Real stories · The secretly sensible shoe

I wore pretty shoes to a wedding — and my feet didn't file a single complaint

A smart shoe that's secretly sensible — that's what these are, and I didn't think they made them anymore. Occasion shoes have always been a tax at my age: look lovely at the church, limp quietly by the buffet, shoes in hand by the time the taxi comes. I'd made my peace with it, the way you make peace with the weather.

Turns out the peace treaty was premature.

Then I found the Averlis from a British label called York Boutique — a T-strap shoe in premium PU leather with a pointed toe, a prettily braided strap, and the secret underneath: a LOW, stable block heel and a properly cushioned inside. They look like the shoes in old photographs of my mother, which I mean as the highest compliment available.

The engineering is quietly brilliant. The strap holds the foot so nothing slips or rubs, the little block heel gives the lift of a heel with none of the wobble, and the cushioning means the day simply goes on — which is why the church, the reception AND the evening do all happened in the same pair of shoes, a sentence I have never typed before.

A braided T-strap holding everything in place, over a low cushioned heel — which is why the pretty shoes and the comfortable shoes are finally the same shoes.

They were £34.95 in the sale — half the usual £70 — and I did check I could send them back if they pinched: a fortnight, free delivery. They didn't pinch. They've since done a christening and two lunches.

At Pauline's granddaughter's wedding I was, I noted with some satisfaction, the only woman my age still on her feet at the evening do. Three of the seated ones asked about the shoes. I've sent the link twice and written it on a napkin once.

If your occasion shoes also come with a hidden tax, do have a look before the winter invitations arrive. The Averlis is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 230 women, comes in brown or black, in UK sizes 2.5 to 6.5 — and at half price the brown goes first.