If you work in tech or you have a smart casual work wear dress code, in this post I am sharing bets styles of smart casual shoes. These shoes are comfortable, classy, casual and will elevated your work outfits effortlessly.
When it comes to tech dress code or industries where the dress code is more fluid, finding comfortable footwear that will make you look smart is the key to standing out at work. As I always say your outfit can make a hue difference to your confidence and how you present yourself.
*This post is all about the best smart casual shoe styles for women to wear to work.
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But when you dress smart at work, it also shows you stand out and look more serious and value your career progress. Yes, even intellectual people dress smart and look presentable.
But you definitely need to pick a style of shoes based on your work day activities.
I will share the shoes based on seasons so, it’s easy for you to take notes, and keep your work shoes organized. This also helps built a personal work style that you will enjoy and a sustainable work wardrobe that you will wear for years.
If you think you will forget, just pin this post or bookmark it.
Best Smart Casual Work Shoes For Women
How to Pick The Right Work Shoes
There are a few things to consider when picking the right smart casual shoes for the day, so your feet will thank you. And you won’t come back home with a foot ache. You get it:
- Make sure you know what your working style is – If you use a standing desk, or you are on the move from one meeting to another, wearing heels might not be a great idea. You should pick flats or platforms.
- Lunch time activity: If you go to the gym at lunch to get some activity in, make sure you wear shoes that you can easily take on and off. Wearing tan boots might not be the best idea if you are pressed on time.
- Color palette: Yup if you want to look smart and sophisticated, you should also pay attention to the color of your shoes. You might enjoy a pair of red converse, but at work it might be a huge distraction.
Best Spring and Summer Smart Casual Work Shoes
Spring time is in between weather and you might be still wearing some of your winter shoes to work, but will list down the shoes that will make you look sharp and smart with your spring work outfits.
Loafers
Loafers look so smart and sophisticated and a great style to balance your casual work outfit. They are usually leather or suede, so they will keep your feet warm and cozy and look stylish.
You will probably wear a lot of blue jeans as you get to spring which freshens up our work outfit. Just pair loafers with your favorite blue Jens style and see your outfit transform.
A basic black loafer with gold hardware detail will look great with all your casual work outfits and will also be comfortable. The flats will keep your feet comfortable. Here is our round up of the best black loafers for women.
But if you want to dress it up a little bit more and look more grown up and sophisticated, try block heel loafers. These styles of loafers are really popular business casual work wear shoes for women, but you can also pull it off really easily with jeans for a smart casual look.
Most block heel loafers are more subtle and simple, making it versatile for work. Block heels are also really comfortable to wear and walk. I am wearing these Sarah Flint block heel loafers with 1 inch heels that makes it feminine yet casual.
Espadrille Flats
Espadrille flats are also a great casual flat option for spring weather. Just pick a leather option that will keep your feet warm and also look sophisticated with spring layered outfits.
The leather detail top adds a nice contrast to the casual jute sole of the shoes and makes it casual, but the soles are comfortable to walk all day. Leather espadrilles are great for everyday wear too, so you can also wear them outside of work with confidence.
You can pick leather espadrilles with hardware details which will look nicer than the regular ones. But if you have a minimalist style and don’t like a lot of gold hardware, a simple embossed logo one will also look sophisticated and perfect for work.
I just find them a much more sophisticated casual shoes for work than ballerina flats.
Leather Sneakers
You can also wear this all year round, but they are perfect for spring weather when you don’t have a lot of rain and you want to upgrade your sneaker styles. Leather sneakers also look much more grown up styles of casual shoes instead of sneakers.
And it has nothing to do with your age, you can still rock them in your 20s and look sophisticated. You can call them your grown up sneakers. The leather material looks nicer and they add a luxe touch to your casual outfits. And if you want to just pick one, I would say go for white ones. The look great with all styles of casual work outfits. Here is our round up of the best white leather sneakers for women.
But this is where you can also have fun with colored sneakers or even black leather sneakers. They are fun to wear but still look nice and enhance your outfit than make you look like a teenager.
But the rule of thumb is to go for plain leather sneakers that focus on the leather details instead of funky patterns or logos like Nike, Adidas. Don’t get me wrong, I love them too, but as a mature working woman, my outfit should also reflect the sophistication. Discover the best white leather sneakers that are comfortable and stylish.
When summer comes we all love to wear open toe shoes and why not. Our feet also need some breather. I also love wearing open toe shoes, but not all open toe shoes or sandals are good for work. While you can enjoy slippers at the beach, they don’t count for proper work wear footwear.
So, let’s checkout some open toe shoes that would be great for summer casual office wear.
Structured Mule Sandals
Mule sandals have become really popular over the years and are a great casual summer alternative to wear with skirts, jeans and dresses to work. They are fun and look really cute.
But picking the right one is key to looking smart in your work outfit. I would go for simple styles that look sophisticated instead of a fun rock studded or embellished ones that are made for parties.
You can pick minimalist strap black mule sandals that have block heels. They look so cute and mature footwear for women. You can pair them with pants, skirts or jeans.
I usually go for black if I want to wear sandals with straps to work, but if you want to wear colored sandals, pay attention to the style or design of the sandals. You can find sophisticated designs of sandals from brands like Vince, Calvin Klein, Steve Madden, Sam Edelman have some stylish yet work appropriate open toe shoes you can try.
