Occasion dressing is where wedge sandals earn their keep: they give a long line with more surface underfoot than a slim heel, and they work across more than one dress code. I would separate the options by mood before anything else. For a daytime plan, the Aeyde Suzanne Wedge Sandal sits easily with cotton or linen and does not fight the setting. For something a touch dressier, a thong style like the St. Agni suede platform sandal can look deliberate with a long skirt or a simple dress. Try the pair on with the actual outfit and walk in it long enough to notice pressure at the toes and straps.

Once the occasion gets dressier, the wedge starts doing more work than just height. The Cult Gaia Phoebe Platform Sandal keeps a sculptural, architectural line that reads as a considered choice rather than a compromise between flat and heel. The Stella McCartney Gaia espadrille wedge takes the opposite route, keeping things textured and relaxed even at a dinner. Raffia, woven leather and patent slingback all show up here, so there is real range in how formal a wedge can look. Choose the finish that matches how polished the rest of the room will be, then let the shape do the standing.

Wedge sandals are one of the few shoe categories where occasion genuinely changes the right answer. Aeyde and Nora Lozza make the case for daytime, where a lighter platform and a simple upper do not compete with everything else you are wearing. St. Agni and the Frankie Shop's thong styles carry that same ease into a slightly later hour without adding real height or restriction. Cult Gaia and Stella McCartney are the pieces to reach for once the event turns dressy, since their shapes carry enough presence to stand in for a heel. If you take one thing away, let it be that the wedge is not one shoe with one mood, it changes character with the upper and the setting. I would rather own three wedges for three different nights than one that tries and fails to do all of them.