I used to be a high-heels strutting kind of girl, and even now that I only wear high heels on very rare, special occasions, when I shop for shoes, I’m still attracted to flashy, high-heeled ones, even though I end up almost never wearing them. I have at least one or two pairs of heels in my shoe closet (yes, once upon a time, I went cray with shoes) that I haven’t even worn yet!

I’ve practically retired my colorful, super fancy, and super painful stilettos and platform pumps. These days, you will mostly catch me in flats, sandals, wedges, or occasionally, sneakers, unless it’s a wedding or some really formal affair. And when I do wear heels, I only have a handful of go-to pairs that meet the following criteria: go well with anything, comfortable enough to wear all day as long as I don’t have to stand and walk around in them for much of that day, and both classic and stylish.

I no longer have the energy or endurance to subject my feet, legs, and back to the torture of high heels, no matter how pretty, sexy, stylish, and tall they make me feel. It makes me cringe to sacrifice style for comfort, but it’s hard to find shoes that are both practical and pretty at the same time. We usually have to make the choice between form and function. So far, these have been our choices:

1. Wear flip-flops, sandals, or foldable flats, then carry our heels in a tote. But with everything else in a woman’s purse, we can’t afford the added weight. Imagine having to line up to ride the MRT with your bag weighing like an overnight bag EVERY. SINGLE. DAY?

2. Going out in comfortable yet not-so-nice footwear. But, is that what you really want to be caught wearing when you bump into your ex, your ex’s new girlfriend, your crush, your worst enemy, or pretty much anyone you don’t want to bump into when you’re not confident in your outfit?

3. Panindigan ang stylish heels, even if you can barely stand in them for over five minutes, much less walk from one end of the room to the other. Are those happening pair of heels worth spending the day—and/or night—in pain?

It’s important to look for shoes that combine style, quality, and comfort to accompany you in your everyday journeys. It’s a fashion investment you must make. If you haven’t found such a shoe, you might want to look at the options from Singaporean brand Heatwave, that’s now in Manila. All the shoes you see on this page are from Heatwave, and all of them are designed to try to meet your footwear needs. Go ahead, give them all a second (or third) look!

Heatwave was borne out of a meager shop in the island city to a full-scale footwear brand known for its comfortable, fashionable footwear made for its customers in hands-on, small scale production houses. Its owners made it a point to craft each collection based on trends, practicality, and comfort, and translate these ideas to form by way of hand-crafted manufacturing—eight people work together to produce a single Heatwave pair. But, you’ll be surprised how reasonably priced they are at an average of less than P2,000 a pair!

Each pair is designed with simplicity and elegance in mind, with monthly installments to the seasonal collection, just to give us something to look forward to. View some of the latest styles I spotted at its media launch last month—notice how classic and stylish they all look? Click the first thumbnail to enlarge the image and launch the rest of the slideshow.

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Heatwave shoes come in versatile styles and classic colors, wearable for any occasion, from sun up to sun down. They are known for their manageable heel lengths as well, elevated just enough to boost our height and confidence, without sacrificing comfort. Their flexible soles are made to be anti-slip with wave patterns and texture that inspired Heatwave’s name, perfect for our bipolar weather that has been wet lately—placing maximum support at the sole of each pair.

Heatwave will soon be available on TheShop.ph and The Block at SM North this month, watch for it! You’re sure to find a lot of holiday-friendly pairs among them!

Photos in the gallery by Trixie Reyna
All product photos on the article are courtesy of Heatwave shoes