Fashionable Ight Shoes for Standing All Day
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The Nigh Comfy Shoes, According to Professionals Who Stand All the Livelong Solar day
Photo-Illustration: Courtesy of the retailers
In our opinion, there is no such thing as too much comfy-shoe content. Sneakers, of course, can make for both comfortable and dainty-looking footwear, just things get a little trickier from there as there'due south a fine line between fugly and but plain ugly. So to find the all-time comfy and not-offensive-looking shoes out there, we asked 21 absurd women who spend most of the solar day on their feet — including servers, chefs, nurses, flight attendants, hairstylists, protesters, photographers, real-estate agents, and cleaners — well-nigh the shoes they clothing. Their answers range from Shark Tank–canonical high heels to archetype Crocs to '90s-fashion mary janes. Plus a few hacks for making your cute but ill-plumbing fixtures shoes more than endurable.
We admit that some of their picks aren't the most stylish or trendy, but remember that the at present-fugly-absurd Dansko clog was around long before information technology became the official shoe of hipster ceramists. And so who can really say what'southward side by side? All we know is that if you're dreaming of a futurity with blister-free feet and a pain-free dorsum, you volition find the footwear — including heels, flats, clogs, boots, and sneakers — to help you achieve that on the list below.
"I'm telling y'all, anything, literally anything from Clarks that I've put on my anxiety, I'1000 like, Oh, yeah. I'm willing to pay more for them considering I know that they'll exist comfortable," says Cassadi Currier, a hairstylist at Pembly Joon. (She's not alone: They're an overwhelming favorite among our experts — three recommend the brand.) And according to Currier, these heels (not wedges) are her go-tos because they continue her anxiety comfortable for about four to six hours. Currier appreciates Clarks because they come in a variety of styles, including these "relatively cute" ones, rather than the "kind-of-grandma heels" or wedges. The Kaylins are a particular favorite because they "look like booties, simply they have a sandal for your toes to show through," she explains.
According to flight attendant Crystal Roseberry, women in her field "typically wear two pairs of shoes at work." There are terminal shoes, which tend to be sexy heels worn from the fourth dimension flight attendants arrive at the airdrome until they're in the air, and there are in-flying shoes, which tend to be frumpy just comfortable. But Roseberry says these mary janes from Clarks — of which she has multiple pairs — are "the best of both worlds — comfortable enough to wear all twenty-four hours long and yet adequately cute." They're her "hands-down favorite," she says. Sandra Hinton, who has been a flight attendant for 42 years, says these shoes are extremely comfy thank you to the "rounded toe, cushion, and some back up in your instep" also as "a little bit of platform and a low heel."
"I find the pickings to be kind of slim when looking for something supportive that still looks young and cool," says server Tess Parker. Dansko'south Ankle-Strap Clogs, which Parker calls "a solid-gilt tip" for anyone with knee or back bug, are the first pair of shoes she has found that fulfilled her requirements of being both supportive and cool-looking. The clogs have a "slight simply forgiving platform" that helps make them then comfortable, co-ordinate to Parker, who adds, "Our jobs tend to destroy shoes, but these are really long-lasting."
When showing apartments, Realtor Madison Sutton, a.thou.a. "the NYC Agent" on TikTok, easily hits 20,000 steps per day, traversing about 60 flights of sometimes-rickety stairs. Because her job requires her to be professional during appointments but nimble as she commutes between them, she'south a fan of these futuristic heels from Shark Tank alum Haley Pavone, which catechumen into flats in less than 30 seconds. "I can exercise information technology while standing up, which is kind of cool," she says. Yous only click the heel, she explains, "and it pops right off." And nosotros know what you're thinking, but no: "They come with a dust bag, so you're non putting the dirty role of your shoe back in your purse."
Nurse Sorah Edeltuch told the states she spends near of her days in sneakers. Just for something a petty more polished, Edeltuch puts on the Easy Spirit Getcity flats, which she says are just as comfortable. "Easy Spirit mostly makes grandma shoes, but this is the ane pair that doesn't await like it's for grandmas," she says. "They feel similar y'all're walking on supportive pillows. I become and then many compliments when I wear them to work." Like shooting fish in a barrel Spirit no longer sells the Getcity flats, but they're built on the same base as these Gessica Ballet Flats, which are available for $seventy.
