Spend entire days on your feet for work? When our job requires us to be standing all day on hard, concrete floors, they can pretty tired and sore by the evening. Furthermore, we’re often required to adhere to dress codes, which can be uncomfortable.
Fortunately, we’ve tested many a shoe to bring you the ultimate guide to the best men’s dress shoes for standing all day:
- Brogue Shoe: Wolf & Shepherd Senna Wingtip
- Business Casual: Mephisto Cap Vert Penny Loafer
- Oxford Shoe: Beckett Simonon Dean Oxford
- Derby Shoe: Ecco Lisbon Plain Toe Tie
- Black Slip-On: Ecco Illinois Venetian Loafer
- Orthotic Derby Shoe: SAS Ambassador
Looking for a particular style that’s listed above? Use the links to jump ahead or keep scrolling to read more! Additionally, we’ll talk about what features to look for that ensure comfort when on your feet all day at the end of this guide.
Quick Buyer’s Guide
In a hurry and just want to grab the best shoes available? Use the Quick Buy Guide below to head straight to the retailers. Otherwise, scroll down to learn more about each shoe detail.
Brogue Shoe
Penny Loafer
Oxford Shoe
Derby Shoe
Venetian Loafer
Orthotic Derby Shoe
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- Style: Blind Brogues
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $365 [Buy From Wolf & Shepherd]
Overview
Inspired by athletic shoes, Wolf & Shepherd have gone above and beyond the usual steps of dress shoes to ensure all-day comfort. These stunning brogues feature patented comfort technology such as a TECH outsole and EVA foam heel, which is wonderful when on your feet for hours.
How To Wear
Being blind brogues, which means that there’s no toe medallion, there’s are a touch more formal than regular brogues. However, they’re less formal than Wolf & Shepherd’s classic Oxford shoes. Nevertheless, they’re very versatile and can cater to a great number of dress codes from business casual to business professional.
Best Colors
Available in black, maple mid-brown or honey tan, there’s plenty to choose from. However, if you want a more formal style, you can always opt for the Oxford shoe variant, which we mentioned above.
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- Style: Penny Loafers
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $350 [Buy Now On Amazon]
Overview
Designed with comfort in mind, Mephisto’s penny loafers are much more discreet than the brand’s usual line-up. Thanks to the French-designed Spinnaker insoles, you’ll experience all-day comfort when standing all day.
How To Wear
Less dressy than most formal dress shoes, these penny loafers are ideal if you want something a touch more casual. They’re perfect for business casual wear or more formal attire in the summer when you can wear a beige suit.
Best Colors
For something very casual, opt for the tan shade. However, there’s a Cordovan colour, which is slightly more formal and may offer you more versatility. If not, there is a black leather option but we find this to be too dressy given the shoe style.
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- Style: Oxford Shoe
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $199 [Buy From Beckett Simonon]
Overview
Offering simply astounding quality with a very modest price tag, we were blown away by Beckett Simonon’s quality Oxford shoe. Handmade from Argentinian calfskin with a Blake stitch construction, they’re very comfortable and well-cut for all-day style and comfort.
How To Wear
Ideal for virtually any professional or formal setting, these are wonderfully versatile shoes. We favour these dress shoes for everyday office wear. However, it doesn’t make them too casual for black tie attire either!
Best Colors
Naturally, black is the default colour for formal footwear. However, you can also opt for a tan calfskin leather if you want to wear these shoes slightly more casually. Nevertheless, we’d opt for black as it’s a more functional colour for the shoe’s design.
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- Style: Derby Shoes
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $170 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Ecco is a brand that’s well-versed in designed comfortable yet office-friendly shoes. Walking a fine line between orthopaedics and style, the brand offers quality office-friendly shoes that provide all-day comfort. These derby shoes feature a classic design and a cosy fit thanks to the brand’s Comfort Fibre System.
How To Wear
Being a classic derby shoe, the Lisbon is quite versatile and can be worn in a number of situations depending on the colour you choose. You could happily wear these with a business suit or even throw them on for more casual wear. However, the open-throat system of derby shoes aren’t formal enough for black tie.
Best Colors
If you’re looking for a more formal shoe, then black will be the safest choice. However, if your dress code allows it, we prefer the mid-brown that has a hint of ox blood. It’s a much more versatile and eye-catching choice.
