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Why are expensive shoes so uncomfortable ?

Doug11

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I have 1 pair of Church's shoes, 1 Cheaney and just bought some Crockett & Jones on special from plal and find them all fairly uncomfortable.
The shoes are stiff and aren't nice to wear ???? Why would this be so ??

The last 4 sets of shoes I have worn were Florsheim Comfortech and they are good for 3 mile walks - but I am getitng older and have decided to buy these better looking English shoes.

Anyone else had this problem ??? I thought the more expensive English shoes were suppossed to be comfortable ?
 

patrickBOOTH

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It sounds like you are just not used to wearing leather soled shoes. Despite popular opinion the foot is not meant to be shrouded in plush materials. Use them more, they will conform to your feet over time and you will love them.
 

Patek

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May I suggest EG. Mine are the most comfortable shoes I own.

Many shoes require a break-in period.
 

ysc

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Proper leather shoes can start out a little stiff, they will soften up.
Comfortech shoes are basically built like trainers right? I find after mostly wearing trainers for a while switching back to proper shoes makes my feet a little sore if I walk allot, but I quickly get used to it again. Your feet will too.

It is also possible if you bought your shoes online they don't fit all that well. Just because they are the right size on the box dosn't mean they are the right fit. The comfiest of my proper leather shoes are easily as comfortable as any of trainers I own (with the caveat of the stiffer materials used to make them taking a while to get used to) but a pair that doesn't fit well can be uncomfortable, much more so than an ill fitting pair of trainers.
 

lasbar

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Good shoes are always a bit stiff to start with...

It is actually a good thing because you will have to break them in....
 

mktitsworth

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Originally Posted by ysc
Proper leather shoes can start out a little stiff, they will soften up.
Comfortech shoes are basically built like trainers right? I find after mostly wearing trainers for a while switching back to proper shoes makes my feet a little sore if I walk allot, but I quickly get used to it again. Your feet will too.

It is also possible if you bought your shoes online they don't fit all that well. Just because they are the right size on the box dosn't mean they are the right fit. The comfiest of my proper leather shoes are easily as comfortable as any of trainers I own (with the caveat of the stiffer materials used to make them taking a while to get used to) but a pair that doesn't fit well can be uncomfortable, much more so than an ill fitting pair of trainers.


This. The thing to do is to find someone who can measure your foot properly so that you know what you're looking for.
 

NewYorkBuck

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Originally Posted by ysc
Proper leather shoes can start out a little stiff, they will soften up.
Comfortech shoes are basically built like trainers right? I find after mostly wearing trainers for a while switching back to proper shoes makes my feet a little sore if I walk allot, but I quickly get used to it again. Your feet will too.

It is also possible if you bought your shoes online they don't fit all that well. Just because they are the right size on the box dosn't mean they are the right fit. The comfiest of my proper leather shoes are easily as comfortable as any of trainers I own (with the caveat of the stiffer materials used to make them taking a while to get used to) but a pair that doesn't fit well can be uncomfortable, much more so than an ill fitting pair of trainers.


+2. The only good dress shoes that did not hurt my feet at all from the first time I wore them were my Alden loafers.
 

Blackhood

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My Churchs took nearly 2 weeks to break in. Now they are more comfortable than slippers made from kitten skins.
 

pgd3

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Originally Posted by Doug11
The last 4 sets of shoes I have worn were Florsheim Comfortech and they are good for 3 mile walks - but I am getitng older and have decided to buy these better looking English shoes.

"Last 4 sets"

What condition are those shoes in now? Do you still wear all 4 pairs? My last 4 pairs of higher quality shoes are still in my closet being worn regularly.


Think about your shoes as a baseball mitt. Starts off stiff, unwieldy, you couldn't play a game with it because you couldn't close it on the ball. So you break it in watching tv, or playing catch, and it conforms to your hand and starts to become flexible, and eventually you can tell that's your mitt. Alternatively there are some manufacturers of baseball mitts that are made of synthetic materials. They can be comfortable as well, but they're cheaply made, sort of unattractive, and break down quickly.

The shoe is no different, good leathers must be worked to become supple, and double leather soles are no exception.
 

alexanduh

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either break them in or size properly it seems
 

GBR

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Spam?

Either they don't fit properly or you are simply not used to wearing good quality leather shoes. Either stick with cheap shoes or make sure that they fit and persevere.
 

tim_horton

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For me, if the shoe fits, it's comfortable from Day 1. If not, there's a size and/or last problem.
 

gladhands

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Originally Posted by Doug11
I have 1 pair of Church's shoes, 1 Cheaney and just bought some Crockett & Jones on special from plal and find them all fairly uncomfortable.
The shoes are stiff and aren't nice to wear ???? Why would this be so ??

The last 4 sets of shoes I have worn were Florsheim Comfortech and they are good for 3 mile walks - but I am getitng older and have decided to buy these better looking English shoes.

Anyone else had this problem ??? I thought the more expensive English shoes were suppossed to be comfortable ?


Two things, as others have stated, your new shoes might not fit. Secondly, and most importantly, the shoes you're comparing them to are BASICALLY SNEAKERS, and regardless what anyone on this forum says, sneakers are more comfortable than dress shoes.
 

MadAboutPlaid

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One of the biggest eye openers for me since reading SF has been the area of how shoes fit. I pretty much just bought the same size all the time and made sure my feet weren't cramped. Consequently, I think many of my shoes may be too big. What problems are caused by this? How do you really judge fit?
 

kasakka

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If the shoes move around in your feet when you're walking, they're most likely too big. I have these shoes that were UK 9F in size, which is apparently slightly bigger than they should be (my other ones are 8½F) but they have a very narrow space for your feet to go in so they're a bit hard to get on but once they're on, they moved around when walking which may cause blisters in the long run.

So I got soft, thick shoe inserts for them and now they're super comfortable apart from being still hard to put on. So if you feel you have a too big shoe, try shoe inserts first. If the shoe is very wide then there's not much to do though.
 

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