For some of us with foot problems, a walk in the park can be as painful as a stroll through a field of broken glass. Wearing stiletto Jimmy Choo heels with sexy thin straps could land us sprawled over face-first in the middle of Walnut Street, soon to be picked up by an emergency medical technician.

Fortunately, the weak-footed don't necessarily have to be fashion outcasts. It's very possible to get fantastic-looking shoes and not clump around like Quasimodo.

Dr. Mallory Eisenman, president of the Pennsylvania Podiatric Medical Association, has suggestions about what to look for in a great pair of footwear. The first rule of thumb is always fit your shoe to your longest toe. "Not everybody has a large big toe. Sometimes, there are patients with larger second toes," Eisenman says. She recommends leaving a one-quarter- to one-half-inch space from your longest toe or else you can develop corns and hammertoe, a deformative condition causing toes to curl. Not an attractive sight once you take off those pointy L'Autre Chose pumps.

But also make sure the shoe is not too loose, which can be just as bad. Eisenman explains: "If you're going to be sliding forward into the shoe, you're going to get a lot of friction across the ball of the foot." This could result in arch strain and foot fatigue.

Another consideration is the sole, which should be appropriately thick if you're going to do a lot of walking. In Philadelphia, where the sidewalks are notoriously uneven, women want to be careful about "bruising the nerves" or "causing inflammation of tissue" in the foot, especially if you're wearing heels.

An orthotic, a customized insole support inserted into the shoe made from a range of materials from acrylic resin to leather, can help but has its limitations. "A lot of people want them to fit into fashion shoes they have in their closet that they've already spent $400 on. We tell them we can make you an orthotic but it may not fit into all your shoes," says Eisenman.

Eisenman personally does all the casting herself to make the orthotic -- that's the art, she says -- and she considers it vital for the podiatrist to do a biomechanical analysis of each patient. "I examine the foot, how it functions during the walking cycle, the motion in the foot and determine what orthotic will work best to correct the problem."

There are a few shoe stores that the doctor recommends for fashion shoes: Nordstrom's, Benjamin Lovell and The Walking Company.

Eleven years ago, when The Walking Company first started, "we could barely fill the store with shoes we wanted to carry," says Mike Grenley, chief operating officer. "I think high fashion houses have come to the realization that consumers are asking for more comfort." With stores in King of Prussia, Willow Grove and Cherry Hill, Grenley says the Philadelphia area is a "very good market" for the Los Angeles-based company.

The only Center City location for comfortable style is Benjamin Lovell, with shops in Rittenhouse Square and on South Street. "ŒStyle never felt so good' is not only our stores' slogan, it's our mantra," says the owner-namesake. Sired by a family of shoemakers who founded Clarks of England, Lovell spent 17 years in Europe before he started his own shoe business here in 1988. How he chooses which brand and style will be sold in his stores depends first and foremost on aesthetics. "I like to have the comfort on the inside, not on the outside of the shoe, so it shouldn't look like a comfort shoe," Lovell explains. His stores stock up to 300 different styles, ranging from earthy Ecco to sophisticated Taryn Rose.

One of the best bargain-hunting shoe havens is the sale section, located in the back of the Benjamin Lovell store on South Street. Often, you can find great shoes originally priced at $275 marked down to $75.

Shoes can become the bane of our existence and our pocketbooks, but our feet are complex and need to be babied. Our feet have 52 bones in them, about one-quarter of all the bones in our bodies. With the neck-breaking women's shoe styles that are popular today, it's not surprising that women have about four times more foot problems than men, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

With a little extra hunting, there are plenty of comfortable options. You can still wear gorgeous shoes but, as Eisenman puts it, "If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it."

Benjamin Lovell Shoes, 119 S. 18th St., 215-564-4655; 318 South St., 215-238-1969; 4305 Main St., Manayunk, 215-487-3747.

The Walking Company, King of Prussia Plaza, 160 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia, 610-265-1794; Willow Grove Park, 2500 Moreland Rd., Willow Grove, 215-657-9288; Cherry Hill Mall, 2000 Rte. 38, Cherry Hill, N.J., 856-910-1500.