My feet need your brain!

April 28, 2011 8:10 AM

I need shoe recommendations, please.

After a corporate lifetime of sitting at a desk, I am now in a corporate job that allows me to stand at my desk if I want. I started doing this about a week ago, and I really like it all in all, but I have quickly come to discover that my shoes are the weak link in an otherwise flawless plan.

My current work shoes (I typically keep one pair at work at all times as I cycle to work and don't want to haul them around) are about 10 years old and were due for replacement anyway, and now I need some that I can wear at my job that will be as comfortable at the end of the day as they are at the beginning.

To the parameters!

- I work in a pretty conservative corporate environment, so no Keen-style or other faux-athletic looking shoes unfortunately
- Preferably black
- Preferably lace-up
- Available in widths if possible (not a deal breaker but I do have wide-ish feet)
- $150 or less but I will go to $200 if absolutely necessary
- Comfortable for standing all day

posted by pdb to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (13 answers total)

Try the brand Ecco... do a search for them on Zappos.com and take a look. They do not have variable widths, but I have a wide, short foot, and I've had luck with them. Ecco has everything from gym shoes to very conservative dress shoes. Their top end shoes are around $200. All very comfortable.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 8:13 AM on April 28, 2011

I had a pair of Ecco shoes which were very comfortable and beautiful but the heels simply disintegrated after a half-dozen wearings. I would not recommend the brand.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 8:25 AM on April 28, 2011

Kenneth Cole's Italian shoes are stylish and conservative, and very comfortable. My only problem is that the soles are thin, and I had to have mine resoled after about a year.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:26 AM on April 28, 2011

Check out Dr. Martens. Super comfertable. I just bought these and love'em.
posted by doorsfan at 8:38 AM on April 28, 2011

Cole Haan has a range of men's dress shoes with Nike interiors that are purported to be quite comfortable (I've never tried them on personally). Example.
posted by saladin at 9:04 AM on April 28, 2011

take a look at hospitality purposed shoes. theyre designed for service people who spend all day on their feet in a demanding work environment. i wear these and i love them.
posted by ps_im_awesome at 9:08 AM on April 28, 2011

I was just going to say Dr. Martens as well -- indestructible, crazy-comfortable, and more and more stylish (they even make high heels now, and let me tell you, I have never had more comfortable heels in my life) with each passing year. My boyfriend works in a semi-stuffy corporate environment and gets away with Docs, no problem.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:52 AM on April 28, 2011

Response by poster: doorsfan/bitter-girl:

I can't wear Docs - they don't fit my feet at all. I have wide feet and as all good punk rockers in their 20's did I stuffed my feet into Docs for years as a youngin, but they hurt like hell after about an hour. Too bad, too, because I do like the style quite a bit.

Odinsdream:

about 95% of the shoes in that thread would not fly here. This is an unbelievably conservative environment in which even rolling one's sleeves up is generally frowned upon. I will definitely look into some of them for non-work shoes though.

I will check out Ecco and Cole Haan, though, thanks for those suggestions! Any other suggestions are welcome too.
posted by pdb at 9:59 AM on April 28, 2011

I was going to suggest Mephisto, thinking that they'd come down in price recently, but that doesn't actually seem to be the case, *and* it looks like they only come in regular width.

You can use online shoe stores to see what's available in the widths you're looking for--both Zappos and Endless.com let you narrow down a search by size & width available. You could then either find a local dealer for that brand, if you prefer, or order a few pairs online--I think both sites have free shipping & free return shipping for pairs you don't want to keep. (Be sure to check that--I don't actually shop for shoes online myself. :)
posted by mvd at 11:15 AM on April 28, 2011

+1 to referrals to Ecco. I wore them during my law school days. If you have any discount versions of high-end stores (like Nordstrom Rack), you can sometimes find Allen Edmonds shoes in your price range and size. If you can make the leap to those, you can get them resoled and/or refurbished as needed (at $100), and they should last ten years. Also, +1 for Mephisto if you can find them in your parameters, though they're not very conservative.

I have had bad luck with Cole Haan. They don't last and aren't worth the cost of repair.
posted by Hylas at 1:52 PM on April 28, 2011

I would look at Born, maybe this (slip-on) or this (lace-up), although I'm sure you can find lots of other styles on different sites. I had a job years ago where I had to stand 8 hours a day and the only shoes that didn't kill my feet were Crocs and a pair of Borns. And they're much more respectable than Crocs :)
posted by jabes at 3:57 PM on April 28, 2011

I have two recommendations:

On the dressier side, these cushioned Johnston & Murphy cap-toes are supremely comfortable, even by the end of a long day on my feet, and they come in a range of widths. $165.

These more casual Timberland Oxfords are my everyday shoe and are very comfortable, though I don't stand much normally. They come in Medium and Wide. $105.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:12 PM on April 28, 2011

Eccos--I'm wearing some right now that I've worn as a (standing, pacing, energetic, demonstrative) teacher for five years. With a good polish they still look great and the heels are fine!
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:11 AM on April 29, 2011