Flats are back—whether that's ballet flats, Mary Janes, or the ever classic loafer. And our feet are silently rejoicing, because wearing flats to work instead of heels leaves them so much happier. Yet investing in a pair is no easy feat, as it can be hard to tell which ones will survive your daily commute, go with all your outfits, and leave you blister-free. To help you find your perfect work shoes, we tested 19 pairs of flats in the real world. We wore the shoes to work, errand runs, and prolonged period of times. We took note of the fit, comfort, style, and break-in period. We also evaluated the materials and durability shown at the end of the test to determine if they are worth the money. The result: a curated list of tester-approved flats you'll actually want to wear to the office and beyond. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Best Loafers: Best Mary Janes: Best Ballet Flats: Best Chunky Loafers: Best for Narrow Feet: Best Pointed Toe: In This Article Our Picks What To Look For Material: Italian nappa leather | Size Range: 3–14, wide and narrow sizes available| Colors: 9 | Toe Style: Rounded With an incredibly inclusive size range and great customer reviews, these classic flats provide a great value while being stylish, classic, and comfortable, putting them at the top of this list. After wearing these flats for an entire workday, our feet were still happy thanks to the plush foam footbed and buttery nappa leather. The classic bow is also adjustable, so you can loosen or tighten it depending on the width of your feet. By the second day of wear, these flats molded to our feet nicely. Material: Faux leather | Size Range: 5–15, wide sizes available| Colors: 21 | Toe Style: Rounded For less than $25, you can get a comfortable, sleek flat on Amazon. As devoted standing-desk users, we spend a lot of time on our feet, and the padded insole made from memory foam provided great support. Thanks to an elastic heel, there was no break-in period. Our only complaint was that the faux leather design wasn't that breathable and caused our feet to sweat a bit. Material: Leather | Size Range: 4–12| Colors: Black, white | Toe Style: Rounded Gucci isn’t necessarily in everyone’s budget, but if you’re looking to invest in a pair of flats and you have an eye for luxury, you can’t go wrong with this easy-to-wear pair of Gucci Loafer Mules. While mules sometimes offer less stability, these held our feet in place, even when they got a little sweaty. Due to the open back design, we didn't have to worry about blisters and the front of our feet felt great in these as well. The leather is a little stiff at first, but it starts to mold to your feet quickly with wear. While the quality and craftsmanship are top-notch, it is worth noting that the sizing runs a bit small. We recommend sizing up by one full size when shopping for the perfect pair. Material: Leather | Size Range: 4–12| Colors: 37 | Toe Style: Almond We've had these loafers for three years, and they are still in amazing shape. The soft and supple leather formed to our feet and we don't experience any blisters or discomfort even during a full day of work. There's even some extra cushioning at the heel to give us support. Safe to say, these loafers are super comfortable, stylish, and are worth the investment. Material: Leather | Size Range: 5–11| Colors: 6 | Toe Style: Rounded Though the Gucci and Sam Edelman loafers are top picks, if you are looking for a loafer without hardware and more of a classic menswear look, this style from G.H. Bass can't be beat. These penny loafers are versatile and stylish, while still being comfortable. Despite having arched feat, we can wear these all day without any discomfort like back or foot pain. The fit is a bit snug—we recommend sizing up—but they didn't give us blisters. Hand sewn in El Salvador, we can tell the quality is superb and the smooth leather is easy to wipe down and keep clean. Material: Velvet or leather | Size Range: 5–11| Colors: 13 | Toe Style: Square If you're thinking of investing in your first grown-up pair of Mary Janes after seeing them on the likes of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, we recommend this style from Sam Edelman. Coming in neutral leathers, tweed, and velvet, it's easy to find a color that matches your vibe. Thanks to adjustable straps, our wide feet had no trouble fitting into these shoes, and we also appreciated how the straps kept our feet secure as we walked around New York City. Despite all our trekking, there were no changes to the color