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.
