What Commuter-Friendly Shoes Are All the Cool People Wearing?

Sandy Sanchez, a copywriter and writer of the Small Pleasures newsletter, prefers to avoid transferring train lines in favor of a slightly longer walk from the station. That preference is made possible by the (aptly named) Jeffrey Campbell Trustees. “It’s nice knowing I don’t have to worry about my feet hurting when I wear them,” says Sanchez. (They get a break at work: “I’m at my desk most of the day, so I’m really just wearing these shoes to and from the fridge to restock on sparkling water and from meetings to meetings.”) There are approximately 54 minutes of walking total on her commute, and “that’s on days I don’t have anything before or after work.”

While recovering from a major ankle surgery that required “responsible arch-support shoes that weren’t Hokas,” Anne Whiting, a writer and communications strategist, discovered the Dansko Linden. Just in time for working in a very conservative (“like, navy-blue tailored suits everywhere”) office environment. As a freelancer, she may be “all over the city” at any given time: “A work event at MoMA PS1, a meeting in Soho, a walk to a coffee shop near home, a schlep to dinner at Dumbo House.” At least two hours of her day are spent in trains and climbing up and down stairs. But she can wear the Lindens with a suit for a “more buttoned-up client in midtown” or just to film a social-media video elsewhere. No matter what she’s carrying (a laptop, lunch, a camera, gym clothes, groceries), her Lindens “withstand the volume and the miles and take the fear away that I’m hurting my bunions or arches or something. You just feel … supported.” Plus your toes aren’t forced into “some pointed submission.” She adds, “When I put them on, I feel like my feet say a little thank-you.”

Alisha Bansal, who works at Christie’s and runs the Weird Real, heard about Franco Sarto’s Bocca on the Strategist; a recommendation from Wall Street Journal art editor Alexandra Citrin-Safadi in our loafers guide. “They are essentially orthopedic The Row,” says Bansal. “My feet aren’t killing me by the end of the day.” She takes the subway for about 45 minutes to midtown every day for work, and with these shoes, she doesn’t “need to feel too precious about them or feel bad if they get beat up or rained on, etc.” Especially as they’re relatively cheap and “more substantial than flats.”

Marketing consultant Lizzie Noonan couldn’t believe she found new, in-box Pêche Hughs at a closet sale and “timidly asked what was wrong with them, convinced they must be uncomfortable or that I was missing something” — only to be assured they were just the wrong size for the previous owner. “They’ve been as comfortable as sneakers from the get-go, no painful break-in period or emergency flat swap at the office,” Noonan says. Going between Fort Greene to Fidi regularly, “which on any given day involves a mad dash for the elusive G train,” they’ve also survived a flash flood — “the kind that turns NYC streets into one big lazy river” and even gone on vacation to the British countryside. “Once someone asked if they were The Row, arguably the highest compliment there is,” she adds.

Nearly every day, Aisha Joshi, writer of the newsletter Babyteeth, has to do a ten-minute walk and transfer between the L and the 1 at Sixth Avenue that “always feels like the longest walk of my life.” Twice a week, she commutes in the Sammies. Working at a beauty start-up, she finds herself “on random missions to the Garment District for ribbon or BeadKraft” or just running to a photo shoot in them. “Sometimes my feet hurt after even ballet flats, and these are gentler on my feet — plus there’s more toe space,” Joshi says. If needed, they can also easily fit inside a tote.

Sometimes Produce Parties founder Sarah Teich’s commute doesn’t go as planned — including recently when “the L was down, the G was running slow, the F was delayed, and everyone was pushing and shoving.” At least her feet don’t hurt when she’s in the Hollies. They remind her of a sneaker: “comfy all day while I rush from meeting to meeting to meeting.”

Catbird chief creative officer Leigh Plessner’s morning routine goes something like this: “I take the L train two stops to drop my daughter at school, stop for a macchiato, and then walk two miles from Williamsburg into the back gate of the Brooklyn Navy Yard to our studio.” And “when I need to dart around quickly,” she brings Air Rifts. They make her “feel elegant and unexpected and in control” — like even when she needs to speed-walk, “the world is my oyster.” Better yet, “I love when I surprise a colleague with them who doesn’t expect me to be secretly sporty/sci-fi (I’m not; they are right),” she says.

Bria Schirripa, the chief of staff at a financial institution and writer of the newsletter Friend Of, has been commuting in the same checkered Vans longer than she’s been with her husband — over 11 years. “The bottoms are completely worn down, but if I know it’s going to be a bad commute or the weather is terrible, I throw them on.” Then she changes into another pair of Vans she keeps at her desk. “It’s kind of crazy, but I don’t want to dirty them,” she says of this “nicer pair.”

Gabriela Peralta, the social-media manager at the Guggenheim, commutes via the LIRR and transfers on the MTA. Her New Balance 1906Ls keep up with “a lot of walking, stairs, and running between trains.” Once, when all the stairways to get a downtown 4 train were blocked, she had to find her way to the other side of the 86th Street station: “When you’re already an hour into your commute, having to navigate around a hot station like that is not ideal,” says Peralta. “I was especially grateful to be wearing comfortable shoes.” Her average day may include anything from a social shoot at the Guggenheim (or just going up and down the quarter-mile-long spiral) or an early-morning preview at the Met. “I can wear them through a busy day without my feet feeling worn out,” she says.

