Most comfortable work shoes for long days/tons of walking?

[litebright]

I don't travel for work very often, but when I do, I almost always end up with my feet absolutely killing me because I spend all day walking around huge conference centers. Blisters, aches, even bleeding in the worst cases. It's comparable to multiple days at Disney, except I have to be professionally dressed and shod. 

The show that was the worst for me, feetwise, is coming up again at the end of February. I'm planning outfits and shoes, making purchases as necessary and leaving myself time to break things in (I WFH, so most days I don't even wear shoes, much less professional shoes -- so I kind of go from 0 to 100 on my feet). I got a second pair of Rothy's for Christmas and I will take those, but even Rothys were just okay at this conference. 

Heels are completely out of the question. Booties with a small heel slayed my feet at this thing last year, even being able to wear socks with them. I think I need stuff with a lot more padding than my normal boots/booties -- like, I'm trying to figure out if I can find a pair of all-black sneakers that could fly under the radar with bootcut dress pants, lol, or whether I should just give up entirely and get Danskos to wear with pants.  

But generally I prefer to wear dresses, so I'm looking mostly at flats and booties. And to make it even more fun, the conference is international, so I have to be judicious about packing. 

I am sort of hoping that there's some miracle footwear out there, but realistically some amount of achy-ness is probably inevitable, given the amount of walking (10+ miles per day, per my Fitbit). I would just like to avoid the worst of the blisters and limping home at the end of the day, if I can. 

What shoes would you bring/spring for? Any orthotics that might help? 

[Susie]

I swear by Cole Haan Zerogrand oxfords, which I wear with ankle length skinny pants and either no show socks if it's warm, or fun trouser socks if it's cold.

[Patsy Baloney]

I bought a pair of Danskos (not the traditional clogs, the "Franny" ones) and they really are great. They're not the prettiest, but man, my feet feel great after a long day of wearing those and they didn't have any break-in period for me. I wonder if their Mary Janes might be ok with a dress? Because, I get it, you don't want to look like you have cement blocks on your feet.

[Aloe Vera]

Life Strides are super comfortable. They have a built-in cushion. You can find them at a lot of retailers like DSW, Famous Footware...

www.lifestride.com/womens-flats

[foundmylazybum]

What kind of dresses? Are you open to wearing more athletic shoes with dresses? (Dont laugh, it's a real look)

[juliachild]

Jan 15, 2020 14:00:29 GMT -5 Susie said:

I swear by Cole Haan Zerogrand oxfords, which I wear with ankle length skinny pants and either no show socks if it's warm, or fun trouser socks if it's cold.

I will second this. I have some zerogrand flats, but the oxfords are like wearing tennis shoes. I have suede wingtips and some of the newer fabric ones. Both are amazing.

[isabel]

Jan 15, 2020 14:09:34 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

What kind of dresses? Are you open to wearing more athletic shoes with dresses? (Dont laugh, it's a real look)

I feel like you could potentially get away with Allbirds with dresses, depending on what you're wearing, but it would probably have to be a more casual look to pull it off. Their shoes are so damn comfortable for lots of walking and standing.

[bittybomb]

I just picked up two pair of these, and they are really comfortable. I have blush and cognac. They have a nice cushiony support.

www.ghbass.com/product/missy+driver+sp18.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=Search&selectedOption=547899%20aria-label=

[ohgillian]

Jan 15, 2020 14:07:07 GMT -5 Aloe Vera said:

Life Strides are super comfortable. They have a built-in cushion. You can find them at a lot of retailers like DSW, Famous Footware...

www.lifestride.com/womens-flats

I don't know. I wear Life Stride heels (the Sevyn) exclusively for work and while I love them, the thought of walking comparable to several days of Disney in them makes me die a little inside. I don't think they're THAT comfortable. But I'm basing this off the one style I've worn for several years, not multiple styles of them. 

[Aloe Vera]

Jan 15, 2020 14:23:24 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

Jan 15, 2020 14:07:07 GMT -5 Aloe Vera said:

Life Strides are super comfortable. They have a built-in cushion. You can find them at a lot of retailers like DSW, Famous Footware...

www.lifestride.com/womens-flats

I don't know. I wear Life Stride heels (the Sevyn) exclusively for work and while I love them, the thought of walking comparable to several days of Disney in them makes me die a little inside. I don't think they're THAT comfortable. But I'm basing this off the one style I've worn for several years, not multiple styles of them. 

Any heel, no matter how comfortable, aren't meant to be worn to walk 10 miles.

