Super comfy-comfs walking shoes for daily wear

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#Style & Grooming#fashion#shoes

Angel - BlueYOU GUYS. I am fucking excited about this post today. As y’all probably know, I’ve been obsessing over wedding shoes on Offbeat Bride since George Bush was in office… but a reader recently requested a post of (get this!) comfortable walking shoes. WALKING SHOES! For daily wear! This is amazing, because here’s a little secret: I can’t really walk in heels. Platforms I can handle, but despite my love of pumps, I grew up barefoot and worked at a Birkenstock store in college and seriously? I can’t walk in heels.

So today I’m doing my same shoe post style thing, but it’s all about comfy shoes you can actually walk to work in. For the purposes of this post, I’m ignoring the low-hanging fruit like Chucks, Toms, Docs, etc. We’re going to look for shoes that are a bit more structured, but still comfortable as hell. I’m also not going to touch on Fluevogs because seriously that’s a whole different post.

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[img]El Naturalista - Torcal N305 (Arizona Rioja) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Gentle Souls - Two For Dawn (Midnight Blue) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Camper - Beetle-46397 (Black Leather) - Footwear[/img]

[img]El Naturalista - Iggdrasil N095 (Green) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Munro American - Robyn (Leopard Suede) - Footwear[/img]

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[img]El Naturalista - Torcal N305 (Arizona Rioja) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Hush Puppies - Burlesque (Dark Red Leather) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Naot Footwear - Attitude (Shadow Gray Nubuck/Gray Suede) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Camper - Beetle - 46613 (Black) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Fidji - G613 (Beige/Navy) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Hush Puppies - Sonnet (Dark Red Leather) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Think! - Denk Lace Up - 81016 (Red/Kombi) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Hush Puppies - Chaste Ballet (Aqua Suede) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Naughty Monkey - Riddler's Peak (Cream) - Footwear[/img]

[img]Char Rity - Burnt Orange[/img]

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About the Author: Ariel

@findyourafterglow

Author of three editions of the Offbeat Bride book and its sequel (From Shitshow To Afterglow, the ultimate offbeat breakup book) Ariel Meadow Stallings is the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire web properties. She lives in Seattle with her son. To read her latest work, follow @arielist.

Comments on Super comfy-comfs walking shoes for daily wear

  2. May I add the suggestion of Sperry Topsiders! I wear mine daily to walk miles in NYC and often wore them in the forest In Washington state when I lived there. They’re durable too, I still wear the first pair I ever bought often and they’re 4 years old. They come in a wide array of colors and aren’t so preppy looking if you style them differently.

  4. YAY! This is so exciting! I STILL (after 3 years) love the wedding shoes posts! Can I totally put in a request for a future week’s inspiration? I would *LOVE* it if you guys featured shoes that are geared towards those of us who work industry settings Aka no slip grips, steel toes (optional), rubber soles, fully covered top of the foot, etc… I always get frustrated trying to find things that aren’t absolutely hideous & would love to see if you could find anything awesome!

    • This is probably a really old post, but it can TOTALLY be done! Try somewhere like vegetarian-shoes.co.uk or eco-vegan-shoes.com or ethicalwares.com (those sites may be pricey to send to America if that’s where you are), or do an internet search to see what’s available nearer you.

      I have some boots from Vegetarian Shoes that I’ve had for years and are good quality, and I’ve lost count of the miles I’ve walked in them. My boyfriend has some walking shoes and boots from Eco-Vegan-Shoes that are also great (admittedly he doesn’t walk much in them, usually just to the bus stop for work! But they’re comfortable and hard-wearing).

  7. Yay! I can’t wear heels either; I was useless in them even before my feet got old and arthritic, and now I pretty much live in the same pair of Asics every day. I was just bitching to my best friend about the lack of comfy cute shoes for fall, and I am really stoked about the idea of “shoe for daily wear that are comfy” posts.

