In years past, I would routinely buy sky-high stilettos and pair them with my outfits, even if they were nearly impossible to walk in an hour into the night. At 5’9”, I hardly needed the boost in height, but I did it for the sake of fashion. More recently, I have retired most of my taller heels and replaced them with equally cool but dramatically more practical styles—and it seems that the movement to more comfortable shoe styles is part of a larger trend.
In Pinterest’s August 2018 Global Fashion Report, the company addressed the biggest trends from this year, according to data from over 602 million boards dedicated to fashion. While many of the findings are interesting, the most staggering figures are tied to shoe trends in the United States. In the U.S., searches on Pinterest for block heels increased 333% from January 2018 to 2018. Pinterest noted that “this chunky heel continues to be a few steps ahead of other styles like stilettos or kitten heels.”
Shoes that are both comfortable and cool are what dreams are made of, and the news that the block heel silhouette continues to be popular brings a smile to my face. Ahead see my edit of the best block-heel shoes of the season, listed from most expensive to under-$100 versions.