Editor's note: These flats are sold out, merely y'all might be able to score a pair on eBay or Poshmark .
"I've been through and then many flats," says flight attendant Heather Kovarik. And afterward testing out many styles that didn't do the job, she finally landed on two trusty pairs from Dr. Scholl's and Fila. "Their soles accept traction, so y'all're less likely to slip, and they have a fair corporeality of cushion on the inside," Kovarik says of both, though she admits that aught is entirely comfortable after an eighteen-hour twenty-four hour period. Merely "these 2 shoes help the most" of all the ones she'south tried.
Flight attendant Roseberry'south favorite comfy flats are this pair from Clarks, which she says are "well made and cute, provide adept support, and concluding forever." She wears them during long shifts in the air and says they keep her anxiety "feeling good all day."
Merica Lee, denim designer and maîtresse d' at Frenchette, spends a lot of time running betwixt her manufactory in Brooklyn, the Garment District in Manhattan, and the restaurant in Tribeca. That's why she looks for shoes that permit her to "easily bop effectually between boroughs but are cute plenty to wear to work." She calls Dankso clogs "a standard for eating house folks," too equally "ane of the most comfortable pair of shoes you can own." Lee opts for an all-white pair, which she says feels more fashionable and unexpected than the classic black. "From running around the metropolis all morning time to standing for eight hours direct behind the host stand, I have admittedly no problems wearing them all day." Flannery Klette-Kolton and Lauren Gerrie, who spend a lot of their time standing in commercial kitchens every bit the co-founders of catering company Large Petty Assemble, also dear Dansko clogs. And author Stephanie Danler told usa she's been wearing her "clunky but kitschy" Dansko clogs since since she got her beginning eating place job at 15.
Il Buco Alimentari chef de cuisine Jamie Hogg'due south "become-to shoe" is a uncomplicated pair of Birkenstock Birki shoes. "They're nonslip, depression-central, last at least two years, and have a changeable inner sole," and so when y'all article of clothing them down, you tin can swap in a new comfy sole instead of buying a 2nd pair.
They aren't the near stylish pair on this list, merely for an even more than affordable — and just every bit comfortable — clog, Crocs will do the fox. Chloe Coscarelli, founder of the restaurant chain By Chloe, wears them while cooking at work and at home considering "they're really comfy and take the right amount of superlative to promote good posture."
If you want to lean further into the Croc aesthetic and experiment with the brand's trademark colorways and patterns, Lily Marotta — comedian, cleaner, and co-host of the podcast Glory Book Gild — says this camo pair "changed my life, particularly at work," later on she bought them at an outlet mall terminal year. "Subsequently a long-ass day of cleaning, my legs are sore, my back hurts — merely when Crocs entered the motion picture, not just am I way less sore, merely they brand the way transition from bathroom scrubbing to the society seamlessly," she explains. And yes, they're Jibbitz-compatible.
Photographer Rochelle Brock is a fan of Crocs, also, specifically the Platform Clog, which is "a flake harder and more than structured," she says. "The whole shoe is safe, and they skid right on and off, which is perfect for when I'thousand in the studio setting up or getting some piece of work done." The platforms come in all the fun colors you expect from Crocs; Brock customizes hers with charms.
"I experience like boots, no matter what kind of boots you buy, you have to break them in; information technology'south similar a wear period of at least a couple weeks to a month before you lot're similar, Okay, these are my boots," says Currier. Of all the boots she recommends, she says these are the quickest and easiest to pause in. On summit of that, she finds them to be stylish. "Being a hairstylist, I accept to expect presentable and I have to look similar I know something about the fashion world," Currier says, so she tries "to notice shoes that are at least ranking a level vii out of 10 that I can wear and be comfy in and nonetheless wait cute."
