I had a report from a reader that these shoes have leather lining, after posting about them here. I am leaving this post here as a warning, in case you are interested in buying them. There are plenty of other vegan brogues on my site that are vegan, though I am not sure I have glitter ones.
Summer is apparently on its way out, judging by the sudden appearance of autumn boot styles in the shops. Here at Vegan Shoe Addict, though, I’m going to hold on to every last bit of sunshine, damnit!
Here’s some sandals for you, as we still have a few weeks of summer yet.
These simple but fashionable sandals have a slight wedge for a bit of extra height and poise but are still flat enough for comfort. They are made out of a lovely shiny vegan material and come in a whole load of colours apart from this classic black (red, yellow, blue, etc.).
It’s amazing how the addition of something as simple as a bow can make these look instantly rockabilly / retro. They may not be the full blown pin up heel version, but you could easily wear them with your 50s cut dress and go about your business without anyone questioning your retro credentials too much.
You can get them at Office.
Here’s a handy pair of rockabilly-inspired trainers by Babycham. Handy for when you don’t want to go all out retro but still want to stay true to style. I’m totally digging the gingham collar and the tattoo flash designs. So utterly sweet!
There’s also a black version with different rockabilly prints of cherries and playing cards and swallows and things too. As usual with Babycham shoes, there’s lots of attention to detail. Check out the patent heel, for example, not to mention the sole, which is just awesome. I wanna buy them and go walking on sand just so I can see what wicked footprints I make!
You can get them from the Amazon site.
Tis the season to be…nautical. Apparently!
Actually, who am I kidding? Tis always the season to be nautical.
These fluffy, summery wedges are by Iron Fist, who usually make somewhat darker-edges shoes for the psychobilly minded. These are far more retro-inspired. Very 50s and pin up.
My friend found them and posted the link on Facebook, so obviously I had to immediately steal them for this blog.
So now you know and can buy a pair too. But if you see a woman called Virginia wearing them, remember she found them first!
You can get these from Office.
Behold these cute retro wedge sandals! They are called the Caden Bow and are of Schuh’s own brand. Girlie, pink and flowery seems to be very in this coming season, at least according to Schuh, and these fit right in there, ready-made to complete your 50s housewife garden party look or your rockabilly pool party look, whichever you prefer. The flower pattern the lining’s made out of could go either way, really. The wedge is 8cm high at its tallest point, so while definitely a good size, isn’t too insane either. If you like the pattern inside, then there is also a version with that on the outside, although I am not sure whether the lining for that is vegan (I would assume so because of the pricing and my knowledge of Schuh, but am not 100% certain).
You can get these from Schuh.
Pure rockabilly fetish heaven! Here’s another totally outrageous pair of super high heels from Penthouse shoes. I’ve written about another pair of their vegan high heels before and I’m really getting into this brand. I wonder if they’re called Penthouse cause their heels are so high?
Not all their shoes have tattoos on them, but for some reason I seem to be drawn to those that do. So here we have a cute “love & hate” tattoo design on the platform, with a sexy red mock crock and a cute little key charm dangling from the heel. As if that wasn’t enough, you’ve also got cherries, swallows and stars everywhere. These guys take no prisoners when it comes to loading up on the rockabilly imagery. Pure pin up class all the way, baby!
Yes, I know these aren’t particularly practical unless you were born in heels, but posing also works for me. They are just soooo cool.
You can get these hot hot heels from Amazon / Endless.
Well, it doesn’t get much crazier than this, does it? I’m not sure where you’d wear these to, how, what with or why, but here they are. They are pretty over the top in every way possible. I mean, they’ve got a wedge, they’ve got colourful tattoo designs, there’s some sort of dangly thing at the back and there’s even one with leopard print. Someone’s obviously taken every possible new rockabilly trick in the book and put it into a shoe.
I guess you need to be a very particular kind of person to be able to carry these off and do them justice and if you are that person, then you’re already reaching for your card and counting the minutes till your emotional meeting. I salute you!
You can get these by following this link.
Wingtip brogues and oxfords have been gracing the feet of many retro fashionista for quite some time now. And with the retro style being so in nowadays, I figured I’d write a bit about the classic wingtip brogue shoe.
This is obviously quite a masculine style and these Airseal brogues from Vegetarian Shoes come in some men’s sizes too (and apparently run large for almost one size so could actually fit some reasonably big blokes). They clearly resemble Doc Martens and Grinders but are 100% vegan and come from a UK-based, ethical company. Vegetarian shoes make shoes that last and in my experience they are generally very comfortable too. Not cheap, but at least you get your money’s worth.
These are available from Vegetarian Shoes. They also come in an all-black version.
In the USA, you may be able to get them from Moo shoes, though I think they only carry the black version.
These women’s brogues are by Dirty Laundry and come in a range of colours and vegan materials, including brown and all-black in patent, waxed (matte) and even fabric.
They don’t look quite as classic or as sturdy as the Veggie shoes ones, but are slightly more girlie.
They are available from Dirty Laundry.
This somewhat battered pair of Melissa Shoes Joy Brogues is my own personal pair (seen here with matching cat) that I’ve been wearing all the time for well over a year. As you can see, they’re not quite as glorious as when they were new (here’s what they look like new), but are still quite striking, very feminine and people keep thinking they are proper tap or swing shoes and rarely notice they are made of plastic. I get compliments every time I wear these. They’re super comfortable instantly, but run a size small like all Melissa shoes I’ve tried.
The only place you can still get these in black and white is eBay on occasion (and maybe some random shops in far away places still have them), but the Melissa brogues come in a load of colours and combinations and new colours come out every season, so you can probably find some variation on this theme somewhere. Current season hits include some “flock” (velvet-like plastic material) numbers as well as an all-black Swarovski crystal-decked specimen for the small price of about 200 quid. Past collections included all-pink, gold and metallic purple.
Vegan swing / lindy hop dance shoes
Make: Bleyer
Style: Ruby Slippers
The why the where the how::
I bought these vegan swing dance shoes years ago while I was taking lindy hop classes. Most swing shoes have suede soles to make spinning and turning easier. Bleyer have their own special sole that’s made out of synthetic materials. Apart from making their shoes one step closer to being vegan, this also means these shoes can be worn off the dancefloor too, without being easily worn out like the suede ones. Most of the Bleyer swing shoes are still made with leather uppers, but the red and white Ruby Slippers are 100% synthetic, as their so-called patent leather material is actually a synthetic substitute and these shoes are 100% patent. They have another one or two styles that come as 100% vegan as standard and, as far as I know, are the only one who make professional vegan swing and lindy hop shoes.
I spent ages looking online before finding these and they were brilliant but they do run a size small, which is why I no longer have the ones in the picture.
Where can I get them?
You can buy them here in the UK, here in Canada and here in the US and anywhere else. The last link is the main international vegan Bleyer suppliers and they have loads of different styles and materials you can choose from. They are based in Australia but ship all over the world.