It’s been a while since I’ve written about proper goth shoes in this blog and seeing as I know plenty of goth vegans, I think it’s time for another look at what’s out there.
These impressive metal heeled platform boots are made by New Rock, known for making mostly leather cyber-biker boots.
Apaprently they have several ranges of vegan shoes now, all very goth looking with lots of metal and spikes.
I like these because I like my heels pretty solid and I do like the strapping, especially the straps on the actual heel. The shape of the toes is pretty intriguing too. Sexy!
If you’re into the goth / industrial / fetish style, then they’ll fit you like a latex glove.
I found them on a website called The Lair.
There aren’t enough exclamation marks in the world to do these justice, so I’m not even going to try.
So apparently both Sanrio and Doc Martens celebrate their 50th birthday this year, so they got together and made some shoes. The whole range is gorgeous, actually, but this is the only style not made of leather. They feature lots of characters from the Sanrio range, including, of course, Hello Kitty.
Do I need to say how cute these are again? I’ll have two!
These will be out in stores on September 1st. In the meantime, you can pre order them on the Doc Martens site.
It’s vegan, it’s leopard print, it’s a boot and it’s got a wedge on it. What more do you need this season?
These neat boots will go well with tights or leggings and jungle-up any plain black outfit. They come in a few other colours, but sadly those are all suede. They have an 11cm heel and a little bit of a platform plus a handy side zip.
I’ll avoid making any comments about discovering your inner animal, etc. cause, well, leopard print has moved beyond such things, me thinks.
You can get these sexy vegan boots from Office.
Here’s another mad pair of boots from the Irregular Choice vegetarian range. These are fresh in from the autumn collection and feature a strange sculpted shape that sort of changes profile up your leg, plus a whole load of tassles and a big shiny star thing on the heel.
They’re black enough to go with all your outfits, but mad enough to stand out and be counted.
You can get them from the Irregular Choice site.
These classic and rustic vegan men’s boots by Green Shoes will likely last you a lifetime.
They are handmade in the UK by people who love their job and, while not exactly cheap, can be resoled from now to eternity are are designed to be comfortable and hard wearing.
I’ve tagged them with bohemian and hippie, as Green Shoes do have a very earthy, eco appeal.
However, I reckon these boots are classic enough to appeal to the more urban gentleman as well.
Great if you’re the sort of person who wants a decent, manly pair of boots that exists outside of changing fashion trends and will last you for years and years so you don’t have to go shopping for another.
They come in a range of vegan colours.
You can get them off the Green Shoes site.
Here’s a pair of vegan boots that’s perfect for the changing season. They are definitely boots and not sandal boots, gladiator boots or any other such monster-hybrid fashion disaster, but the cute crochet panel makes them airier than your usual boot.
They are described as “neutral”, which is indeed the case. I’d say they seem to go well with light coloured linen clothes, flowery dresses and big straw hats.
You can get them from Next.
Here are Airseal’s vegan safety work boots from Vegetarian Shoes. These are unisex, sturdy safety wear boots with steel toes, a padded collar and strong construction. They are made from really tough vegan materials that wear and age like leather.
These boots are tested and approved for site work. They’re also about as waterproof you can get short of wearing wellies, so can be used for hiking as well.
All in all, these are tough, well-made shoes that could come in really handy if you’re vegetarian or vegan but need proper safety work boots for your job.
You can get them from the Vegetarian Shoes site.
In this blog, I usually try to stay away from the more obvious types of vegan shoes and concentrate on more instantly fashionable shoes, as I think that’s the type of vegan shoes people often struggle to find.
These 100% recycled vegan hiking boots fall more into the traditional vegan shoe category – sort of chunky, sensible and earthy, while being ethical and eco-friendly as well but not exactly suitable for a night on the town. I’m not sure these are quite the same as proper, professional hiking boots, but they look perfectly light, comfortable and sturdy for the job.
I thought I’d mention them, though, as I recently came across them online and I like to support businesses that care about people, animals and the environment.