For winters in New York City, Gerrie swears by Dr. Martens Chelsea Boots as a comfortable but effective style to navigate icy streets. Lee — who wears a platform pair — agrees: "I can stomp around the mill floor in them by day, merely the style means they're cute enough to wear to Frenchette at night." Since Dr. Martens were originally designed equally workwear, they're "really supportive and terminal forever," Lee explains. And the air-cushioned sole is so supportive, "you'll never want to take them off," she promises. The infamously tough leather might take a month or ii to wear in, but it ends up beingness worth the effort. Treehouse Social Society hairstylist Jikaiah says that while her colleagues are devoted to Danskos and Crocs, she has plant the ankle support Docs provide to be crucial for long days on the job. "I've had the same classic black pair for two years, and I just bought a brown pair as well."
Currier loves combat-style boots like these lace-up Dr. Martens. She says the air-cushioned sole is super-comfortable, and she appreciates that they're skid-resistant. "When I'm ringing my clients' hair out, there'due south water on the flooring," she explains. "Having done this for a while, I'll know not to slip in it, but information technology's prissy to know that if I want to walk through it apace, or if I have to, I'm not gonna fall and dice."
Chef Adina Halpern relies on Blundstone boots because they're "very resilient" and "tin can transition from the kitchen to my regular life." They're waterproof, skid-resistant, and offering more ankle back up than clogs or slides, which is a must in a busy commercial kitchen. Halpern even put their slip resistance to the test when she walked "around a butcher shop where the floor was completely covered in beef fat and never slipped." Plus these have sheepskin lining that provides actress comfort and coziness during long stints of continuing.
"Not only are they super-durable but the soft leather makes them very comfortable when I'k on my feet for hours," Helene Henderson, the founder of the Malibu Subcontract restaurants, says of the Frye Veronica Combat Boots. Across feeling skillful, these are extremely versatile and easy to pair with work or weekend outfits.
"Sometimes I piece of work 14 hours on my feet, so I need to be comfy, simply I besides desire to wait nice and cool all at the same time," says Chelsey Pickthorn, main stylist and founder of Pickthorn Salon. When the weather condition cools, her preferred way to continue her feet comfortable but looking nice is past pulling on these Red Wing boots. "They are the most sturdy and soft and comfortable work boot." Pickthorn loves them so much, she has her eye on a 2d pair in brown.
If the Red Wing boots are a trivial out of your cost range, Currier recommends Th boots equally an culling. Currier's young man introduced her to the brand, which are "very similar to Crimson Fly equally far every bit quality goes, only they're at a more consumer-friendly price." This combat-stye pair features patent leather on the exterior besides equally a full leather lining and shock-absorbing insoles for extra comfort.
Sutton is such a fan of Schutz that she buys effectually "eight pairs of shoes a twelvemonth" from the brand, saying they're "really well made" and last her a couple of seasons on average — "which is insane in New York." The platform booties she prefers are a petty pricey, then she says it's worth waiting for deals. "They'll ofttimes practise sales where they're l percentage off, specially in the off-season."
As a photographer, Erin Patrice O'Brien sometimes spends 15 hours directly on her anxiety during a shoot. "It's important to be able to become into really small places, climb down on the floor, or deport stuff for long periods of time, so with all those things, the last thing that you want to have to worry about is if your feet are gonna hurt." That's not the case with these Cruzv1s. Although she doesn't love the look of the shoes, she has been focused on comfort over mode ever since she had to bargain with plantar fasciitis five years agone. These shoes have New Balance'south Fresh Foam cushioning in the midsole, which she says makes all the difference. "Once I wore the retention foam, I couldn't go back to hard shoes or other brands." Within the New Rest line, she thinks these are the standout. "I tried them all on at Macy's in Downtown Brooklyn, and these were the almost comfortable." And even though these are super-comfy, she still slips Dr. Scholl's inserts into all her shoes for extra support.