  8. I can do short heels but really only wider boot style ones. Never could do stillettos and higher heels are no longer something my feet accept. So this is perfect. Also, I was thinking of asking for shoes for Christmas… so this is some inspiration! I see a pair by Naot on there. Love them! Lived in a pair by them last winter when I got to work. I also like Ecco for comfort when I can find them wide enough. But I think I’m going shoe shopping at lunch!

  9. Love this. I’d also like to see a post on comfy, but professional-looking shoes. I have found it near impossible to find shoes that look smart/professional/good for office-type work/meeting clients etc, but don’t torture my feet.

      • Clarks are nice in that they often also have arch support. Before spending a stint in retail and as a bank teller, I could wear any pair of ballet flats imaginable (aka, no support) and be fine, but spending hours on my feet have made them very cranky, even now when I’m not doing the standing-in-one-place-for-hours-on-end thing. I have to at minimum have arch support or I’m in agony. I want to get some shoe inserts, but a lot of flats, I fear, won’t leave room for my feet, then.

        • Clarks are GREAT! So are Privos, which are an offshoot (heh, off-shoe-t) of Clarks. My second most favorite shoes of my entire life are a pair of black Privos that I got almost seven years ago.

          And my first most favorite shoes of my entire life are Merrells.

          So yes, yes, everything that Pamela said.

          I’ve also got some Naturalizers, which are comfy, professional-looking, and cheap compared to Clarks & Merrells, but they come in a lot of less-comfy styles as well.

      • Oh man, Clarks. I discovered them while student teaching and never looked back. (Seriously, you want comfy shoes? Look up ones teachers wear, it’s a profession where you’re pretty much on your feet all day. Nurses too, come to think of it, but they can usually get away with less professional looking shoes.)

    • Oof, tried to respond to this last night, but my phone ate my comment, it appears!

      I think a bunch of the brands Ariel linked to here have more conservative styles available. I’m an NP in a pretty conservative office setting (we’re not business casual — business-business over here!) and Naots, for example, are one of my go-to brands. I also have a pair of Fryes that I’m fond of, though Frye heels are not NEARLY as comfy as Naots. I also wear oxford flats quite frequently. Maybe you and I could go in on a post 😉 I always feel in need of help maintaining my offbeat self while having to dress conservatively.

  11. I love and hate these posts… Love because shoes are pretty. Hate because my stupid feet are stupidly big and the ones I like always only go up to a size 11. More large size shoe posts please 🙂

  12. Great selection! Working in a comfort shoes store, this is something I actually know about. I would also recommend Dansko, Cobb Hill, and Merrell. A good insert/orthotic can also really improve comfort but it should be fitted to your shoe size, not a one size fits all thing.

  14. In America, Payless Shoes carries a brand called Predictions. They are traditionally styled shoes, with walking and comfort in mind. I bought several pairs when I was regularly walking to school and the office. They even make closed-toe/full coverage shoes for people who work in the restaurant industry, but want cute shoes (not sneakers).
    And best of all they are mostly under $30 and carry the shoes in a large range of sizes.

  15. droooool. these are the types of shoes I love but can only buy when they are on super-sale (Payless works well for me too, Cass). I am also a big fan of Ecco. I have a pair of Ecco mid-calf boots that are almost five years old – still in good shape AND I still get compliments on them, so they’ve even held up trend-wise.

  16. Yay, for shoe posts over here too. I love those orange boots so much, I’ve been looking for a pair of comfy shoes that are practical for autumn in the UK aside from my docs, so there are a few good ideas here!

  17. Yes! Due to my hereditary neuropathy, I have to be pretty picky about my shoes and about all I wear are Birkenstocks. Though having something cute AND comfy… I am all over that. More of these kinds of posts please!

  18. hahah love the title of this “comfy comfs” Im not super good at identifying shoes just by looking at these, so they might already be in there, but Doc Martens, for real, once broken in, worth the money! and they have some awesome patterned ones too!

