Do wool socks make Shoes feel Comfortable?

I went to the big city to buy some comfortable shoes because my arches were starting to bother me.

Since I have a bunion most of the shoes I tried would not even fit.  I tried Born, Dansko, a stretching sneaker that I can`t remember the name of.

I was determined to buy a pair of shoes so I finally tried Birkenstock.

Maybe when I get them broken in they will not hurt my feet.

These shoes are not as comfortable as my Ecco that I wore shopping.  I quit buying Ecco because they were no longer made in Italy and were not as good as before.

So would wearing wool socks make the shoes feel more comfortable?

I'm assuming you are contrasting wool socks with another fiber like cotton? When I have to wear shoes, I wear thick wool socks 3/4 of the year and thin cotton/synthetic socks the other 1/4 of the time. I vastly prefer the buffer and cushion that the thick wool socks provide, but there's no getting around them being too warm in summer. I don't know if they'll be what you want, and you live in a much warmer place than I do, but it sounds like a good guess to try out.

Simple answer. Yes. You live somewhere in my neck of the woods. It is too hot right now to wear them. And I have notoriously cold feet. 65* is about my cutoff. 70 at 4-5 o’clock and cooler in the morning I’d probably wear them. I have thick and thin ones. Both are comfy but thicker wins that race. As temps come up I switch to thin.

I’ve not found a very comfortable warm weather sock as far as cushioning goes. I’m all ears if anyone has suggestions.

I think so.  I wear them all year-every day.  They are warmer in the winter and I think they breathe better and are more comfortable in the summer also.

I wear nothing but Darn Tough merino wool socks every day, year-round. Except for the two pair of alpaca socks I got from PAKA.

Darn Tough are great because if you wear them out, they'll replace them.

That said, if you're looking for comfortable shoes, go with hiking footwear. If you need a wider toe box, Altra Lone Peaks are probably your best choice. If it is any other issue in sizes that most stores carry, I'd still say go to an REI or another reputable outfitter with staff who have been trained to match people with footwear proper to their needs and challenges.  At least they'll get you going in the right direction. Maybe all you need is a good insert that matches the unique properties of your feet. They sell those.

j

In the hotter weather you might do well with a running sock (good cushioning in the ball of foot/bunion area).

I don't have bunions per se but my super loose ligaments make my feet have a bunion-y shape (doctors always want to get out the bone saw when i see them, i have to say hey, they don't hurt, they work fine, they're just sloppy looking), and many shoes just don't fit my feet. Birks can be hit or miss in terms of comfort- i have a pair that hurts my arches, believe it or not, and since they're big I wear them with heavy socks as slippers in the winter. Most of the rest of the time I'm barefoot/flipflops or in running shoes.
Danskos were always my lifeline, I don't think I ever had an uncomfy pair when I taught. I also really liked Earth Shoe (negative heel), not sure they still make them but they were always amazingly comfortable with my strangely shaped feet-- if a bit funny looking.

I normally wear thick work socks all year.

I have to disagree with the folks about wool socks being too hot. I’m in the desert and hot is the norm. I wear wool socks especially when it’s hot with my boots in the summer. It keeps them dry and they get less smelly. Now if I can go sandal I will but for working, wool all the way all year long. They can be thick so I sometimes go up a half size in shoe if it feels too restrictive.
That’s my two cents.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Yesterday, I put a Dr Scholls gel insole in the shoe for the foot with the bunion.  Then I could not get my foot into the shoe.

I put an insole in the other shoe and it was at least tolerable.

It now feels like I just need a heel insole for the shoe for the bunion.

Christopher Weeks wrote:When I have to wear shoes, I wear thick wool socks 3/4 of the year and thin cotton/synthetic socks the other 1/4 of the time. I vastly prefer the buffer and cushion that the thick wool socks provide, but there's no getting around them being too warm in summer.

I second this. I had Wigwams but they wore out super-fast (less than a year). Totally not worth the expense! I think my current wool socks are boot socks I got from Duluth Trading Company. They’ve lasted 2-3 years so far and I’ve never had socks so cushiony!

When the weather is warm I avoid socks as much as possible and wear flip flops. I have chronic cold feet and when I wear flip flops my entire body cools off.

I imagine bunion-sufferers would enjoy a lot of relief with the openness of flip flops. Crocs are another shoe with great ergonomics. Walmart has knockoffs in their work shoe section. I definitely recommend them.

Pointed toes are promoted as fashionable but they mangle the natural footshape just like the Chinese footbinding that I learned about very early in school. Who benefits from supporting the practice? Has the original poster benefitted from wearing pointy toed shoes?