Wearing heels? These Spare Soles (shown in white, with storage pouch) probably look very inviting right now.

No matter how fantastic our legs look in our favorite heels, after a long day in fashionable footwear, the heads turning in our direction are not in admiration of our shapely gams, but concern due to the fact we’re hobbling. Andrea Padilla, founder of Spare Soles, has felt our pain and often found herself and other women dancing barefoot at weddings — a comfortable, if unsanitary practice. She created Spare Soles (from $25) — soft, foldable flats that can be transported in a small pouch and unrolled when feet are tired and swollen. “I found a huge need for something ultra-compact and portable to help women,” Padilla says.

The Spare Soles are available online and various retail outlets in black, silver, gold, leopard and chocolate brown — as well as ivory and white, which we think would be a nice gift for a bride on her wedding day or when she jets off to her honeymoon. The soles are waterproof and slip-resistant, plus the shoes are machine-washable in the gentle cycle. Padilla adds they are used for travel, maternity, office, nightclubs or “any shoe emergency.” (Some clubs in Great Britain even have vending machines that sell a similar product called Rollasole.)

We think this is a fantastic alternative to suffering — and we admit to purchasing and wearing comfortable shoes right out of the store on at least three occasions. Do you think you might pack a pair in your handbag for summer wedding season?

Tags: Footwear, Hospitality/Recreation, online and various retail outlets, Shoes, similar product, United Kingdom