or shape of the shoe. If you got to be on trend no matter the occasion, these are the ideal work flat that turn heads while being secretly comfortable. Material: Leather | Size Range: 5–11| Colors: Black, brown | Toe Style: Rounded Physical therapists recommend this brand to patients for the comfort and support, and we could easily see why. These ballet flats have featherlight midsoles that are anatomically contoured to support the feet and bouncy cushioning. Plus, the rubber outsole is made to be slip-resistant, which you don't always find in ballet flats. We found them to look better in person and the leather was really soft and non-constricting. Material: Bovine leather | Size Range: 5–11| Colors: Black, brown leopard, silver | Toe Style: Rounded For a bit more height and a funky vibe, we turn to chunky loafers, like these from Reformation. Though they did feel snug initially, they very, very quickly stretched out and molded to our foot. The leather was high quality, and though they did make a squeaking noise when we first broke them in, it went away after an hour or so of wear. Even with the short breaking-in period, though, we think these chunky loafers would be worth it for anyone looking for a trendy pair of work flats. Material: Italian leather | Size Range: 5–11, narrow or wide sizes| Colors: 12 | Toe Style: Round Finding a flat that fits well can be hard when you have narrow feet, but these flats from Everlane truly hugged our feet like a glove. Yet the soft and supple Italian leather didn't cause blistering or chafing, and we were able to wear these shoes with stockings or a low-cut sock. We were also impressed with the support these flats offered—usually our feet are sore after wearing flats all day but not with this pair. Material: Vegetable-tanned calf leather | Size Range: 4–13| Colors: 12 | Toe Style: Pointed While we love the look of a pointed toe ballet flat, the silhouette can sometimes be too narrow, but that wasn't the case with these. Our toes weren't pinched, and we could wiggle them around. Made from supple Italian calf leather, the shoe is fairly snug, but it wasn't uncomfortable and our heels didn't chafe. In fact, we could tell this flat will last a long time due to the sturdy construction and high quality materials, hence the higher price tag. Material: Knit | Size Range: 5–13| Colors: 8 | Toe Style: Rounded If you're going to be wearing a pair of shoes regularly to work, naturally they are going to get dirty, and that's why we love these machine-washable loafers from Rothy's. Made form the brand's signature thread—which comes from plastic bottles—you can throw them into the washer worry free. We also found the material to be extremely breathable, making these loafers a great option for warm weather when you don't want to be commuting in heavy leather shoes. Material: Leather | Size Range: 5–13, wide sizes available| Colors: 23 | Toe Style: Rounded With tons of helpful (and positive) customer reviews and a fairly inclusive size range that includes wide-fit options, Birdies would be a good place to start if you’re looking for an ultra-comfortable flat for wide feet. After walking 10,000 steps in urban terrain in these flats, we didn't get any blisters and our feet felt supported the entire time. We also were impressed with how they kept our feet warm while we were outside in 40-degree weather. They come in a variety of colors and materials, including leather, suede, and knit. Olivia Muenter is a fashion commerce contributor for Byrdie, and she has been published in Refinery29, Bustle, Fashionista, Glamour, and Woman’s Day, among others. Her search for this piece covered retailers of all types. For this roundup's criteria, she evaluated and compiled Byrdie editors’ reviews of flat shoes, while also considering size range and interview from experts. Those experts include: According to ourDiversity Pledge, 15% of products in our newly-published market roundups will feature Black-owned and/or Black-founded brands. At the time of publishing, we were not able to find work flats from a Black-owned and/or Black-founded business. If you know of one we should consider, please email us at contact@byrdie.com, and we will evaluate the product ASAP.Best Splurge
Gucci Leather Princetown Loafer Mule
Best Value
Sam Edelman Lorraine Bit Loafer
Best Loafers
G.H. Bass Whitney Weejuns Loafer
Best Mary Janes
Sam Edelman Michaela Mary Jane Flat
Best Ballet Flats
FitFlop Leather Ballet Flats
What to Look For When Buying Work Flats
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