Smart black work shoes - worth spending a bit more?

Aloreth

Aloreth

Aloreth

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So for a long time, I have been pondering whether you get what you pay for in the shoe department. I wear a suit to work and whilst I dont mind spending a little more on a suit, I generally tend to pick up black shoes from Clarks for £30 OR £40. I think they look OK at first but after a year tend to look like tired and old.

I was wondering whether its actually worth spending a decent amount of money on black shoes with the hope that they may last a little longer? If anyone has any experience with nice shoes as a decent investment (im not expecting them to appreciate in value :D) then your thoughts would be most welcome.

Thanks,
Mike
 
Whatever you wear every day will be well worn after 1 year. I spend a bit more and wear leather soled myself as they feel so much nicer.
 
Nice shoes look nicer for nicer occasions, they are still going to look worn after a year if you wear them daily.
 
I'd agree with the others, if you're wearing the shoes on a daily basis for a year then you should expect them to look a bit worn. Obviously polishing them and otherwise taking care of them helps but it's not going to solve all problems in that wear will still occur.

I tend to work on the basis that it's worth spending what is needed to get something comfortable as it's something you use everyday for quite long periods of time, if the £40 shoes do that for you then great, if they don't then I'd suggest spending a bit more.
 
It's a good idea to change into shoes at work and just wear them at the office.

£40-80 is the range to be looking at IMO. If they are really comfy at the top end, go for them, but you might find a comfier pair for £50, so it depends how long you can be bothered to shop around for.
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

Guess I will stick with the shoes that I wear at the moment, I think theyre fairly comfy and I tend to dispose of them as soon as I no longer thing that they look smart.

I was considering wearing trainers to work and changing into smart shoes at work but for some reason its one of my pet peeves, seeing someone wearing a suit and trainers.

Getting married this year and the fiance has already bought me some £120 shoes. Might see if they last me longer than my old fairthful clarks shoes.
 
Buy cheap, buy twice.

E.g. a £16 pair from Shoezone lasted 4 months then the soles opened up revealing my socks :( A £35 pair from M&S, however, and they're still going strong after 2 years. I'm not a huge fan of M&S (I don't do posh) but I will go for select things in there. I'm usually more of a Burton or Next person. Burton for works clothes and Next for casual.
 
£400 on Gucci loafers. Job well and truly jobbed.

Actually, Jones make incredibly comfortable shoes, whereas Prada are bloody expensive and will make your feet bleed.
 
Problem with any shoes is that they will go to bits if you wear them every single day. Best bet is to have two or more pairs and rotate them, especially when it's wet
 
The thing that I've repeatedly destroyed shoes with is salty water on roads/pavements during the winter. Better to wear some cheap trainers and then put the shoes on once you get to work.
 
I have several pairs of shoes, its not like I wear the same pair until they die :)

If someone told me that I could pay £80 and they would last for a few years I would be much more willing to shell out.

(as I wonder back to the watch thread with money burning a hole in my pocket.....)
 
I find the backs and tops of my work shoes get really untidy after about a year-15 months from the driving to work and back, also by then from being worn every day the heels are worn a swell so I just replace.

As it is a yearly ish thing I tend not to spend more that £30-£40 but do keep a fresh tidier pair ready for special occasions!
 
Work shoes are cheap, it's worn 5 days a week, I even leave it at the desk and wear a different pair walking between the station and the office.

It's still gets worn after a year walking on carpets mostly with the occasional trip round the block at lunch time. Mine is about £60, some KG ones, picked them up at £40 in the sales.

I have nicer shoes for better occasions.
 
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where i work had a change of uniform 3 couple of years ago and i bought some black cheap Windsors world of shoes, shoes for £10 they lasted 6 weeks before they collapsed into themselves, so i decided to get some buy some Wrangler shoes that cost £49.99 and they are still going strong to this day, ok they look a little worn around the edges, but they still look ok and wear well.

I'm a bargain sort of person, but when it comes to shoes i always make sure they are half decent (apart from that one time, obviously)
 
I just wear a pair of M&S shoes, worn daily and I get over a year out of them for £50. Seems a bit of a waste to be spending hundreds on something that has a high chance of being ruined.
 
Tom_ed1987 said:
Whatever you wear every day will be well worn after 1 year. I spend a bit more and wear leather soled myself as they feel so much nicer.
Click to expand...
Not true if you buy a decent pair.

I've worn these virtually every day (bad of me!) for more than a year. I've polished them once, about a year ago. Would you say they are 'well worn'? I have the original leather soles on them, and they've trodden through pretty much everything!

Considering how they are currently wearing, I am expecting more than 10 years from them.

VuItroY.jpg
 
PMKeates said:
Not true if you buy a decent pair.

I've worn these virtually every day (bad of me!) for more than a year. I've polished them once, about a year ago. Would you say they are 'well worn'? I have the original leather soles on them, and they've trodden through pretty much everything!

Considering how they are currently wearing, I am expecting more than 10 years from them.

VuItroY.jpg
Click to expand...

Samuel Windsor?
 
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