A LETTER FROM A READER

AT 67, I FOUND A SMART SHOE THAT DIDN'T PUNISH MY FEET BY LUNCHTIME

Margaret Pemberton
Boston · August 8, 2026

I almost didn't write this, because it's only a pair of shoes. But I wore them to a christening and stood through the whole thing without shifting from foot to foot, and a friend asked how on earth I was still smiling by the end. So here we are.

For years my going-out shoes came in two kinds. There were the smart ones that looked lovely for about an hour and then pinched and burned until I'd have happily gone barefoot. And there were the comfortable ones — wide, spongy, beige things that did the job but made me feel like I'd given up entirely. Every wedding, every lunch, I had to choose which one I'd regret.

"I wanted one pair I could stand and walk in all afternoon that also looked like I'd made an effort. Just one. Was that really so much?"

HOW IT HAPPENS

Nobody sets out to dread their own shoes. It creeps up. The pretty pair hurts, so you wear it less. The comfy pair is dowdy, so you feel dowdy. And slowly "a shoe I can actually wear out" starts to feel like something that doesn't exist for women our age.

WHAT I HAD WRONG

I'd assumed comfortable had to look orthopaedic, and elegant had to hurt. The Martha is neither. It's from Bennett Boston, an American label that's been quietly dressing women our age for a good twenty years.

It's a closed-toe ballerina with a gentle wedge — the wedge gives you a little lift and steadies you, while a cushioned insole takes the ache out of standing. The crossed elastic straps hold your foot without digging in, and because they're a proper closed-toe shoe they look smart with trousers or a dress, not like a slipper you wore out by mistake. They slip straight on, no bending or buckles. I have the black, and they've quietly become the shoes I reach for whenever I'm actually going somewhere.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE CHRISTENING

I stood for the service, walked to the hall, and stood again for the photos — and my feet simply didn't come into it. A friend who knows my history with shoes asked what I was wearing, because normally by then I'm looking for a chair. My sister said they were smart. Nobody guessed they were the comfortable ones. That's the whole thing at 67 — you want to enjoy the day, not spend it counting down to the moment you can take your shoes off.

THREE THINGS I'VE LEARNED SINCE

A little wedge steadies you. The lift is gentle and sure-footed — I feel more stable, not less.

Closed-toe reads as smart. They go with a dress or trousers and never look like a comfort shoe.

Slip-on matters. No buckles, no bending — I step in and I'm out the door.

ABOUT THE PRICE

I'll be honest about why I'm writing this rather than just telling my sister. The Martha is currently $39.95, down from $80 — half off for their season sale — and when I checked this week the middle sizes were already going. They do it in a US 5 through 8.5, in black, brown, red and blue.

Martha | Closed Wedge Ballerina Shoes

★★★★★ 4.6 out of 5 · 500+ reviews

$80.00 $39.95 — Save 50%

• Cushioned insole that takes the ache out of standing all afternoon
• Gentle wedge for a little lift and steadier footing
• Closed-toe and smart — goes with a dress or trousers, slips straight on
• Sizes US 5–8.5 · black, brown, red & blue · free delivery via USPS

See the Martha Shoes →

Due to high demand for our season sale, the middle sizes are selling first.

I can stand through a whole afternoon and still look smart now — and I stopped choosing which shoes I'd regret.