1y ago

What are your favorite, durable shoes for office work?

Hey, looking into investing into a pair or two of shoes for work. I'm in IT now but worked warehouse and restaurant jobs before this and shoes were by far the biggest qol purchase I made. My current job is pretty relaxed on "business attire" but I want some sneakers and slip ones that look professional while being comfy and will last awhile. All my past work shoes/boots have been Red Wings and that's the standard im looking at.

18 comments

Go with Hoka One Ones or On Cloud models - comfy af and rated for more kms than your average shoe.

Dr Martens make a good range of comfortable good looking shoes. They’re also available under the Air Wair (yes that is spelt right) name.

I've been wearing Vans for years but they're pretty much disposable these days, after 6 months they wear down to uselessness. If anyone has recommendations for alternatives in the same style I'm all ears.
- Was just about to recommend Vans. In other post I've shown my past collection of them and praising how durable they were even after me abusing them.
  That was 7-4 years ago, I still have 2 pairs of them in good condition, someone else has the remaining. Maybe they make them different now. "Enshittification" I guess. I've hiked, skated, partied in them and wore them casually as well.
  
  I've been wearing them for about 20 years. Back then one pair would last me 2/3 years of daily use, they'd start looking funky after a year or so but all the stitches would hold, they wouldn't get holes, etc etc. 4 to 7 years ago they probably lasted less than a year already, and now it's 6 months before the sole starts separating. Probably the effects of continually optimizing costs and using lower grade materials and processes.

I like Sketchers work shoes. Very comfortable and long lasting

truly if you're in IT are you going to be moving around that much? I have to remind myself to stretch when i'm in the office as i'm usually sitting for hours at a time.
- Some IT people work on helpdesk, or write documentation, or code, and sit for 8 hours a day. Some others build or support systems; or install cabling or servers in the data centre. There are multiple situations; IT is a wide and varied field.
  
  fair point, all the IT guys i see are basically bolted to their desks but if you're moving around a lot i can understand the need for good shoes.

I keep a pair of Vionic shoes in my drawer at work. I usually wear boots when I’m on my motorcycle but will change into my Vionics while at work.

I’ve gone through multiple pairs of Brook’s Adrenalines and they’ve always been super comfortable and nice looking with some solid color choices. Only problem is some pairs have gotten beat up pretty quick but I also wear them everyday so that’s probably a me thing.
- I mostly wear hokas and brooks. My husband likes ONs, but says they're better for waking than standing. Dansko is good too.

I’ve had these for like 3 years now. They last practically forever, just replace the soles.
https://www.redwingshoes.com/heritage/mens/Weekender-Chelsea-03311.html?cgid=mens-heritage
Once they break in, they are super comfortable
Sorry, just saw you said red wings in the past. My bad

I've enjoyed my last few pairs of Florsheims.

I swear by Doc Martens.
They're painful at first but once you break them in they are incredibly comfy and last years. I've had my shoes for a decade now without issues. They've been with me from my first customer service job, all the way through college and into my current desk job.
It's about time for a new pair but these guys have seen it all.

18 comments