Vegan Shoe Addict

Is it a biker boot? Is it a cowboy boot? No! It’s this red fashion hybrid boot from TUK!

Slightly less blatantly alternative than most of their range, these seem like more mainstream boots for the girl who likes a little bit of funkiness in her trendy footwear, without putting on the punk rocker, rockabilly or mod look.
Personally, I actually prefer their more wacky creations to these, as I think these could possibly look a bit cheap in real life. While many of TUK’s non-leather shoes can appear cheaply made under close inspection, the more alternative designs are so very cool-looking, nobody really stops to think about it and / or care.

These sort of pitch themselves up against more mainstream leather shoes and I’m not sure they would come up winners. I do like the overall look, though and I think they have a sort of kink in them that makes them somewhat funkier than some of the similar non-leather boots I’ve seen around.

You can get these on Amazon.com

New York City – vegan designer shoe capital of the world? Well, it would certainly seem so, as I just discovered yet another proudly vegan, eco-friendly, ethical shoe company that hails from there.

Just feast your eyes on these hot hot boots from the super stylish Cri de Coeur. These may come from NY, but they wouldn’t shame any Italian designer showing on the Milan fashion week catwalk.
They feature classic lines, trendy open toe and sides which is very very now, plus they are handmade, carbon neutral and totally feminine and sexy.

Pair these with a classically cut little black dress and some Gucci sunglasses and you’re laughing. Celebrities, get your wallets!

You (or your personal stylist) can get these from Amazon.com

Aren’t these punk (or punk rocker) boots neat? These aren’t actually by Doc Martens, they are by TUK, although they look pretty damn similar, if you ask me. As far as I know, DM don’t make vegan shoes anymore, so this is one of your alternative options. Ironically, these are made in China and I do believe DM killed off their vegan line when they took production out of the UK and into China.

These boots have got it all, at least when it comes to methods of fastening – they have laces, straps and hidden inside side zips. The pattern is very goth rose, (literally. It has roses on it) but I find it quite unassuming, myself. The shape of the boot makes it lend itself to other looks apart from goth royalty, which is good, as there aren’t as many all out goths nowadays as there used to be back in the day.

You can get these from Amazon.com.

If you’re looking for a solid-colour, unisex Doctor Martens lookalike boot, Vegetarian Shoes make some.

If you ever wanted a pair of jeans you could wear on your feet – here they are! These even have little pockets on them, how cool? I wonder if you can actually put anything in the pockets?

They manage to look quite trendy, even though I’ve never actually heard of a trend involving shoes that look like they’re made out of trousers.
But lest you take yourself too seriously wearing these, they have a totally bubbly lining full of fruity things, to remind you that boots that look like jeans may be sexy, but they are also quirky and ever so slightly mad.

You can get these vegan boots from Office.

Let’s be honest – the reason I like these is that even though they sort of look like your average, vegan-staple canvas baseball boots, their strappiness makes them look a little bit like some kind of straight-jacket, which instantly makes them just a little bit more kinky than your average, vegan-staple canvas baseball boots.

You could totally play on that, if you wanted to, or you could just wear them as neat vegan boots with a side zip and straps instead of laces. I mean, not everyone has a somewhat sick mind like mine and would instantly think about insane asylums and bondage when seeing a harmless pair of simple canvas shoes, right? Right!

Either way, you could get these from Office.

Well, the Palladium 90s look must be back, cause since I saw a pair of the originals on Schuh, I have noticed an explosion of them elsewhere. Here’s some from Office’s own brand, complete with a flowery lining that looks like something your gran would have as a wallpaper. Still, it’s not entirely uneasy on the eye, is it?

Yes, you can wear them as hiking boots, especially if you roll up the flowery bits so that the boots hold your ankle better. I admit that when I wore my similar pairs as hiking boots, it was in the desert where it was A. mostly dry and B. a very similar colour to these boots. You may want to get a different pair of vegan hiking boots if you’re going for a stroll in the English countryside.

These are not waterproof, but they do dry very quickly, plus they have the whole English garden thing going for them, so you can carry a bit of the countryside around with you.

You can get them from Office.

I know I’m showing my age here, but Punky Brewster is all I can think about when I see these. They are so totally 80s teenager. I love it! Ok, I can think of a few other things too – My little pony and the care bears being but a couple…

We’ve got denim, we’ve got the classic high-top shape and there’s zips and stars too with plenty of colours and, most importantly, bright pink laces and lining! All you’d need to do is infuse these with a pencil eraser scent and I’d literally fall down and cry with nostalgic tears of joy.

I mean, you have to be a little bit 12 to wear them (even if only on the inside) but oh to be 12 again and teeny-bop along to your favourite pop songs with these on! We do love shoes with a sense of humour here at Vegan Shoe Addict, so bring on the rainbow!

You can get these vegan 80s trainers from Cloggs and they also come in a somewhat more subdued version with black, pink and turquoise.

Is that incense burning I smell? These casual, bohemian velvety quilted ankle boots definitely look like something out of an old Beatles video, which I guess is why they are called Penny Lane. They’re by Sugar who do specialise in that whole bedroom slipper boot look, but I’m willing to let that go for these, cause these look homey in a good way.
I like the mismatched retro buttons and the shape is pretty boho too…

I’d pair them with tights or leggings and some sort of oversized jumper, though I guess you could also put some flowers in your hair. Actually, why not go straight to the source for inspiration? I must say that I am thinking more Kings Road than Penny Lane, though. What’s with all the horses?

You can get these vegan bohemian boots from Cloggs.

