Real stories · Dressed up without the heels

The pearl sandals that dress up my summer without a heel in sight

A sandal pretty enough for a garden party but flat enough to walk home in — I'd honestly stopped looking for one. I'm 67, and heels left my life years ago, along with any regret about it. But I'd noticed that every 'sensible' flat sandal I owned made me feel a bit… beige. At every summer do I'd look down at my feet and think: comfortable, yes. Pretty, no.

What I wanted was a flat sandal with a bit of occasion about it — something that said I'd made an effort, without making my feet pay for it.

Then I found the Eglantine sandals from a British label called York Boutique — pearl strap sandals, and I chose the soft cream with the bow.

They're the prettiest things my feet have worn in years, and there isn't a heel in sight. The big soft woven bow sits across the toes, and the strap round the heel isn't an ordinary strap at all — it's a slim gold wire finished with a white pearl on one side and a polished gold ball on the other, which is why they look properly dressed-up even though the sole is completely flat. Jewellery built into the shoe, is the only way I can describe it. And that flat sole is cushioned and steady, with the wire sitting snug round the heel so everything stays in place — I can stand on a lawn chatting for two hours and walk home after.

Pretty as heels, flat as slippers — and the pearl strap does all the dressing up. It's part of the shoe.

Sandals with this much charm, I assumed, would be sixty pounds. But York Boutique sells direct, so they were £29.95 in the summer sale. A strap like that looks like something out of a jeweller's window.

At a garden lunch last weekend, two women asked about them before pudding — both were convinced I'd added a pearl anklet myself, and neither quite believed it's simply the sandal's own strap. I'll admit I checked before ordering that I could send them back if they didn't suit — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — so there was nothing lost by trying. They come in seven colours, in sizes 3 to 10.

If your summer shoes are comfortable but never pretty, do treat yourself to a look. The Eglantine is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it's £29.95 in the summer sale instead of £60 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.