Simpler sandals will let you have fun with colors. And kitten heels and block heels will keep your feet comfy.
Wedge Sandals
For all you petite ladies, this is the best open toe sandals for summer that you can rock to work with confidence and look chic. You can still wear it if you are tall, but these shoes are perfect for you if you hate heels.
The wedges style make them comfortable to wear even if they are higher heels. They also look really cute, don’t they. Just pair them with your favorite pair of jeans and blazers and you have a stylish smart casual work look.
Instead of going for canvas, patterned or printed material, you can opt for leather ones that will look simpler yet stylish work wear shoes.
The leather will balance the just soles and elevate the shoes.
If you are not a fan of wegde, you can still opt for low platforms in the similar style.
Best Fall and Winter Smart Casual Work Shoes
When it comes to fall and winter, we all tend to wear a lot of boots and close toe footwear. But there are some that will elevate your outfits and are great work alternative. These shoes will keep your feet cozy and make your outfit look sharp for work.
Loafer Mules
You can wear these versatile style of shoes in spring and summer too depending on what outfits you are wearing, but as the temperature drops these are great alternatives to open toe shoes that will give your feet the right amount of coverage but will also be breezy for transitional weather.
They are a great balance between casual and sophisticated footwear with the back open style. And depending on what you want to wear it with, you can either pick a flat loafer mules or block heel ones.
You can pair them with dresses, skirts, jeans, trousers or pants and create smart and casual work outfits that are comfortable and look sophisticated because of the hardware details of the boots.
Checkout our best Budget friendly Loafer Mules that you can walk in comfortably.
Close Toe Mules
Close tow mules are a variation of loafer mules. The don’t have the same stitching details are loafers do, but they are simple and subtle and come with either kitten heels or block heels. These are at least the comfortable ones you can wear if you want to wear heels to work.
The main factor is he pointed toe that makes them more sophisticated and flattering with any style of outfits.
And because they are close toe they look professional and wearable at work. I love the block heeled mules that make my work wear chic.
This is again another way you can add some color to your outfit by picking either white of a muted color that is versatile.
Chelsea Boots
Chelsea boots are not just smart casual footwear, they are the most versatile pair of boots you could ever own. They are easy to slip on because of the slip on design. And they look great with any style of jeans.
Naturally, they are my top choice in terms of work boots that are comfortable to wear and look stylish.
Similar – Marc Fisher Pointed Toe Booties
I prefer the ones which have pointed toe and are a bit simple. This way your shoes will compliment the outfit instead of over powering. You can either pick black, white brown or nude. These shades are versatile and you can easily pair them with any other colors and outfit styles.
They also look professional for work. The pointed toe adds sophistication to your work look. This feature also makes the boots look more expensive than they are.
Tall Boots
Tall boots are great to wear with skirts or sweater dresses in winter to maximize your work wardrobe and change it up a little. You can also wear them with legging or skinny jeans to elevate you casual outfit.
Honestly this is the best way you can rock leggings at work without judgement. The tall boots will balance the skin tight leggings and elevate you casual outfit.
When it comes to styles of tall boots, I would say stick to basic below the knee tall boots instead of over the knee that is much more suited for party wear. Sticking with basic or neutral color tones like black, tan or brown will also keep it tone down with tall boots.
You can either pick suede or leather ones, but stay away from wearing croc pattern or multi tone boots. Now, if you really want to wear them, then try wearing them under sweater dress or skirts so they are only visible around your feet.
This way they stay subtle.
I like a little but of block heel instead of flat tall boots. They look more stylish and dress up my casual outfits.
Lace Combat Boots
This is one style of combat boots that you can absolutely wear to work. The lace details balances the chunky soles of the boots and looks sophisticated compared to the casual chunky sole boots.
Also, picking one with a little bit of heels will also enhance your casual office look in winter.
This is where I want you to think outside of Dr. Martens. There you go, I said it. There are plenty of brands that make stylish lace boots which would be so much better than Dr. Martens or Timberland. Tory Burch, Madewell are a few to name.
Look for lace boots that look dressed up instead of being extremely casual.
Right Rain Boots
This is one of the most forgotten footwear and you end up wearing hunter rain boots. There are so many better style of water proof boots that are comfortable and don’t look so frumpy.
I own a pair of sam Edelman waterproof rain boots in white that have the lug sole but they look stylish. They are minimal and hug your feet, so they don’t look bulky like those hunter boots.
Naturalizer also makes good waterproof boots on a great price point that also look cute. They are perfect to wear with dresses as well as jeans.
Right Snow Boots
When it comes to snow boots, picking ones that don’t have excessive fur showing will do. They’re shearling lined boots that are still comfortable and you can layer them with thick socks to keep your feet cozy when you are outside.
But when you are inside, you dont want to feel too hot in them. The lace up style of snow boots would look really stylish and will flatter your smart casual work outfits.
For more on women's work style, please read:
- The Ultimate Guide to Smart Casual Work Capsule Wardrobe for Women
- Best Leather Work Tote Bags That Are Stylish And Fit Big Laptops
- Best Black Turtleneck Cashmere Sweater For The Ultimate Power Look
- Smart Casual Summer Straight Leg Jeans Outfits
- Classic Women’s Black Loafers to Elevate Your Work Outfit
- Smart Casual Outfits for Fall