Oh my god, Palladiums are back! I mentioned these recently in passing as a nostalgic memory of my misspent teenage years (when those were the only vegan shoes around). I actually looked around recently online to see if they still exist, but all I found were recent suede and leather shoes they make. Now suddenly I see these! Yes, they are totally back. It must have been long enough since they went for new people to be introduced to them and think they are either retro or just plain cool. Welcome to the 90s. Again.

Well, I still own a few pairs of these going all the way back to when they were originally cool. I know they are comfortable and they last. I used to wear them as hiking boots in the days before synthetic hiking boots were a reality.

I’m glad these are cycling their way back into today’s mainstream, though time will tell if the whole 90s revival thing catches on.

These are called pampa hi trainers and are available at Schuh.

Simple, cute and stylish – I do like these. They’re a different take on the usual canvas high top trainer, with straps instead of laces.

I think these would make nice smart-casual trainers to wear to work if your office is funky or for going out somewhere where you need to look vaguely smart but also vaugely trendy and have your shoes just blend in with the look. They’re a good shade of neutral (navy, apparently. Looked grey to me on this screen, but I guess it’s denim of sorts). They also come in black synthetic, which is also handy, though they look like they might look a bit cheap in real life in that style.
Both of these are on sale right now, so they *are* actually cheap, which is always good.

You can get these directly from Aldo.

More rain boot fun! This time, though, they’re by Melissa shoes and designed by Vivienne Westwood. Sure, they cost more than your average wellie, but they’re, you know, Vivienne Westwood, so will make you instantly 10 times cooler.

These are cute cute cute with their little side buttons that make them fit in with the military-style look while simultaneously also being young, funky and waterproof. I’m quite charmed by the blue colour, I must say.

If you were going to wear one pair of rain boots this year and look incredibly hip and fashionable nonetheless then these are definitely the ones. Pretty pretty but remember that Melissas run a size small.

I found these here.

Well, the M&S site tells me that wellies are a hot trend this winter. While I’m not sure about that, I know that these are pretty cute. They come in this muddy brown and also in dark girlie pink and are pretty good for wearing through smaller puddles. Like all boots from the wellie family, I think these would make good summer festival boots, as long as the summer festival doesn’t get *too* muddy. They seem pretty grippy too, so probably OK for walking in some wintery mud and slush in the meantime.

I like the pull-on style with the little tab in the back and the white piping is a nice touch too. All in all these are pretty sweet for 20 quid.

You can get them from Marks and Spencer.

Well, it was only a matter of time till I ended up writing about something of the canvas boot range that has been so extremely popular over the last few years. These flat vegan boots by Sugar I think are a particularly funky example, with a funky flowery pattern that makes them stand out.

Having canvas shoes become trendy is somewhat of a double-edged sword, as things that go into fashion tend to come out of fashion too, which is when vegan fashion victims risk looking somewhat like yesterday’s news.

I remember back in the day when I’d just turned vegetarian and stopped wearing leather, there were practically no non-leather shoes around. I was reduced to wearing Palladium shoes – sort of canvas walking shoes that came in black or tan. Then they suddenly became hugely popular and mainstream, which was great, as it resulted in there being lots of funky-coloured Palladiums about (which I bought), and wearing them became a fashion statement. Then they went out of fashion and wearing them became a totally different fashion statement.

And the moral of the story is? Well, for one, enjoy the golden age while it lasts and get yourself some nice canvas shoes in slightly more interesting designs than you otherwise would. Once the trend is gone, it’s up to you to decide whether to keep wearing them, depending on how much of a fashion victim you are. If your shoes are cool enough to match your look and be attention-grabbing enough on their own (which these certainly are), then you should be OK whatever.

So, the other day I was out hiking with my cousins while my house was being robbed… No, that’s not some funny blog thing. Some fuckers actually broke in and stole some important stuff, including the laptop I use to do things like write this blog. But, as they say, the blog must go on…

I realised I don’t actually have any proper hiking boots and these vegan hiking boots by Vegetarian shoes caught my eye. They’re unisex, though they look kinda manly and they are sturdy and hard wearing, plus generally pretty hard. Great for hiking and kicking things while pulling your hairs out thinking about all the stuff you had on your PC that some wanker is now looking at instead of you (or kicking the people who stole my stuff in a very non-pacifist way if I ever got anywhere near them).

But let us get onto cheerier things, as these boots actually deserve a happy blog post. They are of very high quality, as the veggie shoes stuff always is, plus they are 100% vegan and ethical. I’ve been hiking with my Nova boots, which are nice, but not exactly trailblazing boots when compared to these. Sure, the Novas are sexier, but they’ll never hold you the way these do…

I found these on Mooshoes , though you can also get them directly from Vegetarian Shoes.

New Rock make serious boots. I always wanted to get a pair but they were always leather leather leather. Then Good ol’ Pennangalan started doing the Vegan New Rocks. They’ve had them for a while, but I’ve only just gotten around to writing about them properly. In fact, just looking at them now is reminding me I still haven’t bought myself a pair. Now I’m thinking, where am I going to get £150 from?

I love how sturdy and heavy these look. New Rock make really hard wearing shoes with good construction. So I can only assume the vegan version will be well-constructed too. I love the metal inserts and I love that they have a side zip, cause, well, I’m lazy when it comes to putting shoes on and taking them off. Total awesomeness.

I also like the fact that Pennangalan can make other New Rock styles out of the vegan material, which opens up a whole world of exciting possibilities. New Rock make some truly brilliant, heavy duty boots.

You can get these from Pennangalan.