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- Style: Venetian Loafer
- Formality: Business Professional
- Pricing: $260 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
If your workplace requires a dress shoe but you want something that is intentionally understated, convenient and comfortable, the Ecco Illinois loafers are ideal. Also featuring the Comfort Fibre System as well as a removable leather-covered inlay sole, you can expect solid performance when on your feet.
How To Wear
Although they may not win points on style, they’re ideal if you want something that’s discreet and designed for professional use. If anything, the Illinois is more like utilitarian office footwear that masquerades as dress shoes. Fine with a suit or smart dress, they’re especially ideal for retail and catering.
Best Colors
Available in walnut brown or black, there’s a decent selection that should cover all the necessary bases for work.
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- Style: Derby / Blucher Shoes
- Formality: Business Casual
- Pricing: $233 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
If you suffer from potentially severe foot pain after being on your feet all day, an orthotic shoe might be the best solution available. Designed with paediatrics in mind, the SAS Ambassadors are equipped to provide foot pain relief and are a blessing when standing all day.
How To Wear
With its derby shoe design, they’re versatile footwear that should be suitable for all working environments. Whilst they’re too casual for anything like cocktail attire or black tie events, they should cover all your bases as well as business casual wear.
Best Colors
Black is the best colour if your needs are purely professional. However, the brown shoes are quite versatile and can be worn more casually when out and about.
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Standing All Day In Dress Shoes
Whilst many of us spend our eight hours sat firmly behind a desk, which isn’t particularly healthy either, there are other professions that require being on your feet all day.
Catering, retail, security and education are but a few where you can find yourself standing for hours on end. Although standing and walking are indeed healthy activities, there gets to a point where it becomes too much.
In fact, prolonged standing is a major cause of disorders such as Plantar Fasciitis, which can become a chronic condition. Otherwise, you may suffer from sore and tired feet, which puts you out of action by the time you clock out.
Additionally, many of the professions where you’d be required to stay on your feet may also have relatively strict dress codes. As such, you’ll be obliged to remain rather formal, which rules out more comfortable footwear such as sneakers.
Dress Shoe Features For Standing All Day
Shoe brands have learned to change with the times and are now catering more and more to comfort. Once a shoe that was associated with rigidity and discomfort, many now feature characteristics more associated with athletic shoes.
From PU footbeds to EVA midsoles, we’re beginning to see a revolution in modern footwear where the traditional dress shoe is becoming a comfortable option.
However, whilst cheap dress shoes tend to skimp on quality, which can make them quite uncomfortable, the traditional construction of premium footwear can actually be quite comfortable too. Nevertheless, here are a few modern features that the best dress shoes for standing tend to feature:
- Cushioning: Cushion has been around for a long time but has only recently become serious. Originally, just a few symbolic pads were found on the heel, which didn’t do much. Today, quality shoes for standing offer deep cushion, which take pressure off the contours of your feet.
- Stability: Although best for when walking, lateral stability makes it more comfortable for standing too. This means that your feet don’t need to strain themselves to stay upright.
- Shock Absorption: Thin leather soles don’t offer much shock absorption and can become very uncomfortable over a period of time. Quality shoes tend to have thicker leather and rubber soles as well as newer materials like EVA and PU, which offer some bounce and padding when on your feet.
- Arch Support: Absolutely essential for preventing disorders like Plantar Fasciitis, arch support cups the bottom of your feet so they aren’t strained when standing. Just make sure that they match your foot shape as too much arch support can cause bruising.
- Natural Materials: Although some synthetics can breathe quite well, the best option for dress shoes still tends to be leather. This is because it works as a membrane and actually exchanges moisture. Most fake leather shoes don’t do this and the build up of sweat can cause blisters.
- Ankle Grip: Features like ankle notches or collars prevent your feet from slipping out of your shoes. This reduces friction and prevents blistering when walking.
What Next?
Now that you have read about the best men’s dress shoes for standing all day, take a look at our related footwear guides:
- All Best Shoes For Standing All Day
- All Men’s Dress Shoes Buying Guides
- Best Men’s Dress Shoes For Walking
- Best Men’s Dress Shoes For Flat Feet
- Most Comfortable Men’s Dress Shoes
- Best Shoes For Plantar Fasciitis
- Bespoke Unit Shoe Homepage
"Excellent support for long hours on my feet. I work in events and used to suffer from sore feet at the end of a shift. Not anymore!"Rating: 5.0 ★★★★★
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