The short answer on Most Comfortable Sneakers for Standing All Day: pick one anchor piece, keep the palette to two colours, and let the shoes decide how formal the whole thing reads. Anything that transfers is usually under-set rather than badly formulated. Long wear is a trade against comfort; the formulas that move least also feel driest. Feet swell through the day, so anything tried on in the morning will feel tighter by evening. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is last shape, toe box width and cushioning. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: Varley's Asmei Sneaker Suede at $248, and jwpei.com's Caitlin Lace-up Ballerina Sneakers - Pink at $149. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. A wide toe box matters more than cushioning if you are on your feet all day. Sneaker sizing runs a half size small across most of these brands. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Keep the sneaker quiet if the rest of the outfit is doing something. From the second group, colehaan.com's Women's GrandPrø Packwell Sneakers ($140) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, sneakers, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 sneakers here from 14 brands, $38 to $259, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. Brook & York's Effie Sneaker Charm at $38 is the low-risk way in, and By Far's Prudent Summer Tan Suede Leather Sneaker at $259 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On most comfortable sneakers for standing all day specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: pay for the thing that touches your body and economise on the thing that sits on top of it.