Footwear can serve many different purposes; it can be style, comfort, practicable or draw attention. In this weekly fashion component, we’ll go through some of the most common footwear, breaking them down to when and why you should be wearing them.

In the spring everyone wants to wear sandals, but they also happen to be notorious for flatness and lack of support. That being said, there is a time and place for sandals, like every other shoe option.

Sandals are good for days when you aren’t going to be walking around a lot or are going to need to be on your feet a lot. They’re fine for a school day because the brief walking from class to class should not be too hard on your feet.

Everyone should have in their closet at least two pairs of sandals for the summer months, on black and one tan/brown. That way for the special occasions when sandals seem to be the only acceptable shoe you still have options. Someone who wears sandals on regular bases should have a much larger collection because the flatness of the show makes them easy to wear down shortening the lifetime of each pair.

For style, look for the platform sandals or boat style shoe. These offer a little more support than the regular sandal and overall more shoe. Covering the top of the foot also provides protection from the wind, rain and any other objects that your feet might interact with on a regular day.

Sperrys are the go-to boat shoe for both boys and girls, but any version of a knockoff will be totally acceptable. They are also good for late nights out with minimal walking when it might get a little chillier.

You should have the most of these types of shoes because they best serve most occasions. Having multiples options will make sure that shoe options will not limit the outfits you can wear.

For comfort don’t disregard the well-styled tennis shoe, and it doesn’t have the be the basic Nike tennis shoe. Walking is an inevitable part of life, and our feet go through a lot so when we do need to, we need to give them some proper shoes.

Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor all make good shoes for physical activity, but other than athleisure attire they are hard to style in an outfit. If you need comfort try Toms tennis shoes for a casual tennis shoe than be dressed for any occasion.

And finally attention-grabbing shoes: heals. Heals don’t have a place in many events and are pretty self-explanatory. They need to be worn cautiously, they need to be worn for sitting or for pictures. If there is going to be walking or standing then go ahead and skip the heels.

For the summer keep the wick wedges in mind for causal heal movement without making it hard on yourself. Only wear fancy, shiny or pointed heels for business events, otherwise, there are not needed.

Picking out good shoes is an important part of everyday outfits. Because they serve so many different functions, you need to make sure that you are making the right choices or else your feet will pay the price.