Are there any that are good for walking in that go OK with smart clothing, such as a suit or smart trousers.

I do a lot of building surveys and jeans and trainers isn’t always appropriate so I need some smart shoes that are comfortable and practical.

No DMs or boots please 😀

Hush Puppies & Clarks do some with a bit of padding in the sale and decent tread on the bottom.

Loake produce some quality shoes with a range of soles that ought to suit your needs.

Can’t recommend them highly enough. Smart enough to wear in town, and the tan ones can also be worn when up country. (remember, no brown in town)

2nd Loakes. Hard wearing and comfortable.

I bought a pair of these Eccos in 2007 when I was walking 5-8 miles a day around London. I now have 2 pairs, one black, one brown, including the original pair and I wear one or other every day. They still look smart, and are still fantastically comfortable.

http://www.clarks.co.uk/c/mens-boot-offer

big fan of Jeffery West shoes….i have 3 pairs of them…the oldest being 7 years old and still in perfect condition…they are expensive but you get what you pay for and considering how long they’ve lasted me i think they’ve been a good investment.
http://www.jeffery-west.co.uk/

Just buy a decent (ie British) pair of leather shoes, but get them with a rubber sole (as leather can be leaky if sodden). In black.

Loake is a great shout, as would be Barker. They’re all reasonably priced and will wear fine.

Actually, buy more than one pair, and then you won’t wear them out so fast. (See the How many pairs of shoes do you own thread for more on this….)

I did significant damage to my feet walking those kind of distances in Barkers. Not their fault, it’s not what they were designed for, but given the OP’s objective…

Can only imagine the ridicule that will be laid on the OP if he rocks up on a building site in a pair of pointy toed duo tone Jeff West shoes.

They are lovely shoes I agree, have a couple of pairs myself, but I’d never wear them other than with a very smart suit.

clarks do some normalish looking shoes that are goretex.

Some of the American brands are better at being waterproof and smart at the same time than traditional British brands. Florsheim and Rockport spring to mind.

+1 for Loakes

I’ve got a pair of plain, inoffensive Loakes which I picked up for £70 and have been resoled about 4 or 5 times now and still look great. Very comfortable and well put together.

I’d echo what OMITN said about getting resoled with rubber, it’s more comfortable, grips better and weatherproof. I’m sure flashy will cry at the thought of letting rubber anywhere near his Churches mind you 😉

I’m sure flashy will cry at the thought of letting rubber anywhere near his Churches mind you

I suspect Churches have a “specialist” range for clients drawn from the sort of circles Flashy occupies….

Rockport use trainer technology in their soles. I have a couple of pairs and quite happily wear them all day.
Used to wear Loakes all the time, but was getting pains in the balls of my feet due to them being flat. Still my go to shoe for formal occasions though.

I got my Loakes re-soled with rubber so can confirm that recommendation as well.

Can only imagine the ridicule that will be laid on the OP if he rocks up on a building site in a pair of pointy toed duo tone Jeff West shoes.

i hadnt spotted the bit about the building sites!! so yeah maybe jeffery west’s arent the most practical for that…still bloody good shoes though!

i feel like a cad when i wear mine!!

bigG – which ones have you got?

I suspect Churches have a “specialist” range for clients drawn from the sort of circles Flashy occupies….

The soles are tacked on with golden staples which were a gift from the Minister for Stationery in Burundi.

You say no Doc Martins but I’ve worn their waxy leather brogues for years:

They are completely waterproof and you can treat them with Waxoyle, which is the same as Nikwax but cheaper.

Chuch’s do rubber soled shoes – at a price

The soles are tacked on with golden staples which were a gift from the Minister for Stationery in Burundi.

Brilliant! 😀

Rubber soles are perfectly acceptable. For a country shoe. Such as;

Don’t actually own any of that sort of thing myself, however, but perfectly acceptable.

Good suggestions, cheers.

When I said “no DMs” I really meant the stereotypical “bovver boots”.

They are not really meant for building sites as I have proper PPE site boots for those, they are for wearing in the office and going out to client’s houses/buildings for surveys. However, this type of survey does often require a lot of dashing around, external work, climbing into lofts etc.

require a lot of dashing

I’m sure the Captain can help out with that one.

For climbing around those DMs are good – they feel as grippy as my climbing shoes when I walk about on the roof.