  19. My husband thinks I just have thing for expensive shoes but really when you find the right ones they last way longer than cheap shoes. I have had the same pair of Naots for about 6 years and they still look great. My walking/studio shoes are not super cute but they are Merrells and I stand all day studio, they rock, even my husband switched to Merrells for a good walking shoe.
    Also on a side note, I still have my 80’s Fluevogs, pointy toes, skull buckle, zipper up the side boots and they still fit. My husband looks at them every once in a while and asks why I keep them. My response is that you can’t just “Get Rid” of Fluevogs, they are art in and of themselves.

    • Also known as the Captain Samuel Vines Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:

      “The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.”

      Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars…. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.”

      • I’m going to print this out and give it to my husband every time he complains that I’m buying sperry’s or merrels or what have yous instead of going to payless.

        Years ago his eyes bugged out when I saved and saved so I could buy a North Face Jacket, now almost 10 years later, I have that same jacket and he’s on his 8th winter coat.

      • Yeah, I gotta say… shoes are a place where I think it’s TOTALLY WORTH IT to spend more for quality-built stuff that can be resoled. I used to wear disposable pleather shoes from PayLess, but realized that not only was I spending more over the long haul, but that I was making tons of trash, too.

        • Yes. This. Trash. My vegan shoes would last one season and go in the garbage, plus they did terrible things to my feet and knees and back. My rheumatologist was like – gurrrrrlll you gotta get real shoes. One year, one pair of Sauconys and one pair of Frye boots later, with second handsies for nice occasions, I am saving BOATLOADS of money and working with much less pain. You (and the environment) are so worth it.

          • So true. Although the problem is probably less that they were vegan shoes and more that they were cheap. You can get much better quality vegan shoes that last, but of course the price is higher. You get what you pay for. Same goes for leather though. Shoes really are something it’s worth paying more for! And with any item, the longer it lasts, the less waste and the better for the environment!

      • I agree so much that after “this!”ing your comment I had to comment again just to concur.

        I started with the only buying quality shoes thing when I had just graduated college and was working in a little coffee shop making beans (and then working as a substitute teacher, and then working in a factory, and then in grad school living off my loan disbursements — ugh). It was really, really hard to afford that pair of Dansko clogs, but I did it, and they lasted for YEARS during which I pretty much didn’t have to buy shoes at all. They lasted, in fact, until I got a job where I could more easily afford things.

        So yeah. If one can afford the investment in the first place, quality shoes are pretty much one of the best investments you can make.

  20. I bought my first pair of Dankso SANDALS this summer and am in love. I had tried their clogs before, but what I desperately needed were practical, attractive sandals, that weren’t meant for hiking and could be worn to a wedding or reception. Seriously, I got the brown pair, a month later went back to the black ones of the same shoe, and have been SAD they were sold out of that particular sandal in teal. They are soooo good on my shitty, overpronated, achilles tendonitis feets. Thanks for the post!

  22. aaahhhhhhhh I am about 30 seconds from impulse-buying those Fidjis!

    I love Naots and El Naturalistas . . . have a lovely pair of Naot heels and El Naturalista boots . . . plus my Fluevog boots.

    But srsly there are many other things I could be doing with my income right now . . . but . . . shooooooeeeeeeeesss . . .

    ETA: argh, I did it. Anyway, in the spirit of being useful and not just going on about my shoe lust, my everyday wear-to-work shoes are a pair of Bed Stu oxfords. Totally recommended. Go with everything and I get almost daily compliments.

  24. What would be even more awesome: Posts with shoes that go up to large enough sizes that I can squee too. There is very little love for those of us who are size 15 out there in the world. *sigh*

    • if you mean the red velvet ones, they’re Think!, which is an Austrian company, so I am guessing if you try finding them in an EU outlet somewhere, shipping shouldn’t be so bad…and el naturalista I think are made in Spain… so you might be lucky.
      Does Zalando.com operate in the UK? they are like Amazon, but for shoes…
      anyway… good luck!

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