There is a new trend of these high heeled “hiking boots”. I’m not sure what people are thinking – I wouldn’t hike in high heels if you paid me. I’ve heard it described somewhere as a new way of making women uncomfortable in a place so far untouched by the discomfort of heels. I mean, I know the heel is chunky and all, but would you really go down a rocky mountain in these?
Personally, I’d rather look at these as a way of bringing a bit of the great outdoors into your urban or semi-urban lifestyle. These are cute and look comfy and warm and will be
very comfortable in the city.
You can get them on Modcloth.
Nowadays there are so many vegan hiking boots around made out of all kinds of material, people often forget about more “innocent” times, when the only thing around were Palladium boots. I’ve featured their standard black vegan ankle boots here already, plus a sort of flowery knock off but here’s a nice pair with a bit more of a distressed, industrial edge to it.
Apparently they treat both the shoes and the laces with some sort of acids to make them look this cool. Oh yeah and the fold down bit can also be worn up.
Check them out on the Palladium 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.
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.
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.
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.
