Arch Support You Can Actually Wear all day the first day
Most sandals are a flat piece of foam with a strap on it. Jax & Bard is not that.
Every pair is built on a leather-covered contoured footbed with three things working: a cradling heel cup, a contoured arch, and metatarsal support under the ball of your foot. That footbed is the shoe. Everything else is straps.
Your heel has a natural fat pad under the bone. It's your body's own shock absorber. On a flat sandal that pad spreads sideways every time your heel lands, and you end up walking on bone.
A deep heel cup walls the heel in. Your heel sits down inside the footbed instead of on top of it, and the padding stays under the bone where it belongs.
That's what you feel on your first steps in the morning, and again after a long day standing.
A contoured arch
Support means the footbed comes up to meet your arch instead of leaving a gap under it.
When there's a gap, your arch holds itself up all day. That's work. Over the years it's why people end up with sore heels and tired feet by mid-afternoon.
Ours keeps contact through the whole step. Heel, arch, forefoot.
Metatarsal support
This is the one most sandals skip.
There's a slight rise built in behind the ball of your foot. It spreads the load across the whole forefoot instead of letting it all land on the bones right behind your toes.
If you've ever felt like you were standing on a pebble by the end of the day, that's the spot this is built for.
Leather covered, and light
The footbed is covered in leather, so it takes the shape of your foot and breathes instead of getting slick in the heat.
And these are light. A supportive sandal doesn't have to feel like equipment. Renée, who owns this company with me, hiked in a pair for days straight on vacation. She came back and told me they were the best thing she packed.
No break-in
If you've been walking on flat sandals, a real arch feels like something the first day or two. That's the footbed doing its job. It's supposed to touch you there.
But there's no break-in period to get through. The leather cover and the cushioning are soft from the first wear. You're not waiting two weeks for the shoe to give.
Coming from Birkenstock
If you wear a cork footbed, you already know what support feels like. You also know the break-in.
The shape will be familiar: cupped heel, defined arch, a footbed that holds your foot instead of letting it slide. The difference is you skip the wait. Ours are lighter, softer from day one, and the leather cover means no stretch of walking on a hard cork bed until it molds.
Same support. None of the waiting.
Coming from SAS
SAS customers buy for two reasons: fit and a footbed that doesn't quit. Nothing wrong with either one.
Three things worth knowing here. Most of our styles close with adjustable velcro, so you set the fit exactly where you want it and change it later in the day when your feet swell. They go on and off without bending down and fighting a buckle. And you get real support in something open, which matters for about six months a year down here.
You don't have to be in a closed shoe to be in a supportive one.
Dress or casual
These don't look like support sandals. That's the whole reason we made them.
Wear them with a dress to dinner or with shorts to the store. Nobody has to know you bought them for your feet.
Getting your size right
We've been fitting feet in our stores for over twenty years. Here's what we'd check if you were standing in front of us.
- Sandals run true to size. Order your normal size.
- Ballet flats run a half size small. We only make whole sizes, so order one size up.
- Measure late in the day. Feet swell. A morning measurement runs you small.
- Measure both feet and go with the bigger one. Almost nobody is the same on both sides.
30 days to decide
Wear them around the house. Walk on them. If they aren't right, send them back within 30 days.
Most orders reach you in three to four days.
Questions before you order?
Call the warehouse at 504-910-2900 and you'll get somebody who fits shoes for a living. We'll talk you through the size.
Jax & Bard is made by Orleans Shoe Co. Four stores in New Orleans, twenty years fitting feet, six-time Best Shoe Store in town. Style that supports you.
Frequently asked questions
Do Jax & Bard sandals have arch support?
Yes. Every pair is built on a contoured leather-covered footbed with a cradling heel cup, a contoured arch, and metatarsal support under the ball of the foot. It's built into the sandal, not an insert you add.
Do they run true to size?
The sandals do. Order your normal size. The ballet flats run a half size small, so go up one size.
Do you make half sizes?
No. Whole sizes only, 36 to 42. If you wear a half size, go up. On the velcro styles you can tighten the fit exactly where you want it.
Can I wear my own orthotic?
In the ballet flats, yes. The footbed lifts out and your orthotic drops in. In the sandals, no. That footbed is molded in, because that's how we get a deeper heel cup and a fuller arch than a removable insole allows.
How long is the break-in?
There isn't one. The leather cover and the cushioning are soft from the first wear. If you're coming off flat sandals you'll notice the arch for a day or two, then you stop thinking about it.
Are these good for people on their feet all day?
That's who we build them for. Nurses, teachers, servers, anybody on a hard floor for eight hours.
How do the velcro straps work?
You set the fit yourself and adjust it any time. It's the easiest closure to get on and off, and it lets you loosen things late in the day when your feet swell.
How fast do you ship?
Most orders reach customers in three to four days.
Where can I buy Jax & Bard?
Right here, or at any of our four New Orleans area stores. Call 504-910-2900 if you want help with the size first.