Shoes that are designed to actually be used?

[StickItUpYaJumpa]

Y'know like walking to and from work (30mins) without the heels wearing to nothing (not high heels, just normal ones) or the soles developing holes within weeks?

I'm getting really fed up with shoes not actually being up to the job of light walking.

I could get some proper walking boots or sometging but that seems ridiculous for walking around town on a weekend.

Doesn't seem to matter whether they are cheap or expensive.

converse have always lasted for me, my pair is 2 years old and still going strong.

My Clarkes brogues have lasted really well.

I buy Kurt Geiger or Dune moccasins for work and they last well. Shoeaholics is cheap for KG.

If I’m not working I tend to live in my Toms.

Do you wear the same shoes every day? DH wears one pair of shoes to work and goes through them really quickly. I on the other hand have 40 pairs of shoes so wear my work shoes at most once a week and they last years.

I love my fly boots for walking so comfortable and long lastong

Gabor.

Skechers GoWalk?

Sketchers

I love Converse but there is bugger all support under the arch

Dr Martens

Dr Martens - supremely comfortable and virtually indestructible 😁

I have Red or Dead brogues from Schuh and they look smart and professional but are light and comfortable.

I’ve heard Gabor mentioned before.

I live in trainers, get some Adidas superstar ones, they are so comfy, look great with lots of different outfits and also are pretty splash proof on a wet day.

Rotate your shoes (to let the sweat dry out and the shoe structure to recover) and resole when you start seeing the damage getting towards the shoe structure. This is less than £20 in Timpsons, so provided you're buying decent shoes to begin with, worth the money.

Also buy shoes with a wide heel: less stress on the heel tip so it wears slower.

I don't want to sound like I'm poo-pooing all your suggestions... but...

Sketchers got very smelly and I couldn't get rid of the smell even after washing. I don't have particularly smelly feet normally.

I'm not funky enough to wear trainers and look good in them. I don't mind so much if it's just for the commute but if we are going for a little amble then lunch I don't want to look completely ridiculous. I know lots of people can carry off the converse/Adidas and pretty dress look. I can't.

Same with DMs. Every so often I try them on just in case that's changed. My daughter has some amazing pairs. Maybe I need to just bite the bullet and try to make them work.

I tried some low wedge type Fly boots. They lasted a little longer but not significantly.

I'm not completely convinced by the wear shoes less often, they last longer argument. If I wear one pair once a week, then of course they'll last 7 times longer than a pair I wear every day. Excluding letting them breath of course but that isn't the issue. I do rotate shoes anyway.

I went through a phase of having the cobbler put an extra sole and some metal heel tips on every new pair of shoes. It helped somewhat but it wasn't worth the cost or effort.

I actually have a pair of Clarke's broughes. I love them but they rip my feet to shreds. I've been "breaking them in" for about a year! They are metallic finish so I'm a bit nervous about using a hair drier to soften them.

90% of my shoes are flat or block heel.

I'll take a look at gabor. I've never heard of them.

My Geox brogues are lasting very well and I walk over an hour every day. They are very comfortable

I recommend the chunky Clark's brogues. They're a totally different fit to the metallic ones. They are the "comfort soles" or whatever and they really are as comfy as comfy things.

I tried on my 11 year old son's boots at his suggestion, they were so comfortable I've bought the same ones, I had to put different laces in mine to tell them apart

Boys shoes? He can kill off a pair of brand name trainers or shoes in a couple of weeks but the ones that last, and therefore all we buy him now, are Geox and Fila... apparently they're what I wear now too - luckily I have a casual wear friendly job (can wear pretty much anything) and I'm embracing boy's shoe comfort and wearability

DD wears incredibly expensive gor-tex running shoes as her everyday shoes, and like Ds1 gets to school by public transport and has a lot of walking to do around the school campus between lessons and getting there and back etc. Hers also wear well and are very comfortable so are jut about worth the money as touch wood I hope her feet have stopped growing...

I've never found high street shoes or office/ school shoes which last much actual wear and walking in - weather :o

Clark's Originals, Geox, Ecco, Shoe Embassy - all solid, comfortable shoes you can actually walk in.

I find Clark's Originals far more hardwearing and made with better materials/finish than their other shoes. I've walked for miles in them.

CAT boots.

I've never found any shoes comfortable enough to walk for half an hour

So for 7 months of the year I wear ankle boots with tights (as long as there's a gap round the top of the boots they look cool and not clumpy). And in summer, sandals.

Hotter have a range of shoes - some are frumpy but many of them aren't, and I have seen young women in them. Gabor are pretty good IME. Ecco might be worth a look. Avoid patent leather and very stiff uppers.
Like many others, I commute in trainers and change into office shoes at work.
A flat shoe isn't necessarily a comfortable shoe, and pick one that supports the foot. Converse and ballerinas don't support the foot.

Like Mike I was going to suggest Hotter and also say that some of the styles are frumpy, but others really good.
I have a pair of their County tan ankle boots, that I’m wearing for the second winter and they look as good as new. Also very comfortable.

I don’t think there is such a thing, sorry.
Manufacturers don’t make anything high quality to last and fit for purpose anymore.

Stay away from Hotter if you want hard wearing!

I bought a beautiful pair of grey leather boots from there.
They were over £100 which for me, is a lot of money and I would never normally spend that much on a pair of shoes but I decided to pay it because I absolutely loved them and figured being made in the UK (they aren’t!!) they would be good quality.

When I read the label they were cheaply made child labour boots, can’t remember the exact origin now but Indonesia or similar.

Turns out Hotter designs in the UK, but the products are made abroad.

A few months in the colour had worn away from zip, less than a year later the sole broke and they looked unbearably tatty.

Similar story with Celtic and co, I forked out for their flip flops because I was sick and tired of them breaking so quickly and the cheap look of them.
I wanted a pair that looked classy and would be comfortable and last a long time.
I was so disappointed when they arrived and again, were so clearly cheaply/poorly made.
They looked shit in no time.

Ditto for a beautiful pair of sheepskin ankle boots I have from a different company.
They are gorgeous and I love them but they aren’t going to last.
I got them cheap in the sale, they aren’t worth the sale price, let alone the regular price!
Less than 2 years old with very light wear and already the heel is coming away from the sole

I only buy cheap shitty shoes now.
£20 or less.

So they’re not the most stylish brand but I got some boots from Pavers and they are so comfy and warm and seem to be holding up really well with me trekking to uni in all weathers.

Some of the styles are bit grannyish but some of them are really nice!