"Are those Rothy's?" I asked my doctor at my last appointment, looking down at her cute, pointy-toed flats. I wasn't just making awkward small talk to cover up the fact I was wearing only a paper gown—I was genuinely curious, because I'd seen ads for those exact shoes in my newsfeed for weeks.
BUY IT $145, rothys.com
"Yes—they're the best shoes ever!" she replied. She said that they're incredibly comfortable, even for her wide feet, and that she can stand on them all day, every day with no blisters or pain. She also raved about how they're made of recycled water bottles, and you can throw them in the washing machine when they get dirty. WHAT.
I have my own foot issues: Not only have I have gotten painful blisters from pretty much every new pair of flats I've ever gotten, but I wear custom orthotics (very sexy, I know) because I have a condition that makes me prone to foot pain. So I need shoes that these inserts can fit into, which often isn't the case with flats.
Encouraged by my doctor's rave review, I decided to give Rothy's "The Point" style ($145) a try. It comes in dozens of colors, including emerald, petal pink, and red camo. I went for the marigold version, which has a thin stripe of royal blue along the top of the heel.
My orthotics fit in easily and stayed put when I walked around in the shoes. But even more impressively, the flats weren't stiff, the way most new pairs are before you break them in. They were immediately comfortable and didn't rub against my skin to give me blisters—and I wore them all day long, including on multiple half-hour long walks with my dog.
Rothy's come in a rounded-toe style, too, called "The Flat":
BUY IT $125, rothys.com
Sure, these flats are definitely on the high end of what I'd normally pay for shoes. But they don't fall apart (unlike a lot of my cheaper $20 flats), and they work with my orthotics—making them worth every damn penny.
One downside: When I wore my pair in the rain one day, they got dirty. So I threw them in the wash...and they shrank.
However, that mistake was on me, since I accidentally used warm water (something the Rothy's site specifically tells you not to do...whoops). You have to be sure to use cold water and air dry them, as exposing the shoes to heat can cause shrinkage.
My machine doesn't clearly spell out whether each cycle uses hot, warm, or cold water—it just has settings like "color," "whites," and "permanent press." It's worth breaking out your model's manual to avoid a mishap like mine. My other friends who have washed their Rothy's (in cold water!) haven't had any issues.
Good thing I was already planning on buying another pair.
Two very important updates since I initially wrote this piece!
First: I have successfully washed my Rothy's! The setting on my machine that uses cold water is "permanent press," and it did indeed clean my much-loved marigold point pair. I'd recommend checking your washing machine's manual before throwing your shoes in for a cycle to make sure you're actually using cold water.
BUY IT $145, rothys.com
Second: Rothy's has released a ton of new styles, prints, and colors. The loafer ($165) is a polished-but-comfy option for work (and there's a girl's version that comes in sizes 10-4 for $65). The loafer, the flat, and the point are all available in a new fall jewel tones collection that includes teals, golds, and browns, along with animal prints that will make you desperate for that crisp autumn weather. I, personally, am obsessed with the the point in persimmon, the orange-y color above that may as well be called PSL.
What can I say? I'm basic as charged.
Robin Hilmantel is the digital director at Women's Health, where she oversees the editorial strategy for WomensHealthMag.com and its social platforms. She has almost 10 years of experience writing and editing for national publications, and more than 8 years of experience writing and editing health, fitness, and nutrition content specifically. In addition to Women's Health, her work has also appeared in TIME, Food Network Magazine, Cosmopolitan, New York Magazine, SELF, Glamour.com and other publications.
