I'll be the first to admit I'm not exactly a heels person. As someone who works behind a desk all day, I am blessed to have a job where the most pressing shoe decision I have to make in the morning is Am I going to wear flats, or am I going to wear flats? (Yes, seriously.) But recently, I was invited to a friend's wedding, which stirred up my complicated feelings on fancy footwear and made me realize: In my quest for 24/7 comfort, I've somehow become a real, grown-up, adult woman who has no idea how to buy heels — let alone how to wear them.
So needless to say, I was intrigued when I came across a pair of Pashion Footwear convertible heels-to-flats — a new product that lets you convert flats into heels (or vice versa) quickly and easily. I figured that any product that could let me sport heels, while also keeping my safety net close at hand (in case I wanted to switch back), was a winner in my book. Plus, the upcoming wedding was the perfect excuse to give them a whirl.
I showed up at the wedding fully prepared to commit to wearing heels all night long. (I could totally do this! Here's to becoming a HEELS woman!)
The style I was rocking was "Pashionista," a shoe that's touted as "a classic silhouette updated for the modern woman." Hey, I thought. I am nothing if not a modern woman. So stylewise, you could say I was pretty pleased.
I had been looking for a shoe that would either compliment my dress colorwise or at least be somewhat neutral, and an open-toe style design seemed to be perfect too. I also knew ahead of time that the wedding would be outside, so something that could withstand some wet grass or worse, a little bit of dirt, was also a must.
This shoe checked all of the boxes, right off the bat.
Pashionista ($165, Pashion Footwear)
But, just as I feared, my dreams of channeling Beyoncé in sky-high (or at least a few inch) heels were quickly dashed ...
The problem I find with wearing heels — especially if you don't wear them often — is finding a pair that doesn't place all of your weight on the balls of your feet. A better woman than I (ahem, Beyoncé) would probably be able to withstand or even ignore the pain; but within minutes of arriving at the venue, I realized that staying in these heels all night was probably not going to happen.
WOMP. WOMP.
Making matters trickier was that they were a touch big on me. Next time, I'd probably go down a half or even full size, as the website advises. (And because the entire collection ranges from sizes 6 to 11, that's pretty easy.)
I'll also say that as a plus-sized lady, the flexible Stelo arch didn't feel super supportive at first, when I tried the shoe as a heel. It had a touch too much give for me to feel good about walking around.
Still, that could just be me. As a representative of Pashion assured me in an email, the shoes have "passed all standard high heel tests proving that the heels are just as strong, if not stronger, than a traditional high heel."
Luckily, though, ditching my heels wasn't a problem. After all, I already had a pair of flats on me! (Literally.)
Switching out of the heels allowed me to try the convertible function, and transform the shoes right into a comfy flat. It was pretty easy, too — once I took a look at the tools that come included with the product.
Each pair comes with a Pashion Convertible Heel Kit, which includes the patent-pending removable Stelo (that offers arch support), a 4-inch high heel, and rubber heel caps for protective use when you're wearing them as flats.
All I really needed to do was twist the heel and Stelo out of the sole and replace them with the heel cap. Voila!
The process was pretty simple, and I could easily eyeball what piece went where without the instructions. All four pieces of the heel kit came in a drawstring carrying bag and fit in the purse I had brought with me, so I can imagine this would be perfect for a tote bag, a briefcase, or any sort of bag you would bring with you on a night out.
Once the heel cap was on, I could walk comfortably -- and they still looked nice and polished with my dress.
As a flat, the shoes worked perfectly. They did sort of have a bounce to them, because the sole is meant to be flexible so it can be a heel and a flat. But besides that, it still looked like I was wearing a formal shoe with my dress.
For the sake of good journalism, I did click the heels back on to try dancing in them during the reception, but I'll be honest: I made it through exactly one Pitbull song before I yelled to my friends, "I DON'T KNOW HOW MARIAH DOES THIS!" Then, I promptly switched back to flats.
The final verdict?
The shoes absolutely work and do as promised. In fact, Pashion has two other styles, The Goddess and The Girl Boss, if you are looking for flat/heels for specific occasions such as work or a night out. I really liked that I could have both heels and flats as options for the wedding so I could look dressed up at the ceremony and give my feet a break on the dance floor without being barefoot.
But here's my one caveat: I might hesitate before recommending these to my fellow plus-sized shoppers out there who need a little more support in the arch like I do. These didn't convert me to the church of high heels, but I would recommend this to someone who likes options.
Still not totally sure where you stand on them? You can see more about how the Pashion shoes work right here.
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