Air Force 1s are a favorite amidst Gen-Zers and brand a great gift for the teenage girl in your life. Three grown women accept told us information technology'south their favorite white sneaker as well. The universality of the AF1s' comfort is debatable, but Strategist writer Chloe Anello swears by them — especially for her catchy-to-shop-for anxiety. "I take really big feet, and so with a lot of shoes, the arch is in the wrong spot, and they're non comfortable," she explains. "Air Force 1s I can wear all twenty-four hours every mean solar day and not take an issue. I've worn them on vi-mile walks before, and they've been as comfortable as my APL running sneakers."
These may seem like a trendy dad shoe, but Strategist author Tembe Denton-Hurst says they're classics. "For a DMV girl like me, New Balances are a rite of passage," she says. "They're a staple basic shoe, similar what AF1s are to NYC." Plus, she says, they're "stupidly comfortable." She has worn them for 12 hours at a time and worked out in them without complaint. And while they might non necessarily match with everything, they're so comfy that she tries to brand information technology work. "I toss them on with jeans, biker shorts, and dresses — they're stylish in a normcore sort of way and remind everyone that the pandemic has turned me into a comfy-footwear evangelist," she says. "They brand everything more pleasant and are the ane shoe I admittedly have to take with me no affair where I go."
Brock describes her style as sporty and girly and says sneakers are her go-to shoe way. She looks for options that support a wider pes, expect good, and can be dressed up or downwards depending on the consignment. These chunky Filas, which she has in a stylish pink floral pattern merely available on resale sites, are great for working long hours. "They truly feel like you are walking on a cloud." Plus they slip on and off easily, which she says fabricated them great for travel pre-pandemic. "I've traveled from New York to England and Egypt with them."
"The Ultraboosts are a really good Adidas sneaker for everyday wear," Currier says. "They're super-comfortable, like shooting fish in a barrel to put on, and they go with a lot of unlike things because they come in so many dissimilar colors." These are specifically designed for running, a key factor for Brittany Libman, who used to be on her anxiety ten hours at a time as an Amazon warehouse employee. "I always prefer to vesture shoes that are specifically fabricated for activewear, like running shoes," she says. "My shoes were the Adidas running-manner sneakers, because information technology was the most comfortable only likewise nonslip," which she needed while working on hard floors near lots of machinery.
Both Gerrie and bartender and seamstress Pam Wiznitzer say Converse'due south Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers (a favorite among Strategist staffers) are as comfortable every bit they are classic. "With additional cushioning inside, elastic by the tongue, laces (to continue the fit snug), and ameliorate gripping on the floor, these take become my new piece of work shoe and also ones that I tin walk all around New York Urban center in," explains Wiznitzer, who prefers low-tops. Gerrie — who gravitates toward loftier-tops in either canvas or leather — agrees, calling her Converse her "most tried-and-true shoe." Brock likes the high-tops also, especially for her wider feet. "They are extremely comfortable when I take to exercise a lot of walking or continuing for a longer period," she says. "I take some in a few different colors, and I'm able to change my await with them and withal be stylish and beautiful on set."
If your anxiety are too broad for Antipodal like Currier's or you generally have trouble finding lawn tennis-style sneakers, she recommends these Clarks. Her wide feet sideslip right into them, and they have the added benefit of being leather, "which is nice because you can only wipe them off," she says. "For me, doing hair color all day, if I get something on my shoes, I'1000 devastated, so information technology'due south nice to be able to practise a quick wipe and not worry well-nigh it."
"Cushion and curvation back up are major keys," says Nina Sarhan, a Washington, D.C.–based organizer and protester who sometimes walks for hours during protests. "I walked 13 miles on 395 a few weeks ago with a group of Blackness Lives Matter protesters, shutting downwardly a major highway for a few hours. I probably walked for half-dozen hours that dark starting at five and catastrophe effectually midnight," all in these platform Keds. "I observe that it actually offers extra support and cushion especially for long walks," Sarhan says of the platform. "Keds as well have sturdy construction, and then they're great for miles on the roads back and along through Washington, D.C." She thinks the safety soles aid blot the shock of each step, and they proceed her going in inclement weather. "Rain doesn't cease the protests, and then I need the shoes I wearable to not counterbalance down or get gross in the rain," she explains. "And they need to have traction so I don't sideslip on crosswalks where the road can get glace in the rain."
