Finding a cute and comfy pair of kicks for daily wear can be hard enough as it is. Deciding on the perfect pair of shoes for bunions, though? That’s an entirely different feat.

Bunions, which are bumps that form at the joint of the base of your big toe, can be super uncomfortable. According to Mayo Clinic, some common symptoms can include swelling (yikes), ongoing pain (double yikes) and corns or calluses (triple yikes). And if you’re one of the millions that experience bunion pain each year, you already know it can be frustrating to find supportive shoes that don’t irritate existing blemishes.

To help you find the best shoes for bunions, we examined a ton of different options and spoke to a top-tier medical expert. From these Orthofeet sneakers (from $145; $105) that have an extra roomy toe-box to these adorable Vivaia round-toe flats (from $97; $79), we’ve got you covered with 12 podiatrist-approved picks that *also* meet our style standards.

Dr. Neal Blitz, aka The Bunion King, is a foot surgeon boasting more than 17 years of experience. Dr. Blitz is board-certified by the American Board of Foot & Ankle Surgery and has performed more than 16,000 foot and ankle surgeries. He is also the creator of Bunionplasty, an innovative bunion-repair procedure.

Dr. Blitz says that people who have bunions but aren’t quite ready for surgery yet should opt for a shoe with a supportive sole that isn’t too flexible. 

“[There should also be] room in the toe box for their bunion,” he notes. “Athletic shoes with a soft or flexible leather are good choices.”

“Spot stretching is an excellent method to create more room in the shoe and limit irritation,” Dr. Blitz explains. He notes that this method works well when the bunion is beneath a stiff, non-leather material, the shoe has a pointy toe or the bunion is especially large or severe.

To properly stretch your shoes, Dr. Blitz recommends going to a professional cobbler, but there are ways to do it at-home. 

“A ball and ring cast iron spot stretcher is a plier-like tool that isolates the area that needs to be stretched. It attaches to the shoe and is left in place overnight to stretch the leather,” he says. 

He notes that you can also purchase a shoe tree spot stretcher as an alternative, which will use plugs to attach to the shoe tree and can be placed to stretch out certain areas. 

Dr. Blitz says that bunions can form from genetics, but also from the shoes that we wear, too. To avoid additional pain caused by existing bunions, he advises to stay away from pointy-toed shoes that compress the toes. High heels can also put direct pressure on the bunion, and any type of shoe that puts pressure on the affected area should be avoided.

“Shoes that are too flexible can cause the foot to splay overtime and promote bunion progression,” he says. “Flip flops also aren’t great for bunion sufferers from a stability standpoint, but are great to avoid direct pressure on the bunion.”

After chatting with Dr. Blitz, we set out to find the best options. We took the following factors into account:

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