Dress shoes for standing/walking/squatting/bending all day

[pnw86]

I am a physical therapist and I work in outpatient ortho/private practice setting. I have always worn $75-100 dress shoes- florsheim, bostonian, clarks, etc. I was looking into spending more to get a more comfortable, higher quality shoe that can be repaired, resoled, or remade, and won't leave my feet tired or sore at the end of the day.

One of my primary concerns is comfort- I am on my feet and walking all day, sometimes up to 9 hours. I am almost always on carpeted surfaces, and don't walk with them outdoors almost at all (just between my parking space and the building). With patients, I have to be able to bend, squat down, and demonstrate exercises (including performing a squat, lunge, pushup, step up onto a step, and sometimes even planks or side planks). I usually only perform 1 or 2 repetitions of an exercise as demonstration, so I am not doing these movements for significant periods of time.

I was looking at allen edmonds shoes, as people seem to rave about them, but I was curious if this shoe would stand up to use heavier than just standing, walking, and sitting at a desk. Any advice is appreciated! My budget is $125-250; I understand some styles of AE can be had for this price when on sale or from the shoe bank.

 

[theplayerking]

This is a tricky one. Doing pushups will crease (and destroy) any good dress shoe. They're simply not designed to bend that way. You might want to look for a dressy and stylish leather sports shoe.

 

[billythekid]

You need a rotation of shoes and to give them 2 or three days off Between wearings, so you're going to need a few fairs of them. Maybe try out one pair first, wear them on Tuesday/Thursday. Make sure you get sized properly. Not all AEs fit the same way, since they are built on different lasts.
I don't think you'll have a problem with them breaking down, but if you do just wear them on weekends and to parties. There are a lot worse things to own than a pair of nice shoes.

 

[emidyl]

This is a tricky one. Doing pushups will crease (and destroy) any good dress shoe. They're simply not designed to bend that way. You might want to look for a dressy and stylish leather sports shoe.

what he said...