The Hunt: The Best Nude Heels for Every Skin Tone

Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

Nude heels for work are a classic look for so many professional women — and there are SO many great brands making nude heels for all skin tones these days.

You don't have to wear nude-for-you heels, of course — feel free to wear whatever color you want to!

We have, of course, covered work heels extensively here at Corporette — if you're looking for great comfortable work heels, purple heels, sangria-colored heels, low heels, or even products to make heels more comfortable, then we've got you

{related: check out our Guide to Comfortable Heels!}

What to Know About Nude Heels for Work

Some general reminders as we head into our roundup:

• Summer shoes don't have to be your skin tone; if you like a shoe in one of these shades, feel free to wear it!
• If you do seek shoes in your skin tone (or close to it), they're often thought to give the optical illusion of longer legs — in general they also serve as a great neutral no matter what colors you're wearing with the rest of your outfit.
• Know your office — we've focused our roundup on closed-toe shoes, as that's what appropriate at most offices, but some may allow sandals. Trust your own comfort level with shoes that show more skin, such as slingbacks that show your heel, d'Orsay heels that show your instep, or shoes that bare toe cleavage. (Maybe that's a topic for another post — I'm curious if anyone is still scandalized by toe cleavage.)
• Similarly, know your office with regard to whether bare legs are appropriate — depending on how conservative your office is, I might assume that pantyhose is still appropriate for “big meetings” or, say, court appearances, and you may want to keep a pair in your desk just in case. (In our last roundup of pantyhose for work, Oroblu, Wolford, and DKNY were among our favorites.)

Our Latest Favorite Nude Heels for Every Skin Tone

Our Latest Favorite Nude Flats for All Skin Tones

A Closer Look at Great Nude Heels for Work

Burju Shoes

Burju was founded in 2008 by a professional Latin dancer, and the bulk of their collection focuses on dance shoes. As of 2024, she has a True Nudes collection, which contains a number of classic pumps, block heeled shoes, and a surprising number of lace-up sandals and booties.

Each shoe comes in 9 shades of “nude,” sizes 4-15, which is totally impressive as far as extended sizes go. The shoes are around $150.

Ally Shoes

This brand of handcrafted shoes is new to me, but the shoes look like great basics — and I love how they come in a huge variety of colors, including a ton of different nude shades in beiges, browns, and more.)

Another great thing about this brand: they come in four different widths, with a really broad size range (4-12, with half sizes). The brand notes that their “handcrafted stretchy leather upper is padded with an ergonomically-designed insole, proper arch support.” Nice!

The shoes are made to order, so they take 3-4 weeks to deliver and are only eligible for a 14-day return policy. You can also make a fit appointment at their NYC or Chicago locations.

The pictured classic pumps are $325.

Naturalizer

Naturalizer is another brand that has had a wide range of nude heels, flats and more, in such a nice range of colors and all for affordable prices.

I like this super low “pump” (their words, not mine) — and it seems to be popular because it’s hard to find a color with the full size range (4-12) in stock. I can see why — it’s from a classic comfort brand, and has enough of a point to work with wide-leg trousers as well as skirts and dresses. Nice.

The shoe is $69-$109 and available in up to 8 colors at Nordstrom, Zappos, Naturalizer, DSW, and Amazon.

Target

You wouldn't necessarily think of Target as a great place for nude-for-you heels, but in fact they've been a reliable source for YEARS of affordable heels in a bunch of shades.

Target’s Jen heels have been around for years, and are a solid option if you’re looking for a super affordable heel. Note that they often have a lot of great “nude-for-you” color options, and the polyurethane faux leather is technically vegan-friendly. The shoes are available in regular and wide sizes 5-12 for $29.99.

Rebecca Allen

I was poking through Nordstrom’s Black-Owned Business section recently and was delighted to find another brand making a number of nude-for-you shoes in a variety of skin tones: Rebecca Allen.

This pointy-toed, patent flat looks great for everyday wear. For some reason, I think it would be a particularly great flat to wear with a dress, since it’s got such a sleek look.

The brand offers four colors of “nude” in sizes 6–11 for $150. If this heel isn’t your jam, the brand also makes sandals and heels in the same color spectrum.

(Also, just a reminder that if you love this color shoe but have a different skin color, then go for it!)

Kahmune

This founder founder started the brand after hunting desperately for a pair of shoes that were “nude for her” — according to the site, she wound up purchasing a pair of white pumps and painting them herself.

Shopbop sometimes has their shoes, including flats, stiletto heels, block heels, and more. You can also find more at Kahmune.com.

The Best Nude Heels for Pale, Pinkish Skin Tones

I am extraordinarily pale, but I have more yellowish undertones to my skin, so these never match my own skin. But if you've got coloring like Shiv Roy on Succession, this might just be the shade you're looking for if you're looking for a nude-for-you.

As with all of the shoes in this roundup, though, you can wear them even if they're not your skin tone. If you like them, go with them!

The Best Nude Heels in Light Beige

This is generally the color range I'm looking for for myself — there's still a surprising amount of variety in the shades though!

The Best Greige/Putty Pumps

Greige is a great neutral no matter your skin tone — there's a pretty limited selection this year, but the selection includes some great shoes.

The Best Nude Pumps in Light Brown / Caramel

There are a ton of great options in this category (and some overlap with the other categories, also).

The Best Nude Heels in Dark Brown

Anyone can wear a dark brown shoe, but if it matches your skin tone then you get a great leg-lengthening effect. (I've also heard that if you're unsure what to wear with navy, a deep brown will “dress down” your outfit while a shiny black will “dress it up” — thoughts on that, readers?)

There are a ton of beautiful dark brown shoes out there right now — some of our favorites include these:

Another Neutral Option: Animal Prints

Animal prints aren't technically nude for anyone — but they can be great leg-lengthening neutrals if you're not sure you want a nude-for-you heel, if your skin tone varies a lot with tanning and so forth, or if you just like animal prints as a fun way to add some patterns to your work outfits.

If you're hunting for animal-print pumps in 2024, good brands to check out include J.Crew and M.Gemi for pumps, and Rothy's and Vionic for flats in animal print.

Readers, what do you think are the best nude heels for every skin tone? Are you hunting for higher or lower heels right now?

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!