“I’m one of few privileged New Yorkers who commute to work on foot (door-to-door about 25 minutes; under 20 if I’m booking it),” says Audrey Lee, a shopping editor at Architectural Digest. Her shoes have to be “utilitarian enough to keep me agile” and stylish so she can avoid having to “pack a spare pair in my already overstuffed work bag.” G.H.Bass’s Whitney Weejuns fit the bill nicely. “In my line of work, lots of events tend to be standing only, which means I’m previewing the newest Danish chairs or Scandi sofas with nary a viable seat in sight — ironic, I know,” says Lee. “These make it easy to listen to designers monologue about the trip to Prague that influenced their latest ceramics without my feet feeling like they’re about to fall off.” Fair warning: Because of the “delicate pony hair, a rainy-day shoe these are not.”

Schirippa’s Prince Street ballet flats have “literally made it through a million subway delays and reroutes that have forced me to walk home farther than I ever intended.” But the most “traumatic incident for the flats” happened when the F train stopped because “someone in a car in front of us had pulled the emergency brake,” forcing passengers to walk through subway cars back to the previous station. “Bergen Street to Carroll Street is a 12-minute walk above ground, but walking through the subway cars felt like it took hours,” she says. “Everyone was completely silent because we were all so annoyed.” She credits the Prince Street flats for getting her through the experience — and posted about the saga on Instagram, tagging Alex Mill and asking, “When you made these flats, did you intend for them to be used to walk underground through the subway?” (Alex Mill replied to her story with “U are the vision.”) No wonder why she has them in blue and purple now, in addition to red. “Some people throw on sneakers to run out and run errands. I throw on these flats,” she tells me.

Brand manager Sarah Veurink switches between commutes depending on her mood: “I live by Barclays Center, so the options are really endless — some days it’s the B to C, others it’s the 2 to 1, and when I feel like walking it’s the Q all the way.” Luckily, her Loeffler Randall Coopers have been up for anything, including a time when she zoned out, took the N to Queens, and had to run around Queensboro Plaza to get back to Manhattan for a 9:30 a.m. meeting. “I was totally expecting horrible blisters, but it’s been the opposite,” says Veurink. “The thick sole provides so much more protection from the ground than a normal ballet flat or mary jane.”

Tangerine and Nu Swim’s Gina Esposito bikes from Bed-Stuy to the East Williamsburg store in these Ballerette ballerinas frequently. “I’ve never had any knee or hip issues, which I usually have with other shoes that aren’t sneakers or flip-flops,” she says.

“My commute is always from Red Hook, so nothing is close or easy, often with a stop in Boerum Hill or Park Slope for Pilates or Noho for yoga before landing in LES,” says Jess Hella, owner of Yesterday Tomorrow. Her Repetto Cendrillon can handle the “mix of Citi Bike–ing, walking, and the subway.” She adds, “My worst commute in recent history involved a popped tire when biking to yoga when coming off the Brooklyn Bridge. It required me to walk the heavy Citi Bike with all of my bags to the nearest station, which was not so near.” It was a “truly humbling experience for 8 a.m,” but she “didn’t question” having on her Cendrillons. Plessner also describes them as “just a very, very flat shoe to slip my foot in and go go go.”

Saloon’s Julia Harrison’s office commute includes a two-block walk to the Bergen F and a transfer at Jay Street to the A. “All things considered,” it’s not bad — and she reaches for her Aldous loafers biweekly for the trip. “Unfortunately — but maybe fortunately for me — I can’t remember any particularly horrifying commute story I experienced in these loafers,” Harrison adds. “What I do know is that on certain floors (like the marble ones into the Oculus), they have little friction, so especially when they’re newer and not so worn in by the gritty New York pavement, they can slide a bit.” It’s a small price, as “they’re one of the few shoes I have that don’t make ghastly noise walking,” she says.

“To me, a good commuter shoe is comfortable to walk in, covers my heels and toes, and doesn’t slip off easily,” says artist Melly Wirtes. Her commute is “normally pretty tame:” a 6 train straight down the Upper East Side to Grand Central with a few blocks of walking (including “pretty hilly” Carnegie Hill). And the Uma Mary-Jane strap keeps her feeling secure throughout — even when she was caught in one of August’s torrential downpours: “I left work early and rushed to doggy day care. Alas, I did not beat the rain and my dog — a dachshund — demanded to be carried.” Yet, “feet fully wet, puddles to my ankles,” the Umas survived. “I propped them upside down to dry, and there isn’t any noticeable difference from before at all,” she says.

“At the office, I glide around in them like I’m still working from home,” says Noonan of Emme Parsons’ Parker. “I try to keep them pristine, though I know the day will come when they meet some type of only-in-NYC calamity.” Aside from “a few strangers stepping on my toes on a crowded subway,” they remain in good shape, she says.

Vanessa Krooss, head of brand at Merit, thinks she’s “legally obliged to own a pair” of Tabis as a Brooklynite. Every time she wears them, she gets asked something to the effect of “Ugh, should I buy a pair?” by a co-worker. But there’s a reason why they’re a staple. “I live in Park Slope and commute up to Nomad, so it’s usually around two trains (either the B, Q, or F to the 6) and 45-ish minutes if all goes well. Unfortunately, sometimes things do not go well,” she says. Like the time she had to walk ten blocks to Atlantic-Pacific in the rain and hop on three different lines to the office — only to realize she left her laptop at home. “Thankfully, I was wearing my trusty Tabis, which have been completely molded to my foot and recently resoled, so the standing-room-only trains and inclement weather weren’t an issue,” she says.