Do you remember shoe shopping at Payless as a kid with your parents? When I was little, my parents always bought our back-to-school shoes at Payless because it was affordable and a one-stop shop for the whole family. Later as a teenager, I saved up my own money to buy “fun fashion shoes” from there, which is what I used to call any shoe that wasn’t a sneaker. (Even then I appreciated the power of high heels!) Now as a mom myself of three boys, I carry on that back-to-school shoe shopping tradition at Payless. But I’ll be honest, I haven’t shopped there for myself in years, so when Payless reached out to me to try some of their new women’s styles, I was game.
With fall approaching, I’ve been feeling all sorts of heart eyes for cognac shoes. I love this Havana Huarache Block Heel, which has a woven upper design reminiscent of the traditional Mexican sandal. This shoe from Payless has an updated huarache caged design and 3.5” block heel. I walked all day in these when we took the boys into the city by train to eat at Chicago French Market downtown – and my feet didn’t hurt once! I’m pleasantly surprised to find that Payless has upped their style (and quality) game for women’s shoes since my teenage years, and I wouldn’t mind also adding these lace-up block heels or these red wedges to my current “fun fashion shoe” collection.
My oldest boy, Roman, is wearing the Boy’s Rieder Mid-Top Skate, his first pair of “big boy shoes” (aka it has legit laces) – and he’s as excited as can be to learn how to tie shoes! I love the Boys’ Toddler Benton Boat Shoe for my three-year old, Rhys, because it has a Velcro tab which makes it super easy for him to slip it on and off by himself. (Though he was a teeeeeny bit disappointed to find that this shoe doesn’t have mini side pockets like the KangaROOS) And finally, baby Cole has on the Boys’ Toddler Preston Casual, which comes in a preppy dark gray with brown accents – the perfect neutral go-to shoe for anything he wears!
*created in partnership with Payless ShoeSource.
