If I want to wear shoes with a winter day dress...

[bingowingsmcgee]

What kind of thing might work? I'm apple shaped and look decidedly better in dresses, so I'm planning to wear casual day dresses all winter, cos otherwise it'll be joggers and I personally look like a sack of spuds in them. To complicate matters, I've come to the conclusion after years of experimenting, that I just don't like boots with dresses. (on me, anyway). Does anyone have any idea what kind of shoes would work with casual/smart casual dresses? I'm too fat to look whimsical or preppy in brogues/flats and proper heeled shoes are gonna be too formal for my life as a SAMH. I am stumped and would welcome any suggestions

You've ruled out a lot there. Wedge heeled shoes? They're easier to walk in but still a heel. Or shoe boots, with a v tip to elongate legs. They will cover your feet more than a normal shoe,vwhich is good for winter but don't cut legs off at the ankle, like boots.
I'd still be inclined to wear knee high boots in winter, if you can find some you like.

I don't know either - I like dresses but darned if I know what footwear works nowadays for winter if not boots.

I'm with you OP, really don't like ankle boots with dresses, they mostly look terrible unless you've got little stick calves or are exactly the right height of boot. Oh for the 90s when there were all those flatform pumps around! (Which would probably look hideous now to be fair!)

Can you wear trainers? I wear midi dresses with tights (taupe or dark burgundy or coffee coloured rather than black) with Stan Smith type trainers. But maybe not for work. Maybe as pp said if you need something smarter maybe a wedge type pump or Mary Jane type shoe? Or platform/heeled loafer?

You've ruled most types of footwear - all kinds of boots, brogues, flats, heeled shoes. That I can think of, that only leaves sandals (clearly not suitable), loafers (probably difficult to find a pair that will work well with casual dresses) and trainers. So trainers it is then.

What about a good pair of Doc Martin’s loafers?

Trainers or docs

Dresses are my staple go to wardrobe item. I love them. But OP, l think you need to broaden your footwear spectrum. You have ruled so much out. Ballet flats work for me.

I think a try on session in front of a full length mirror is due.

I'll guess the OP won't like the idea of trainers, they really wouldn't work for me.
Low wedge it is then I reckon. A quick look suggests there are some with a wee bit of platform which look quite nice... others take me back to my 70s teenage.

Stan Smith style trainers every time.

I wore a longish dress with opaque tights and flat pointy shoes yesterday. It was all kinds of wrong, I felt like I was dressed as either a witch for Halloween or Nora Batty.

For me, opaques and flats are OK casually with a short fitted dress but anything flowy or long needs boots. For this winter I'm going with comfortable flowy dresses and chunky ankle boots.

@KittyMcKitty

Stan Smith style trainers every time.

Yes in summer with bare legs but with tights? Or bare legs all winter?

RunBackwards sometimes bare legs, sometimes socks, sometimes tights - my dresses are all somewhere between mid calf and ankle so not a problem.

If you won’t wear boots, brogues, heels or flats there’s not much left!

What sort of dresses? that will make a difference.

Wear what your comfortable in. I tend to have lowish heels, not flat and as for style they tend to be 'Mary Jane' style (hate that term) Though really its whats comfortable, fits and is cheap.

I nearly always wear a dress as that’s my comfort item. I hate trousers always have done.
I wear casual dresses with loafers or trainers. Just succumbed to stab smiths after thinking they would look stupid and actually love them and unlike flat shoes they are comfortable to wear as have a bit of bounce in them. And I got the ones with the navy back as thought it was more versatile and less obvious than the green.
I do wear boots though it’s just finding the right length of short boots that they look good. For me that’s slightly taller than ankle. Next have a good range.

This is out of stock but the sort of style I think might work.

www.mozimo.co.uk/womens-shoes-handbags-c70/womens-shoes-c79/gabor-teller-womens-wedge-shoe-in-purple-suede-p7032

I am apple shaped and like wearing dresses. In winter I like Chelsea boots with them. Your best bet is to put on a dress and go to a shoe shop and try lots of different styles on.

I think if it's the kind of dress you could wear with white stan smith type trainers in summer they can work with black tights and black vans in the winter.

@UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter - Are you my double? I’ve been told l even refused to wear trousers at nursery.

In more recent times I’ve been referred to as a dress wearing feminist. Whatever one of those is!

Low Chelsea boots or trainers are the only thing that look good in my view. Everything else is mumsy

Heeled ankle boots.

Another fan of Stan smith style trainers here

'mumsy' @Oly4 , really?
I thought most of Mumsnet had got the memo about using mysoginst language

I’m a curvy dresses person, and I do do boots with dresses in winter (chunky, furry Josef Seibel ones most of the time) but if I’m not in boots I’m in Superga trainers. Gold glitter ones usually. Go with everything. Are nice trainers an option?

I was somewhere over the summer and a lady was attending wearing a joules type jersey dress (that’s an example of the style I thought) with opaque tights and she was wearing Clark’s Griffin with it, thought it looked well, but they’re flat. Not sure if they’d work for you.
www.clarks.co.uk/c/Griffin-Town/p/26143107