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What To Wear When You Walk To Work

What To Wear When You Walk To Work
Carly Jacobs
E

ven though I work for myself now, I still have an office that I go to every day. I used to work from my couch but it was uncomfortable and distracting (Netflix! Snacks! Clean all the things!) so a few months ago I had to bite the bullet and rent my own working space. It’s rad. I get so much more done and the best part is that it’s a 20 minute walk from my house. I’ve all but stopped wearing high heels because the walk is a bit too long for my pretty shoes but I still like to look a little bit fancy (like not wearing my runners with my work outfit). Here’s a typical walking to work outfit. *super cool backpack not shown*

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 Top from Gordan Smith 

Skirt from Metalicus

Waist tie from Metalicus

Shoes from Toms

Earrings from Thailand

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Finding comfortable flats is practically a full time job for me. I’ve settled on Toms for the moment – I love their canvas shoes but they’re a teeny bit casual for every day office wear so I bought a pair of their ballet flats recently, which I’m wearing in the photo above. They don’t have toe cleavage (does anyone else think toe cleavage is weirdly revealing?) and they’re super comfortable. I can do 10,000 steps in them no worries. My top tip for what you should wear if you walk to work is to get yourself some Toms. Toms are the bomb. As you were.

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Do you have a favourite brand of comfortable shoes for walking? Share?

 

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Oh and by the way I’m ALL OVER the internet –  Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin, Instagram, YouTube and the Smaggle weekly newsletter – just in case you want to cyberstalk in a cute-but-not-creepy-way.

38 Comments

  1. merilyn 9 years ago

    I love your stuff smags! … a little ray of sunshine!:)
    love the whole outfit ab/fab!
    I always do ballet flats! must look at toms! I have their canvas ones!
    toe cleavage! … all good! … lol m:)X

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I hate toe cleavage! It creeps me out. 🙂

  2. Mystery Case 9 years ago

    I’ve finally bite the bullet and purchased my first pair of flats last week. I’m short challenged and flats just don’t agree with me but I’m also not as young as I think I am and the heels are starting to cause me grief.

    Love your work style and rather envious of your work set up. I would love to have an office outside of home.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I’ve been working from home for years and really needed to just back myself and go for it. It’s a cheap space that I share with my partner but it’s perfect for us. 🙂

  3. Anna Buckley 9 years ago

    I get this post on so many levels. For a while I was a business consultant and meetings in the city were a 30 minute walk from my house in Fitzroy. It was always a dilemma trying to find a discrete place on Collins Street where I could slip off the runners and put on the heels (Superman how did you do this?). I love your flats but because I’m rather short the heels were part of psyching myself up to appear confident in a board room.
    Then there was the issue of the appropriate backpack to carry all the crap in, the brief case was too flat!
    Do men ever have to worry about shit like this?

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I know right? I have so many pairs of those little fold up flats I can’t even count them! I do it that for functions. I live a 20 mintues walk away from the city so I walk everywhere. Trams make me feel really ill so I prefer to walk but I’ve got to have my heels to look fancy. Such a pain in the butt!

  4. Vicki Style On V 9 years ago

    Just fabulous and I am a love of flats for everyday. COmfort and chic for me. Love your style. V x

  5. Author
    Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

    I pretty much wear flats every day these days! Love it!

  6. sydneyexpert 9 years ago

    I too hate toe clevage! I live in flat shoes so I can do my 10K steps everyday and feel so frumpy in runners. I tend to buy mine at Ecco but they are so pricey.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      Ecco shoes ARE pricey and most of the designs are great but of them are a bit old lady-ish for me.

  7. Aitch 9 years ago

    I love my Toms ballet flats! I’ve had a black pair for about a year and just got a grey pair. I wear them all the time and they are so comfy. So many ballet flats are too flimsy and make my feet ache but Toms have just enough support to keep my feet happy.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I like bareboot support so these are great – not too stiff and not too sloppy!

  8. Rachel 9 years ago

    I hate toe cleavage. I much prefer boob cleavage. I love ballet Crocs for long walks. Sounds daggy I know, but they actually have some pretty cute ones. Frankie4 has some great comfortable, cute shoes too.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I’ve been considering ballet crocs but I had a pair of fashion crocs years ago that gave me hell blisters so I’m a bit wary of them!

