Everything worth knowing about Summer Wedding Guest Shoes is below, starting with the part that changes what you buy. Check whether you will be outdoors or standing, because that decides the shoe before the outfit does. Dress codes are mostly about fabric and coverage rather than length. The pieces that work across two seasons are the mid-weights, which is where most wardrobes are thinnest. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is strap placement, footbed and heel height. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: DÔEN's BETTE SLINGBACK at $348, and motherdenim.com's The Jinx Heel - Thrill Seeker at $268. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. A strap across the widest part of the foot is what stops slipping, not a tighter buckle. A moulded footbed takes about a week to break in and then lasts years. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

A flat sandal reads dressier with a longer hem. From the second group, cinqasept.nyc's Frankie Studded Leather Kitten Heel Sandal ($345) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, boots, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 pieces here from 14 brands, $37 to $477, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. sperry.com's Isla Thong Embroider Sandal at $37 is the low-risk way in, and cinqasept.nyc's Shira Metal Stud Tall Boot at $477 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. Read as a set, they get you close to Summer Wedding Guest Shoes without any single purchase being compulsory. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: buy the one you can picture using this week, not the one you are saving for later.