As far as this type of walking boot is concerned, these do stand out and look interestingly unusual. Wear them in the right circles and you’ll get quite a few comments, I’m sure.
I like the recycling logo and the artificial leather detailing. The website tells you exactly what they’re made of and it’s pretty fascinating!
You can get these from the Jade Planet website.
These somewhat rugged vegan boots by Rocket Dog are called Race Track. You can wear them up or down and they have a super cool zip with a little bone on the end.
These look very comfortable and not in a bad way. I think they’d make a fine choice for good vegan autumn or winter boots for every day wear. They’re casual but hip and also come in brown.
You can get them from Schuh.
Yes, Converse all stars are the tofu and nut cutlet of the vegan shoe world, but these are knee high! I’ve seen lots of cheap Converse knock offs doing this look, but this is the first time I’ve seen a real deal one appear in recent years. Relive the casual 90s in sexy style with these. They even have zips down the back so you don’t have to spend half your day getting them on and off. They also come in classic black and white.
You can get them from Schuh.
It’s been a nice summer so far, so it’s sad to think of it slowly dying away. Still, when new season boots start appearing on the shoe site, you know the end is coming.
At least these Rumble boots by Rocket Dog are out to make the deal as sweet as can be. They’re all buckled and studded for that tough industrial look (I say look, cause in my experience Rocket Dog stuff isn’t made in tough Lorica but slightly less tough vegan materials) and have a handy inside zip for making life easier.
The most important thing is that they actually look chunky and serious, unlike many other types of vegan biker boots that look like crap.
You can get them from Schuh.
These cool urban vegan trainers by Draven have funky skulls on them that look very Day of the Dead. That is very cool.
They also apparently say “Rock & Roll” on them, which is sort of less cool in a trying too hard to be cool and appeal to a certain kind of teenager sort of way. Oh well, can’t have everything. At least that bit doesn’t seem too obvious, while the cool skulls are very obvious.
They come in two understated shades which means you can wear them with everything. Handy if you’re a bloke who hates buying shoes and want a pair of shoes you can live in till either one of you dies.
You can get them on the Draven site.
I love hearing about small, ethical shoe companies so I’m really happy to feature these Desert boots by Guat Shoes from Sheffield. They manage to be at once both pretty smart-casual and respectable, yet quite bohemian / hippie as well. Excellent.
My friend John owns a pair of these and told me about these people, who make all their shoes by hand, sourcing local materials whenever possible. The shoes are apparently really comfortable and hard wearing and can be resoled, meaning you get really good value for money. The vegan versions are made out of lorica, which is about as tough as you can get for non-leather.
They make shoes and boots for both men and women (there’s also a desert boot version for the girls). I must say they have some real funky looking boots and things. It’s just a shame their “Guat originals” don’t come in faux leather, cause they’re totally wicked.
You can get the shoes from the Guat Shoes website.
Looking out my window at the grey grey sky can only mean one thing – the great British festival season!
Glastonbury is just around the corner, so maybe it’s time to check out what’s new on the wellie front this year. Here’s some mock croc wellie action from Office. They’re black and kinda funky. Wellies are funny, cause if you really need them, it means you’ll be knee deep in good old British mud, so no one will be able to see their funky pattern. If it’s not that muddy, then you could have probably gotten away with wearing normal boots that are more comfortable and less rubbery. It’s the great festival tragedy. At least these ones can go with most outfits but still look a bit more upmarket than your usual black wellie or rain boot.
You can get them from Office.
I know these vegan Docs lookalikes are known throughout the land, but I just got back from Berlin, have lots of stuff to do today and, to make matters worse, have realised my lovely vegan commando boots are looking pretty damn ruined. The hunt is on for very durable, reasonably stylish military-style boots and these are my first contenders, especially as my friend Laura (hi Laura!) who has a pair assures me they are absolutely brilliant to wear and last forever.
I’ll really miss the zip down the side of my current boots, but I need something that will survive another Burning Man and I do like the thought of steel toes to keep other people’s boots at bay when I go out gigging.
You can get them from the Vegetarian Shoes website, where I’ll probably end up getting mine from.
