One of the biggest days of your life is upon you and even though it may seem a little vain to be spending a considerable amount of time planning your graduation outfit, the reality is, your ensemble will live on forever in your pictures. Choosing the perfect graduation shoes is a tricky task and there are many factors to consider. Not only must you contemplate how your footwear will fit in with your school's colors, but you'll also want to pick a pair that you'll feel comfortable in all day, because graduation can be a pretty long affair.
Amongst all of your queries involving your graduation wardrobe choices, one of the biggest that's likely going through your mind is: Will you wear flats or heels to graduation? Although the answer may at first seem impossible to find, there are IMO, three easy questions to ask yourself that will help you break this conundrum down. The first, most important question is: Does your school or college have a strict dress code for graduation? If your educational institute normally has a strict uniform policy or dress code, you may be requested to wear either flats or heels to graduation. Although this is truly archaic, it does make your life a little easier by giving you one less thing to worry about.
However, if your school or college does not have a dress code for graduation, this is where things get tricky – especially if you are strongly opposed to high heels or flats. Referring back to the aforementioned questions to ask yourself, to help you decide what to wear on your feet for graduation, the second question is a difficult one: Will you be able to walk properly, across a stage, with hundreds of people watching you, in a pair of heels? If the answer is yes, you go girl! But, if there is any doubt in your mind, I would strongly suggest opting for flats, because we've all seen those YouTube videos of disastrous graduation stumbles. You don't want to be remembered as the girl who fell off the stage at graduation. Personally, as you can see from the image above, I chose a pair of killer heels for graduation and although I made it safely across the stage, the low level anxiety of wondering if I would make it in once piece wasn't really worth it.
Lastly, the final question you need to ask yourself is: Do you prefer heels or flats? At the end of the day, this is your graduation and your time to celebrate all of your hard work over the past few years, so you don't want to feel uncomfortable or unable to enjoy yourself in a pair of shoes you wouldn't normally wear. In addition to this, don't feel peer pressured to wear a certain shoe type if you really can't stand it; all of your friends may be wearing glamorous high heels, but if you despise heels, find some elegant formal flats instead.
Don't follow the crowd, choose graduation footwear that'll see you from morning photos, to accepting your diploma, to post-ceremony drinks. Pick a pair that you love the look of and adore how they make you feel, which should be equal parts awesome and comfortable. Because, when you're walking across that stage with all eyes on you, you want to feel like you're walking on air, not balancing on a tight rope!
Check out: Nine West Gailon Suede Heeled Sandal, $109, Amazon
Images: Phoebe Waller; Getty Images (3)
