot of shoes for a really long time have had some sort of thick heel. Persian soldiers in as far back as the tenth century have had high heels in their boots for riding horses. The groove created by the heel and the base of the shoe is great for gripping the stirrups (the things your feet go into) on horses.

This is also the reason why cowboys have their signature cowboy boots. So their feet can stay in the stirrups of their horses better.

The first recorded proof we have of high heels being used as a means of fashion and beauty and not practicality is in the twelfth century, a statue in India depicting a  woman in high heels.

While this trend might have the first recorded use in India it’s almost certain that it was used across the entire world for a very long time. The medieval ages have lots of depictions of people wearing high heels for fashion
King Louis the fourteenth wore high heels to depict and impart status. So that he’d always be the tallest person in the room.

Many noble people wore a form of high heeled or platform shoes called chopines so that their feet wouldn’t have to touch the dirty trash and excrement-strewn roads when they walked them.

Some chopines were as much as thirty inches tall and the noble people were required to walk everywhere with two servants whose job it was to catch the nobles when they tripped.

There are a lot of appearances of high heels throughout history from this point forward. Most, if not all, civilizations had some form of high heels.

Some interesting facts I learned when researching the history of high heels;

• Both the state of Massachusetts and the country of Britain tried to pass laws that would get women who wore high heels to be tried in the same way as witches. This meant a death sentence.
• A town in California called Carmel-By-Sea requires people to have a permit to wear high heels over two inches

Who knew high heels had a really interesting history. I sure didn’t

When you’re in your post-mastectomy recovery period, it’s normal to want to return to an active lifestyle and focus on regaining your fitness levels as soon as possible.  Yoga is often recommended,  not only for its physical benefits but also because of its positive effect on overall well-being.

If you’ve previously had some experience of yoga, you’ll be aware of what’s involved and what you’ll need to adapt after your mastectomy and possibly reconstruction.  If you’re new to the practice, though, there are several things you need to know so that you can gain the most benefit from your practice.

Yoga tends to be used as an umbrella term. Many people imagine it just involves sitting cross-legged on the floor or performing a few contortions in fashionable yoga-wear.  In fact, there are many styles and approaches. Although yoga has boomed in popularity over recent years, and many of its benefits are backed by solid research, some styles may not be appropriate if you’re a beginner who has had recent surgery.  

So, what should you look for when choosing to start yoga classes?

Choose the right style for you

Go to a yoga class today, and you may find yourself in an overheated room, performing intense routines involving flowing movements or stretches which are held for several minutes.  Other yoga classes are based on gentle movements and breathing exercises. 

 Yoga can be wonderfully healing but it’s important to understand the basics of the different styles so you can make the best choice at this phase of your life.  When you’re still recovering after surgery, you’ll need to build up your fitness gradually, and be patient with your body while you regain your previous stamina.  

Yoga styles that typically involve high levels of exertion include Ashtanga, Bikram, Hot Yoga, Power Yoga, and post-beginner Vinyasa.   As it’s likely that your chest muscles may have been cut, postures such as downward-facing dog or planks will not be accessible at this time.  Mastectomy sports bras, which support the muscles during regular activity, won’t help here. Also, the range of motion in your arm may be limited, so again, unless you can work at your own pace, certain postures may be painful or out-of-reach.

Work with an expert teacher

Look for an instructor with years of yoga teaching experience who really knows what they’re doing.  Most teachers are registered with the Yoga Alliance.  If they have the initials RYT200, after their name, they have completed basic yoga teacher training. RYT500 means they have completed advanced training and  RYT500E confirms that they have a substantial record of actually teaching as well as the certification. 

Before joining the class, speak to the teacher and explore his or her experience of the needs of post-mastectomy students.  An experienced teacher will be able to work with you to adapt the postures to meet your needs and will know which are suitable and which to avoid.

Also, check out the number of students in each class.  If there are large groups, the teacher will simply not have time to focus on you or provide the options you’ll need to get the most from the classes. Look for a smaller class with a maximum of 8-10 students.

Focus on what you need the most

Gentle yoga practice can be tremendously nourishing, not only for your body while you regain your strength and range of motion, but also for your mind and spirit. Look for a class where the focus is on breathing exercises (pranayama), and meditation as key parts of the class. You’ll leave feeling calm and re-energized, which can only help you on the road to recovery.

Restorative classes, which use restful poses and lots of supports are ideal.  The aim is to allow your body to feel safe so it can let go and relax, without fear of injury. There is no struggle, no going beyond your limits, no pushing yourself to do anything you’re not ready for. 

A class that incorporates a session of Yoga Nidra (yoga sleep) can help reduce anxiety, relieve stress, and help you re-connect with every part of your body.  An extended, guided Savasana or relaxation practice at the end of each class is also extremely beneficial in restoring your energy and ensuring you leave the class with your thoughts and emotions calm and clear.

In short, yoga can be a wonderful aid on the road to complete recovery. Choose a class that will support you as you move forward with patience, and you’ll most likely want to incorporate it into your life forever.