  9. Love the flats! They are just so comfy. My all time favourite flats would have to be the Jelly Flats from Holster, so so comfy.:)

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I just googled them! I like them! Might have to do a little online shopping! 🙂

  10. emmabovary 9 years ago

    I am in need of some comfy flats, will investigate!

    Also – what lippie do you have on?

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      It’s OCC Liptar in… that really deep plum colour. OCC liptar is my favourite. It’s pretty much the only thing I wear these days!

  11. I walk to and from the tram each day, which requires cute flats – so I’m always on the hunt for more! Looking super spunky, my love. x

  12. Bec @ The Plumbette 9 years ago

    Love your outfit! I wear flats more now than before I had kids. It’s all about the cushioning on the sole for me and yes I hate toe cleavage as much as butt cleavage!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      Urgh! Butt cleavage is THE WORST! I’m even a bit sensitive to boob cleavage. I like a little bit but if I can underneath your boobs… too far.

  13. Mizah 9 years ago

    I wore Alice Work from Crocs for about a year now. It has Mary jane style and I use sheer socks to avoid blister 🙂 I love it because it’s waterproof (been raining cats and dogs here in Malaysia. puddles everywhere!) and also it is easy to clean.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      They sound awesome! I’m totally looking them up!

  14. Fairlie 9 years ago

    Way back in the mid-nineties, I used to walk to the office with a couple of my colleagues and we started wearing runners, then changing into heels in the office. We were working in the PR dept of a huge bank…and quite often we would run into the CEO on our way into or out of the office. He often commented on how ‘New York’ our practice was, and then it gained a bit of street-cred as being an edgy thing to do, rather than being frumpy/daggy and ‘caught out’. The only time I regretted it was the day I took my heels out of my backpack to quickly change before a meeting…and realised I had one black one and one navy blue. Ooops. I have no idea whether it’s still a practice in NYC or if it died out along with mood rings, pagers and hypercolour t-shirts? Nowadays I still walk to and from the office, but I tend to wear flats or just suffer in heels on the odd day I wear them.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      Oh no! That’s the worst! Also sneakers these days are a lot less daggy than they used to be – mine are quite funky!

  15. Emma 9 years ago

    I walk 40 minutes to and from my very conservative office every day. I love wearing my converse sneakers with my suit and designer handbag. It’s my (comfortable) subtle way of saying I may know how to look to play the game but they can’t take my personality away.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      Love it! Converse are really comfy… I stopped wearing them years ago but I might have to make a revisit!

  16. Tamsin Howse 9 years ago

    Buy some ECCO ballet flats. You won’t look back. It’s a sneaker sole in a ballet flat. I wear the Angel ones almost every day. In fact, I think you’ve only ever seen me wearing them.

    Shoe Envy make great flats too, they have a nurse’s sole and I get compliments on my ladybug shoes from there all the time.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I’ve got a friend who swears by Eccos! Should do that!

  17. leannef70 9 years ago

    Have you tried Campers shoes? LOVE them, have close to 10 pairs. Their flats have rubber soles so its like bouncing as you walk. Pricey but their sales and good, and super funky designs.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      I do like campers – I have a pair that fell apart quiet quickly which is a bit disapointing. Hoping that was an anomaly!

  18. thehungrymum 9 years ago

    All the flats! I have to park about 9000kms from my office and need comfies to get to and fro. I have some lovely ballet flats by Django & Juliette but they are about to die #cries

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 9 years ago

      Django and Juliiete flats are gorgeous but they tend to not last very long. Very disapointing!

      • thehungrymum 9 years ago

        O no, don’t tell me that! I just bought a pair of their sandals #cries

  19. Steph Allen 9 years ago

    I have just got orthotics so if you think finding cute flats is hard trying finding ones to wear orthotics in!! I found a cute pair of sandals from Zierra and i also got the black leather Ellie sneakers from frankie4 but am a little worried cos they are still givng me heel blisters! Oh and i like a little toe cleavage lol

  20. Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid 9 years ago

    I bought a pair of Crocs. Well, they’re Crocs but not as you know it. I’m not a big fan of flats per se but I walked around the world in them on our big trip last year, and they were so comfy and I wore them so much that I wore them out and had to buy another pair when I got home. I wear them to work and out and about too. They’ve almost turned me into a flats lover! Your work set up sounds dreamy – is this the office with a Thermomix?!

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