I've been wearing heels at least three inches high for years now and have discovered the art of picking out the perfect shoe thats comfortable and fits great all day long and I'll show you how to do the same. What inspired me to write this guide was the fact that I hear my friends complain and moan about how their shoes are killing them not even half way through the day. I wondered to myself what kind of shoes are you buying, I wear heels almost every day and my feet rarely hurt so thats why I decided to write this guide. The first rule of buying shoes is to always wear your size ( if you know are a perfect 9 sorry, you are not fitting that 8 so don't even think about trying it on) if you don't know your size ask for a foot measurer they have them in most stores and if they don't have one start high and work your way down. The best time to buy shoes are at the end of the day at that time your feet maybe a little swollen allowing you tell how comfortable those super pointy Manolo's will fit at the end of the day. Whenever buying pointy shoes always go up at least half a size ( we know you're a true 8 1/2 but you'll more than likely have to get a nine for most pointy styles and you can always throw out the box getting rid of any incriminating evidence ). I'm a 9 1/2  and my feet are a little wide so alot of the time I have to buy a size 10 and sometimes companies won't even recognize  9 1/2 as being a real size so they don't even make it but if the shoes fits I'll buy it, I'm not afraid of going up a size and neither should you. You can tell the quality of most shoes by looking at them and if they're leather thats a plus if they have a leather sole thats a double plus, but be aware just because they are leather doesn't mean they're not cheap, make sure the leather is soft but not too soft ex. ( so soft that creases are forming while you try them on ).Whenever buying leather its ok for it to be a little snug, but not too tight because the leather will give after wearing (but not too much its not christmas don't get carried away). You should always check out the stitching on the shoe and check for loose strings or visible glue near the sole . I know some people have a problem with the balls of their feet hurting after wearing those four inch high come get me pumps, but theres a quick fix just get sole cushions to put in your shoes, it will look like a shoe and feel like a  sneaker, ( you know those classic commercials with the women playing basketball in their pumps). I know everyone's heard the saying you get what you pay for and when it comes to shoes its absolutely true, with alot of small chains and local stores once you wear your shoes once there's know returning them, so shop smart,  try on both shoes and walk around the store with them on. Some high end stores like Nordstrom will return them but not all stores I learned that the hard way years ago. I think the problem for alot of us is that having to buy a size 41 in those strappy Gucci sandals when we've always worn a 40 in BCBG will just break our hearts, ...... but get over yourself its just a size and most of the time people aren't worry about the size of your shoe but the store you brought those one of kind , handcrafted,  four inched stilettos.