[winecat]

I like Vionics. They have good heel and arch support and some of the styles aren't too fugly.

[goldengirlz]

Others will probably have better suggestions but mine is: just wear tennis shoes. Get a nice pair of the monochrome soft leather ones (like Greats or Koio if you have money to burn — or even Cole Haans).

I can’t think of a conference these days where I don’t see people wearing sneakers. Even the [well-known bank] investor conference this week (that’s filled with New Yorkers) — I saw both men and women swapping out designer dress shoes for designer kicks. The CEO of [UK-based multinational] was spotted wearing gold tennis shoes.

If you can’t quite bring yourself to do it ... I agree with the Zerogrand not-quite-sneakers suggestion.

[cjcouple]

I have liked Clark's and Life Stride. I look for a memory foam/cloudfoam shoe. I tend to prefer black and brown flats. To be fair though, I do not walk 10 miles a day.

As a side note, my husband has really bad feet. He went to the orthopedic and was told he has very inefficient feet/bunyan/swelling (on an ibuprofen regime when its bad). They recommended brook's for him. He finds though, that if he changes his shoes periodically (day to night; and day to day, etc) his feet feel better. If he wears the same shoes all day at work and doesn't change them after work when we are running around to kids games/practices, they really start to hurt. He probably has about 5-6 pairs he wears regularly and they need to be replaced quite often. Its expensive but its necessary expense so we just build it into our budget.

[carmenere]

Have you tried insoles with your regular flats? There are different types for things like arch support, gel insoles for extra cushiness, etc. That made a big difference for me.

[waverly]

I wear tennis shoes too nicer looking types in subtle colors that match my clothing better rather than the tourist with white tennis shoes look.

If it is warm out, I also wear sandals like Clarks. I wore those around Disney- 11 miles, so it can definitely be done. They are not super fancy, but they are not hiking sandals. You can get leather or cloth. Sas are another sandal with a lot of support. 

[litebright]

Jan 15, 2020 14:09:34 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

What kind of dresses? Are you open to wearing more athletic shoes with dresses? (Dont laugh, it's a real look)

Boden dresses are my go-to. I sometimes see that look on their models, but ... I would have to feel pretty confident about the shoes/overall look, I think. 

[litebright]

Jan 15, 2020 14:34:41 GMT -5 carmenere said:

Have you tried insoles with your regular flats? There are different types for things like arch support, gel insoles for extra cushiness, etc. That made a big difference for me.

I tried the partial gel ones last year and they helped somewhat; tried the Superfeet Easyfit and was meh about them. But it's hit or miss as to whether I can wear insoles with my regular flats, or if they make the shoes too tight and I'd have to get new flats anyway, just to be able to comfortably wear them with better insoles.

Plus, sheesh, so many of the inserts are just not flat-friendly -- there are a lot fewer options for dress shoes. 

[pierogigirl]

I wear dresses with Danskos all the time (elementary teacher). I usually wear tights or leggings with Danskos.

[TBM]

Have you tried Vionics? I don't wear flats (or real shoes, since I live in FL and stay at home) often, but I have a pair of Vionic flats that are really comfortable and don't make me feel like I am wearing old lady shoes.

They are a bit more conservative than what I usually wear, but that is not necessarily bad thing. lol

[MixedBerryJam]

Jan 15, 2020 14:16:37 GMT -5 isabel said:

Jan 15, 2020 14:09:34 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

What kind of dresses? Are you open to wearing more athletic shoes with dresses? (Dont laugh, it's a real look)

I feel like you could potentially get away with Allbirds with dresses, depending on what you're wearing, but it would probably have to be a more casual look to pull it off. Their shoes are so damn comfortable for lots of walking and standing.

I was going to suggest Allbirds too. I think the Woolies have the most support because they have the most lace holes but their flats have the same supportive insole. (I’m up to 6 pairs of allbirds now, the woolies, the sporty ones that might be called sporties but I’m not sure, and 4 pairs is the flats.

[joy]

I don’t ever wear heels and walk constantly so I’m clearly all about flats for work pants and dresses. I personally am a fan of ballet flats.

I think whatever you decide to wear, though, you need to wear around for awhile before you expect to walk 10 miles in them. Get the breaking in period over with long before you leave.

[sloan]

My go to comfortable flats are Grasshoppers which are easy to find at DSW, I have all black ones that look professional enough for conferences. I’d still break them in first and order half a size up, my feet always swell when I walk that much comfy shoes or not.

