I gotta say, I am really rather fond of Babycham’s shoes. So here’s another one from their range – a funky and colourful sci-fi / robot themed black trainer. As usual, there is great attention to detail, with star-shaped multi-coloured eyelets, an amazing sole (check out the gorgeous design by clicking through), colourful lacing and piping and a bright pink lining.
These shoes will certainly stand out and they just look cooler every time you look at them.
You can get them from Amazon.
I didn’t even have time to get over the shock of finding yesterday’s canvas DMs and here’s another new thing for me – DM skate shoes!
These neat white trainers for women have a cute alien print with a ray gun and everything and sport a chunky, bouncy sole. Definitely a hip twist on a trainer classic that will make any outfit just a little bit more street, maaan! Totally cool.
You can get them from James and James.
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.
If you’re looking for ultra-girlie summer trainers then I do believe you may have found them. They have a totally young and casual vibe. Sort of…Middle class bohemian – virginal but easily corruptible (you know, cause they’re pale).
Just picture them with a white summery dress or jeans for the perfectly sexy “just fell out of bed and slipped those on” look.
They come in a few other colours, including an all white lace option which is also ultra cute.
You can get them from Schuh. They’re called Rocket Dog Snippet.
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.
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.
These white vegan PU trainers by Firetrap are perforated, which is handy for ventilation. They are a bit manly in style but I think they could work for women too. Sizes go down to a size 6, so if you’re a girl who’s size 6 (UK size 6) or above, you could still rock the look if they fit you style.
I reckon they look sort of summery and smart casual. I’m not really one for white trainers myself, but it’s always good to see a vegan version of a classic. They also come in handy black and also in brown.
They are currently half price in the Office Sale.
These cute high top vegan trainers from Babycham are a cool twist on the old canvas trainer thang. They have funky patent accents, plus the cutsey babycham logo that looks like Bamby. Also, check out the neat star shaped eyelets!
These are good shoes if you want to be casual and comfortable but also a bit more fashionable and slightly alternative with it. They’ll make good every day shoes that’ll dress up an outfit in just the right measure. They are called the Babycham glitter jersey trainers and are currently on sale for 20 quid.
You can get them from the Schuh website.
I tried to ignore the whole thing, but apparently there’s no escape, so here’s a pair of vegan football boots. I don’t know why they call them boots, they are blatantly some sort of trainer. Still, who am I to argue?
I’m not sure I like the colours on them, but they are the only ones I could find online, so there you go. Now you too could kick a (vegan) football around the field and feel manly.
You can get them at Alternative Stores
Oh yeah, and for the full effect, there’s this…
OK, I know it’s cheating to write about so many shoes from the same place over one week, but just this one more pair cause they’re so wicked. Vegan steampunk trainers, oh yeah!
I know it’s Valentine’s day, so I should really be writing about some shoes with a heart on them (like the awesome Melissa Dragon Lady), but hey, these are brilliant too and steampunk is (apparently) forever.
Check out the really intricate, delicate gear print. Nice!
I’m also liking the pinstripe / sort of aged, almost parchment combo. So now you can basically still look steampunk even when it’s trainer-weather and you’re in your street clothes looking a different kind of cool. The whole design is at once very modern but also somewhat old-school with the whole Spats look and Victorian charm.
Totally casual and neat and you can be sure no one in your vicinity will own a pair. There are a few other steampunk designs on there that are also worth a look, though these were my favourites so far.
You can get them from Zazzle.
Another good find on the Zazzle site. These Rasta-inspired trainers are soooo cute!
They have the right colours if you want to do the Jamaican thang, but also a cool pattern to go with, so you can wear them even if you just like the design and the colours and it won’t necessarily mean you’re overtly Rasta. So wink, if you may, or you could work them into a bigger Jamaican, Rasta look.
I like the cute red piping and the splash design. The base design of the trainer itself is pretty neat in a simple sort of way, making for a really desirable shoe.
You can get these from Zazzle.
How awesome! Vegan trainers printed with a bowling shoe pattern. I just found this site where I gather people can custom design trainers and then they are sold on the site. There are some super cool designs on there and I’m definitely going to be reviewing a bunch as I go through them.
I really like these, cause I really like bowling shoes. I actually have a pair of Rocket Dogs made out of old stock Chinese vegan bowling shoes, though they are single colour. These are not quite as cool as actual bowling shoes, but on the other hand they’re trainers and therefore more socially acceptable around people who don’t understand how cool those are to actually wear out, but can get down with the irony of wearing a trainer that looks like them.
Not cheap, but how many people you know have trainers that look like bowling shoes?
You can get these from Zazzle.
These trainers from Diesel are pretty damn neat. True to the denim styling, they actually have a little pocket at the back of them, just like a pair of jeans. How cool (and odd) is that?
Apart from that, we have a classic trainer shape, done particularly well with the chunky rubber sole and the contrasting white stripe. I love the rubber toe bit, though that’s hardly unique to these. They do look nicely “bumpy” here, though!
These are understated, stylish and trendy and all in all a nice pair of every day trainers.
You can get them from Schuh. They are called “Exposure”.
As we all know, this type of Converse-like basketball shoes / trainers is a pretty obvious staple of vegan footwear the world over, but that doesn’t mean I can’t review the occasional fine variation on the theme.
These leopard print trainers from Rocket Dog definitely have the X-factor, and not in the horrible UK reality show sense, but in the original sense when it still meant something good you might actually want. Apart from the fact that they are leopard print and therefore already cool (remember kids: leopard print never goes out of style), they also have a red lining and a few nice touches of red in the logos on the outside of the shoe as well.
I also like the thick laces that make these look a bit like skate shoes and the sole which almost looks somewhat creeper-like.
While still placed firmly within the standard high-top trainer department, these leopard print trainers are different enough to stand out and get you some compliments.
In the UK at least, these are available exclusively from Schuh.