Co-ordinate to Yuki Izumi, Hi-Collar café's manager and signature barista, Nike makes the nearly comfy sneakers to wear while slinging drinks behind the counter, owing to their supportive arches and snug fit. Although they are athletic sneakers, her favorite Roshe Ones await a little less and so than other gym shoes.
When she'southward not wearing clogs or boots, Lee relies on her "sleek and modern-looking" Nike Air Max 270s, which she says experience like walking around on "sponges." She tells us they look good with everything from jeans and jumpsuits to dresses and trousers, "simply most important, they feel good."
Equally a professional ballet dancer, Erica Lall pays extra attention to taking care of her feet. "I have to be careful with what shoes I wear because I obviously use my feet for everything," she says. These Nikes accept been her go-tos for years. "I wearable them every day and won't stop wearing them until I've worn them out. Before COVID, I walked around Europe in a pair with my friend. We walked miles and miles every day, and they actually held upward." She says the shoes have never given her a blister, and they support her arches, "which is a necessity for ballet dancers."
Sutton is "very into" Naked Wolfe's range of platform shoes, which range from "very Bratz" heels and pumps to these mesomorphic, comfy tennis sneakers. She'south about to club her third pair, saying the platforms are "more fifty-fifty" than other brands and take an incredibly long lifespan considering the tough New York City pavement she'south pounding every day.
O'Brien found OOfos sandals in a Google search for the best shoes for people with plantar fasciitis, and they've become her become-to shoes for summer. "Those are super-comfortable, and they're aerodynamic for the feet," she says. They have a foam base, just like her favorite New Balance sneakers, and the OOfoam is said to blot 37 percent more than impact than traditional footwear does.
While Gerrie got her commencement working in professional kitchens, she at present spends a lot of time cooking on sailing boats and at yoga retreats in more tropical locations. If you're looking for comfy footwear for warmer weather condition, she swears past Teva's Universal Sandals, telling us they not only feel good but are super-cute and waterproof to kick. The make is a favorite of extra Sasheer Zamata, who included the wedge version of the Universal Sandal on her listing of things she can't live without. "I feel similar I can walk forever in them," she said. Strategist editor Anthony Rotunno loves Tevas, too; he is such a fan, he recently became the proud possessor of a 3rd pair. The Universal Sandal also came recommended by trail guides when we asked them near the best hiking sandals (which by default need to be comfortable plenty to go you through whatever trek you're on).
Gerrie told usa she loves Birkenstock Arizona EVA Sandals — another Strategist-approved shoe — equally a comfy warm-weather option. Sarhan, jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth and stylist Karla Welch swear by this style, as well, and writer Alison Freer loves its ecofriendly EVA textile, which she says is "both calorie-free on your feet and a dream to pack for travel."
For a sportier-looking sandal, Pickthorn suggests this pair from Eileen Fisher, which she says are "incredibly sturdy for walking and working" because of their thick straps and springy platform.
Currier loves a chunky sandal in the summer. "I'1000 100 percent a house believer that a platform takes the pressure off of your knees," she says, and the platforms on these suede sandals from Clarks come in at about ii inches tall.
Even though these sandals accept more straps than the other sandals on our list, Currier thinks these Dr. Martens "are fifty-fifty slightly more than comfortable than the Clarks." They have the same squishy sole as the Dr. Martens boots she picked above and are made out of vegan leather then "they stretch out pretty nicely."
A mutual misconception virtually comfy footwear, Sutton says, is that high heels, fast-fashion finds, and fussy designer brands are a no-go. Just she has institute that the correct pair of padded socks tin go a long way toward reducing pavement affect and redistributing weight while walking. Calculation these Milano ballerina socks to a cheap pair of Amazon sandals? "Information technology literally transformed a $thirty pair of shoes into $80 shoes in quality." And the no-prove blueprint of Relaxife's liner socks means you can habiliment them with your open-toed heels while the assurance, arches, and heels of your feet secretly relax into the padding. "Information technology completely blends in, and they come in all different pare tones besides as a traditional jet-black sock."
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