Summer shoe crisis? Here are the four types you need

Shopping for more dresses is no great hardship with so many around, but summer shoes? I’m having something of a crisis there. It all seemed very hopeful at the beginning of summer, as shops filled up with chic backless mules and woven-leather pumps, but I quickly found those to be unfit for purpose; even my trainers feel too hot and heavy with light summer dresses. By my reckoning, some combination of the four following styles is necessary.

Teeny heels in town

You want a shoe with a strap; anything backless necessitates an element of shuffling that’s unsuited to running for trains or travelling on escalators – and even if you don’t come a-cropper, flinging your shoe out in front of you, that slapping sound would drive anyone mad. For day, I find anything too flat uncomfortable – a bit of height, even the tiniest heel, makes a difference. Avoid thin soles as you’ll feel every pebble through them. Stacked heel styles, like Loeffler Randall’s velvet and By Far’s patent leather, are good for evening, or look for flats with an embellished element (pearls, crystals – try Nicholas Kirkwood and Kurt Geiger), which will work for day and night.

Nicholas Kirkwood sandals, £465, Net-A-Porter 

Holiday sandals

I prefer flat sandals when I’m away – less precarious on cobbled streets while exploring. I also don’t work up enough speed on holiday to risk the aforementioned sandal-flinging, so backless styles are fine. Classic colours – tan, black, navy – are always chic: try Dune’s Loupe sandal, anything from Ancient Greek or ATP atelier, or Valia Gabriel, a Greek label I recently discovered at Byrory.com.

Any town sandals that have seen too much wear to be smart enough in that context can be repurposed for the beach. If you’re shopping specifically for holiday, though, you can try something a bit more unusual, like Carrie Forbes’s multi-coloured raffia slides.

Carrie Forbes sandals, £285, Matches

Espadrilles

In temperatures when leather makes for sweaty feet and blisters, espadrilles are blissfully cool. Heels feel like too much hard work, and definitely are on lawns at the races or weddings – I bought a new pair of Castaner espadrilles to wear with a long printed dress to the polo last weekend: lots of standing and navigating uneven ground, but they didn’t rub, and my feet didn’t ache a bit.

I chose black to go with as much as possible, but the cream would look great with a tan (not something I need to consider, thanks to my Scottish side) and there are satin options for evening.

Castaner espadrilles, £123, MyTheresa

Pointy ballerinas

This summer’s easy slip-on is along the lines of a ballerina, but with a pointed toe. The most flattering are cut into a V across the toes to employ the same slimming and elongating magic as a V-neck top. LK Bennett’s black is classic, but I’m also tempted by the leopard print. I’d only wear them with black cigarette pants though, lest I veer into Theresa May territory. Cos’s beige has the brightening effect of white shoes, but looks a bit more expensive. While Mango has a higher, straight-cut flat in zebra print.

Flats, £130, Aeyde

The above will see you through August and September too – past that, pack the espadrilles and sandals away for next summer, and look for a good pair of boots to alternate with your pointy ballerinas. I’m sure I’ll feel differently when winter sets in, but at this moment, the idea of days cool enough for boot shopping appeals…