Reasonable work shoes

NotTheStig

NotTheStig

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This has been a problem for years (I should have posted sooner). I need to replace work shoes every couple of months. I am UK size 11, preferably wide fit, and shoes tend to wear out quickly in the heel. I want soft plastic or leather work shoes (i.e. don't dig in to my ankle/heel or feel like my feet are slapping against concrete) that don't cost a lot of money (£60 max.) I bought some Clarks recently and they seriously bruised my soles. Two days and I was in a lot of pain. I added an insole for comfort and that caused the tops of my toes to rub against the end of the shoe.
I tend to stick to cheap shoes as they tend to fit easily, be very soft and be more widely available in my size in the budget shops but they wear out in a month or two - usually either inside like my current shoes in the heels (approx. 1 month, £20) or unevenly on the outside the soles. Some of these don't let my feet breathe either - another must. I feel like I must be doing something to complicate this as I really struggle to just get a decent pair of shoes!
Marks and Spencer have been good but rarely have size 11, even in my larger local branch. I have to order online and make sure someone's in to take delivery regularly. A lot of fuss for just a pair of shoes! I took a chance on a pair from Asda once and they were the best pair in years, and for £15! I wore them till the soles wore in.

Any help appreciated.
 
You should always own at least 2 pairs of shoes and alternate the wearing of them day by day. Never wear the same pair of shoes for 2 days running as they need to dry out properly. Ideally you should store them with shoe trees in them as this helps them dry out properly. This in itself will help them to last longer.

If you want shoes to allow your feet to breath then you really want leather soles, although this might not be practical if you spend a lot of time walking, which by the fact you wear shoes out so quick I assume you do. You could always opt for leather soles with rubber inserts.

If the soles really wear out, especially the heels you could consider getting some Blakeys to put in the heel, at least everyone will hear you coming.

Personally I would buy good shoes and have them resoled regularly, if you buy really good shoes then the manufacturer will do the resoling, and while they are at it they replace the leather on the inside of the shoe, and redress the top so they look new and shiny once more.
 
2 months?! Good ol fashioned air soled DM's if you're on your feet all day.

On second thoughts, not much is going to prevent that rate of wear but there's bound to be plenty of "workwear" that have air cushioned soles but at less than DM prices.
 
Thanks both. I couldn't find Doc Martins except in the familiar 80s skinhead variety.

LTB - I do usually have more than one pair but they have both worn out evenly so the current pair has been used exclusively except at weekends. Although you've already offered a lot of help could you point me in the direction of websites you would recommend? I like the idea of getting shoes fixed but thought it was an anachronism these days.
 
Good suggestions so far! I'm heavy on shoes too, being very heavy myself and would +1 the DM's. I have an old brown pair (in keeping with FM's Beatles theme - Old Brown Shoe) that I still wear round the garden after over 10 years of owning them. Admittedly they look a little tatty nowadays but are still very comfy. My old pair were made in England but I believe like many things, manufacture has moved to the Far East.

Good luck.
 
I always wore DM shoes or Magnum boots when I was in the police, tough, comfortable and long lasting. Have you tried walking shoes or safety shoes like the Chukka shoes from Blacks for £25, Screwfix or B&Q do Dickies for about £30.
 
I just wonder from your original post whether there is a reason for being so heavy on shoes. If they're wearing out unevenly you might have a funny gait (as it were). It might be cheaper in the long run if you saw a podiatrist (possibly via a physio, I think). It may be that a couple of customised insoles in your shoes could fix the problem.

Regarding DMs: I used to have DM shoes which I actually wore with a suit for work. Used to be able to get them from the Army & Navy Stores (presume they don't exist any more)... now you have to go to a trendy shop
 
I think there might be a reason, too. I sometimes have a funny gait. I tend to hobble a bit; not every day but a fair bit as my soles usually feel bruised whether I'm in trainers or brogues. It's not something I really think about as I have got used to it and got on with it. I don't walk at work very much but I do walk four miles a day during the week as a minimum as I walk to the train station and back and like to get out of the office for fresh air at lunch. I suppose when I think about it it's not surprising the £20-£40 shoes don't last that long. I probably walk anything from 2-4 miles at the weekend as well, in Converses (replaced every six months or so) or North Face walking shoes (which after eighteen months of intermittent have worn away at the heels!)

I would need to wear these shoes with a suit when out on business and round the office with smart work trousers and shirt (no ties or suit jackets required anymore).

I can see some respectable looking Doc Martens on the web - thanks. I will have a look into the other option suggested above. Cheers all.
 
At least you must be as fit as a whippet with all that walking. How about doing the walking to the station in your walking shoes and leaving the posher work shoes to change into at work?
You might look like a pillock walking to the station... but looking like a pillock has never bothered me.
 
If you're serious about getting DMs (and I would recommend them), save-up a bit and get a pair from either the "For Life" or "Vintage" ranges - they are pricier, but are made in the Woolaston factory to a similar standard to the originals. Nowadays, the standard lines are made in the Far East, and reports suggest that build quality is variable to say the least. If you can wait for a while, keep an eye on Ebay - NOS English-made ones pop-up now and again, often much cheaper than a new pair of the Far East-made ones would be.
 
I'm quite interested in this too. I walk to and from work - 4 miles round trip - and, as a teacher, spend much of the day on my feet. As such, my shoes are rapidly falling apart. I've combated this to an extent by starting to wear trainers for the 'commute' but this still leaves me with a knackered pair of shoes that need replacing. Two pairs in fact - but the holes in the one have made them too embarrassing to wear!
 
I bought a pair of trainers to walk to and from work, because I bought a pair of doc martens shoes a couple of years ago and they seriously hurt my feet.

The NOS or For Life/Vintage ones appeal to me though, that perhaps explains why I got what I feel are poor quality shoes.
 
NTS do your feet ache in the morning before you get out of bed and is it a little painful to walk at first? Soles feeling bruised sounds like Plantar Fasciitis, which I have to a lesser degree.
 
Breaking-in DMs can be a bit of work. Various methods are supposed to work, but I favour smothering the leather inside and out with shea butter until it won't absorb any more, then leaving the shoes in a warm place to allow the stuff to be fully absorbed into the leather. Once you've done that, I'd advise wearing them around the house at weekends/in the evenings with thick socks on to let the softened leather adapt to the shape of your feet. That's where the better quality of the English-made ones comes into its own; the leather responds better to treatment than the stuff they use in the foreign-made ones.
 
I wear Loakes shoes every day for work, and walk approx 7 miles a week in them, they are expensive though, and to have them resoled isn't exactly cheap either, you could probably get a new pair of shoes for less money.
I don't seem to wear through shoes though, so as much as they are good for me, they probably don't suit everyone.
 
Sorry to hear that, Tackleberry. Sometimes they ache a little in the mornings but much more at the end of the day. It feels like evenly distributed bruising with nothing visible. I thought about swapping trainers for shoes when I get to work but it's a bit of a faff. I would rather have decent shoes all the way. I will try looking for vintage dm and the other suggestions.

I read up on that condition and while I would say I have some of those symptoms I think I probably suffer from fatfuckeritis. I am trying to lose weight at the mo. This has been compounded by general laziness for exercise beyond walking and a very fast pie eating arm. Fortunately I am cutting back on the food most days and don't drink much. I think losing weight will help with shoe life and sole pain. Thanks for pointing it out as my feet aren't very flat and my lower back is a bit curved. I suffer regularly from lower back pain but I do remember when I lost two and a half stone five years back I had no back pain. Can't recall the foot thing though
 
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