I need a shoe that will last

Currently, buying shoes ranks as one of those things that I dread. I've been making it the last couple of years with Sketcher's sport line, as it's one of the few types that is actually comfortable. The problem is, they look too casual and they only live ~5 months.
For some reason, I need a LOT of support in my shoes. To make things worse, a lot of pairs that I get seem to feel fine when I buy them, but within a few days they are unbearable to wear. The latest casualty were these which after 3 days of wearing them to work caused severe, lancing-pain up my shins and into my hip.

I'll be coming into some unexpected money soon, so I was thinking about dropping some of it on a really well-made pair. What would you Gents recommend? I'm looking for a casual Oxford that's daily-wearable and will last as long as possible. Price range of $100-150.

Ecco

Mycon said:

Currently, buying shoes ranks as one of those things that I dread. I've been making it the last couple of years with Sketcher's sport line, as it's one of the few types that is actually comfortable. The problem is, they look too casual and they only live ~5 months.
For some reason, I need a LOT of support in my shoes. To make things worse, a lot of pairs that I get seem to feel fine when I buy them, but within a few days they are unbearable to wear. The latest casualty were these which after 3 days of wearing them to work caused severe, lancing-pain up my shins and into my hip.

I'll be coming into some unexpected money soon, so I was thinking about dropping some of it on a really well-made pair. What would you Gents recommend? I'm looking for a casual Oxford that's daily-wearable and will last as long as possible. Price range of $100-150.

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Perhaps a nice pair of Dr. Martens

Kouros said:

Ecco

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+1 . . . longest lasting, most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.

ecco has some nice shoes if you have the right foot for them - i have a wide foot due to flat feet so i couldnt sport the pair i had bought. i've found that the most comfortable shoes i have worn to work were a pair of Born shoes.

Whatever shoe you buy, buy two pair. Nothing wears shoes out fast like wearing the same pair everyday because they don't have time to dry out. If you alternate shoes, they will both last four times as long.

For sheer durability, consider the bison leather models from http://www.hstrask.com/. I have oxfords that are close to 8 years old and have been worn year 'round. Every few years I send them off to nushoe.com to be redone.

They are now priced out of your range, but shoemart's ebay store has a good selection at discount.

Chimensch said:

Whatever shoe you buy, buy two pair. Nothing wears shoes out fast like wearing the same pair everyday because they don't have time to dry out. If you alternate shoes, they will both last four times as long.

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Amen

Sounds like you have some feet problems. If it was me with such problems, I would book an appointment with my doctor, so he can book me an appointment with a spe......t, then get the spe......t to make me a set if molded inserts. Then I could buy whatever shoes I wanted.

If you don't want to do that I would get several shoes to change with. At least two pair of work shoes that you exchange every few days, and at least one pair of weekend/after work shoes. When your shoes are not being worn air them out properly. Shoe tree, stuff them with paper or just pull the shoe open to get some air flow.

As for brand I would go down to your approved Redwing dealer and get properly sized and fitted. http://www.redwingshoes.com/

Johnny

Chimensch said:

Whatever shoe you buy, buy two pair. Nothing wears shoes out fast like wearing the same pair everyday because they don't have time to dry out. If you alternate shoes, they will both last four times as long.

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Jim said:

Amen

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amen indeed!

alaskamcghee said:

Sounds like you have some feet problems. If it was me with such problems, I would book an appointment with my doctor, so he can book me an appointment with a spe......t, then get the spe......t to make me a set if molded inserts. Then I could buy whatever shoes I wanted.

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From the sounds of it, getting some specially made footwear or insert might be very valuable for you!

Ecco +3

Kouros said:

Ecco

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+1000.

the sole on a pair of Ecco shoes is the 8th wonder of the world. You can put a thousand miles on them and they don't wear at all!

No other shoe in the world comes remotely close.

I'm hoping that it's just a matter of cheap shoes. The cheap Oxfords seem to think that padding and support is a 3mm flat pad on top of a 2-inch hard-rubber sole. I've bought several Merrells and Solomons in the past that have fit very nicely, but they are not quite the look I'm trying to achieve.

Those Redwings look quite intriguing. There are also several stores around here. So it sounds like they do a pretty good custom fitting?

kingfisher said:

+1000.

the sole on a pair of Ecco shoes is the 8th wonder of the world. You can put a thousand miles on them and they don't wear at all!

No other shoe in the world comes remotely close.

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I'll have to check them out as well. The Redwing store is right across the street from the mall where the Ecco is sold

Get some Dack's. Like wet shaving the comfort comes over time. I'm not sure if you break your shoes in or the shoes break your feet in but they last for ever, can be resoled and keep looking good with a bit of polish now and then. I have two pairs, one 16 years and the other 21 years. They still look great . . . 25% of the insides are worn out but still comfortable. When I was wearing them every day I think resoling at 2 years is about normal.

Mephisto if you want to spend the extra money.

Alden if you want to spend the extra, extra, extra money.

I've always had good luck with Keen shoes.

badmammajamma said:

I've always had good luck with Keen shoes.

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+1.

Wearing them right now. I don't know if they will be "dressy" enough depending on how you dress for work, but they have some all-leather models that look good enough for business casual. The key difference between these and some lesser shoes as far as durability is the leather interior which doesn't wear out like cloth would. I am sure some of the nice dress shoes also sport this feature and will last well, but are they as comfortable?

For support, I've always relied on hard-soled leather shoes and full calf socks. I picked this up from my father who spent somewhere over 30 years on his feet as a pharmacist. He had tried all sorts of soft shoes, but none of them held up or supported like hard-soled shoes.

I can somewhat attest to this, as well. During high school I sold tickets at the movie theater and I was a bank teller through much of undergrad. I wore soft shoes now and then, but none of them supported the way hard soles did.

One of my first big purchases was a pair of black Florsheim Royal Imperial wingtips. That was 20 years ago and I still have them. They've been resoled a few times, but they're still wonderful.

Unless you go used, you won't find any in your price range. Then again, used isn't the end of the world. You can always have them resoled and reconditioned. Some brands to look for are Alden, Church's, Loake, Peale, Brooks Bros., Crockett, Barker, Edward Green, Cheaney, Lobb, and the vintage Florsheims are terrific, but not the new ones.

The best way to get a used pair off eBay is to take a shoe that fits well and measure it. They'll usually post measurements (aside from size) in listings and most sellers are happy to measure them if you ask. I've had remarkably good luck. Right now, I'm wearing a pair of black Loake monkstraps that fit like a glove, didn't need new soles and ran me about $20. New ones would have been considerably more.