This is officially the best time to buy heels according to experts

wedding shoes
(Image credit: Rex)

I have good news and bad news. Let me start with the bad news: comfortable heels do not exist. Sorry. Any sort of height on your heels puts pressure on the ball of your feet, and often jams your toes together (which explains why Meghan Markle wears too big shoes).

'There isn’t an ideal heel out there because they all cause some trauma to your feet,' Tania Kapila, D.P.M., doctor of podiatric medicine at DeLoor Podiatry Associates, told Marie Claire US.

But the good news is (in my experience, always good to start with the bad), wearing heels doesn't have to be painful, as long as you do it in moderation.

And the key to this is what time of day you buy your heels, and according to Tania, that's in the afternoon.

'Feet tend to change in size throughout the day because they swell. It’s best to buy shoes in the afternoon or later in the day rather than in the morning. Whatever size shoe fits you better during that time frame is the size you should be buying,' she says.

Which makes sense, because dress shopping after a big meal isn't the same as first thing in the morning, is it?

Tania also said that the comfiest heel height was between one and two inches, and that it was better to avoid pointy heels as they crush your toes together.

Finally, if you want to avoid any gross fungal infections, you should avoid leather or hard materials like vinyl, as they can increase perspiration, so you want a more a breathable material, like nubuck or suede.

Shoe shopping around 4pm anyone?

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.