I had the pleasure of meeting Gretchen Rubin in New York last week. She’s delightful, and writes a great blog on happiness.
Her post yesterday really hits home: running shoes are usually more comfortable than dress shoes, and comfortable feet can offer a serious happiness boost.
I hate dress shoes, but I wear them when I must. Last week I had a meeting which called for nice shoes. Apparently, people still dress up on the east coast. I wore brand new dress shoes and four hours later I was limping around Manhattan, the shoe having carved a round hole in the back of my ankle. Disaster.
A week and ten bloodied pairs of socks later, I’m still recovering.
Listen to Gretchen. Wear running shoes. They’re more comfortable.
Ben,
Look into shoes by Cole Haan…they have a line that is designed by Nike and incorporates the AIR component of their running shoes. Pretty comfortable for dress shoes.
Haha, it’s true. I moved to Washington DC several years ago and folks still like to dress up. I suggest some Clark’s wingtips.
Comfort is always more important than appearance. That’s why I stay on the western slope of Colorado.
dress clothes/shoes may indeed be uncomfortable but it tells you where you are: the office. Since Ive been working, sure my clothes and shoes arent the most relaxing but by dressing up i take myself more seriously, and act more professionally than i would if i were wearing a pair of sweatpants (plus I look like I belong and dont look like a rube or a degenerate). Nice dressy clothes look good, and make you feel important.
Plus it just makes it that much better when you get home and shed the dress clothes and throw on a pair of jeans and slippers; sort of like how your feet feel when you take off your boots after long days of skiing.
Depends on the person. If I wore running shoes, I’d have to wear clothes that match running shoes, and I would feel uncomfortable like that. I would worry about how I looked. I would not feel like I was making the necessary effort to look my best.
I work from home, so can wear whatever I want, but almost always find myself wearing dresses (comfy ones) every day, with sandals or heels. I walk a lot, too, so I had to find some anti-blister products to make this doable, but I’m glad I did.
Comfort, for me, is not just about the physical but the emotional as well.
One word Ben, DANSKO.
millions of chefs, nurses & doctors ain’t wrong, and they look more like dress shoes than sneakers do. i lived in mine for 3 months after the stroke. still do even tho i don’t need to anymore.
I wholeheartedly agree. I never wear dress shoes.
I’m a flip-flop man. To quote Jimi Hendrix, “Hey, Mr. Business Man, you can’t dress like me.”
Easy to say, but if my banker wore flip-flops I’d switch banks.
Birkenstock forever 😉
I have a 16-year-old pair of Bass loafers that are my dress shoes. Periodically, they need to go to the shoe repair shop for a tuneup, but that’s all the attention they need.
I think they only dress up in the NORTHeast. I’m a contract web software dev and consultant, and to client meetings I often wear a nice shirt and jacket–with flip-flops.
Of course, people don’t expect you to wear a wool suit in this Georgia sun.