I also have been wearing a memory foam pair my mom gave me from Time and Tru, though I can’t find the exact style there is a similar one on amazon. While the top is black the bottom is sneaker like and the white base shows so they’re not as professional but still look nicer than sneakers and no one batted an eye last month when I wore them to work a conference.

[raangoli]

Jan 15, 2020 14:00:29 GMT -5 Susie said:

I swear by Cole Haan Zerogrand oxfords, which I wear with ankle length skinny pants and either no show socks if it's warm, or fun trouser socks if it's cold.

Question about the sneaker like oxfords that have the white sole. I’m worried that will get dirty/dingy fast. Do you or juliachild have those and how do you keep them looking good after a while?

[cville]

I have some pikolinos (oxfords, booties, and "court shoes") that are my go tos for comfort at work.

[Susie]

Jan 15, 2020 16:03:12 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Jan 15, 2020 14:00:29 GMT -5 Susie said:

I swear by Cole Haan Zerogrand oxfords, which I wear with ankle length skinny pants and either no show socks if it's warm, or fun trouser socks if it's cold.

Question about the sneaker like oxfords that have the white sole. I’m worried that will get dirty/dingy fast. Do you or juliachild have those and how do you keep them looking good after a while?

I have these

which I haven’t really found to get dingy. It probably helps that they are suede, so I don’t wear them when the weather is particularly crappy. I also have brown leather ones with an ivory sole



but they’re newer.  I haven't really worried about getting them dirty though.  The suede ones are softer and a little more comfortable, but I like that I don't have to be quite as careful with the leather ones, and I can pack them for a work trip even if it's going to rain one of the days I'm there.

[juliachild]

Jan 15, 2020 16:03:12 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Jan 15, 2020 14:00:29 GMT -5 Susie said:

I swear by Cole Haan Zerogrand oxfords, which I wear with ankle length skinny pants and either no show socks if it's warm, or fun trouser socks if it's cold.

Question about the sneaker like oxfords that have the white sole. I’m worried that will get dirty/dingy fast. Do you or juliachild have those and how do you keep them looking good after a while?

I wear mine probably twice a week in the winter. I avoid rainy/ snowy days. After a few years they looked a little rough. Using a magic eraser cleans them up.

[orval]

I like Skechers Go Walk. There are some like flats that you could wear with a dress. They are not the most fashionable but comfy.

www.zappos.com/p/skechers-seager-power-hitter-black-black/product/9184293/color/183092

www.zappos.com/p/skechers-performance-go-walk-lite-finest-black/product/9365788/color/3

www.zappos.com/p/skechers-performance-go-step-lite-queenly-black/product/9043526/color/3

[mcsangel2]

I second that you need supportive insoles. I was going to recommend Superfeet, I see you previously tried the superfeet easyfit, but I think you really need a full insole that will provide arch support. The color you get depends on what kind of arches you have; I have flat feet so I have superfeet black in my figure skates.

I also second that you have to get used to wearing them in advance of the trip you want them for. Your feet have to acclimate to them.

[litebright]

Jan 15, 2020 14:32:24 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Others will probably have better suggestions but mine is: just wear tennis shoes. Get a nice pair of the monochrome soft leather ones (like Greats or Koio if you have money to burn — or even Cole Haans).

I can’t think of a conference these days where I don’t see people wearing sneakers. Even the [well-known bank] investor conference this week (that’s filled with New Yorkers) — I saw both men and women swapping out designer dress shoes for designer kicks. The CEO of [UK-based multinational] was spotted wearing gold tennis shoes.

If you can’t quite bring yourself to do it ... I agree with the Zerogrand not-quite-sneakers suggestion.

My coworkers and I were talking about this topic this week, and it was duly noted that a ton of tech CEOs wear designer sneakers for keynotes now. 

I was googling out of curiosity and apparently one of the favored brands is Lanvin, which can run $500-ish dollars a pair. CRAZY. 

[pumpkin]

Jan 15, 2020 16:38:17 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

I second that you need supportive insoles. I was going to recommend Superfeet, I see you previously tried the superfeet easyfit, but I think you really need a full insole that will provide arch support. The color you get depends on what kind of arches you have; I have flat feet so I have superfeet black in my figure skates.

I also second that you have to get used to wearing them in advance of the trip you want them for. Your feet have to acclimate to them.

I was also going to suggest Superfeet. My podiatrist recommends the green inserts as a good basic insert for everyone; but they definitely take breaking in.