A girl in pre-k at my son's school has the CUTEST shoes! Shoes that I wish I had but I can't even afford the ones in her size, much less my own. But...she has a hard time playing in them and ends up not joining in or having to stop every so often to adjust her shoes or have a teacher help her put them on again.
She has adorable wedges that she can barely walk in and can't wear to dance class or run in (and also cannot put on by herself afterwards but the kids are expected to be able to get their own shoes on/off), mary janes that slip on the playground equipment and little UGG (or UGG-like) boots that are too ungainly to climb or run in on the playground.
There are no rules about what shoes the kids can/cannot wear, but there is also no time given to change shoes for various activities or help with footwear that is not appropriate. If kids wear rain boots to school, they usually stay in them all day or learn to very quickly take off their inside shoes and slip the boots on as they pass the cubbies to go outside. And this is just in a class of 10, not the bigger kindergarten classes with even less time for a teacher to help. Every day they have recess, plus at least one other activity that involves movement (music/dance class, gymnastics, etc) so they must always be prepared, be comfy and be safe.
Kids take their cues from us. If being cute and stylish is more important to us, it will be more important to them. She will only miss the fancy shoes/boots if you make a big deal out of it or only compliment her when she does dress up.
That said, I bet your daughter is adorable and of course you like when she is dressed in something cute! I'm sure you will find plenty of options at all sorts of stores for shoes that are appropriate and make you proud. And I know that how your child dresses is not the most important thing to you and you will be fine when she trashes a cute pair by having fun in a puddle or refuses to wear the shoes you like best. But it's nice to have that dream of "catalog living" for a bit before you have to return to the world of worms in the pockets and paint that only says it's washable. :)
I already (inwardly) cringe when my son picks out his clothes and I wonder why I bother even buying the nicer things or making an attempt to have shorts and shirts that coordinate in his wardrobe. But his friends don't care when he has a stain on his favorite shirt or when he wears one black sneaker and one blue flip flop with his brown pants and most importantly he doesn't either, so why should I? After all, that makes him pretty cute, too.