I am in nursing school and saw a lot of nurses wearing these, so I thought I would give them a try. I really love how comfortable they are! You can definitely feel different muscle work-outs while you wear them and you do have to walk kind of funny, which sucks. I noticed that when I tried to stand on my toes, to look up high or something, I can't really do it because of the way the shoe fits and works my muscle. I really like the extra cushion, however, to protect my foot from the hard, cement ground.

I know a lot of people have been into the flatter shoes, thinking they are more natural: but here's the thing - walking on man-made concrete and tile floors is not natural! Barefoot-like shoes may work well on natural surfaces like grass and dirt, but not artificial flooring. I love the Shape-ups for the added cushion so my foot doesn't ache from being pounded onto the hard, artificial flooring all day. I have noticed that after about 6 weeks of wearing them, I feel that my feet are starting to hurt a little more - like they are wearing down (but then again, every shoe will wear out). Overall, these shoes are pretty good if you work on hard, flat flooring. I wouldn't wear them for much else - they seem to unstable for hiking or running or something.

Oh yeah... and they are ugly :( I'm not really a fan of most Sketcher's designs, anyway - and these just get worse with the clonky ugly heel. For work, however, they feel much better on my feet than more attractive shoes I have worn.