Let’s talk about footwear. Footwear with an equine/equestrian theme. It’s one of those accessories that even the most conservative dresser may be willing to play with to some degree. I admit, I fall into that aforementioned category: conservative dresser. Some of that, probably 75% of that is my inclination to work with things that will remain classics regardless of the fashion trends of the moment.
Marsha has a background in retail as well, having owned a tack store that catered to the needs of horse people of all disciplines in the northeastern Ohio area. Marsha’s aesthetic is bold color, abstract design with some edginess. Dialectically opposing views thus we bring a wide range of diverse design to the store.
Having said all of that…let’s talk about the incredible equine/equestrian designed footwear that we offer, and not just for adults, but for children past the toddler age. (Sorry to all the younger equiphiles out there…we just haven’t found a vendor that will offer baby and toddler shoes). Certainly, since most of our products would fall under “casual” so does the majority of our footwear. We offer a variety of super fun shoes, some gender specific and some are unisex, and as I mentioned previously, we do have some children’s shoes as well. Coming this spring/summer, we plan to offer some gorgeous leather slides, espadrilles (including high top and wedge heel) as well as canvas tennis shoes and my personal favorite: the vegan leather combat boot.
I am the queen of casual and I want accessories that offer some flair and show my equine love without necessarily being overwhelming, or simply something I can add to an outfit to add just a bit of individuality and an equine flair. Today I want to talk about our canvas tennis shoes, which are unisex offering a rubber sole and trim with contrasting stripe and a vegan leather toe cap, and our vegan leather combat boots.
I helped to design and then was gifted these tennies for Christmas…they’re basic white low tops with a contrasting black stripe and an all-black silhouette of a dressage horse and rider executing a half-pass. We have plans to create more versions for all the different disciplines, but someone had to do product testing…So what I will say about these shoes: they are sized as unisex, and even if you follow the size chart, there is a bit of a discrepancy if they were sized per gender norms. I am a straight across the board seven, average width, and I think that although unfortunately these do not come in half sizes, I could easily have gone a half size down if not a whole size. They run longer than I would have expected and a tad wider. Having said that, they’re incredibly comfortable and I prefer the vegan leather toe cap to a rubber one. Unlike other popular name brand tennis shoes, these do not seem too narrow at the toe, which will make going down either a half or whole size more realistic.
In terms of the lace up combat boot…we have a similar product from a different vendor in canvas. I have a pair of those, and in comparison, to the vegan leather ones. The canvas boots run very narrow…and even run a tad shorter than I would have expected. They fit my true size, but I advise a comfy insole for a full day of walking. Marsha has product tested the vegan leather model, and she says that these boots utilizes unisex sizing so they run wide (for women, beyond a C width) but do run true to size in length. Just comparing the two, the vegan version seems to take the printing better, and they also are easily maintainable…you can simply wipe them off with a damp cloth. I also loved the rolled, circular laces to a wider, flatter lace which comes with the canvas boots. Finally, I feel that the biggest difference is that all the stitching and the back pull loop which is an extension of the back ribbon seam is black, as is all the trim and the laces. Overall, this creates a uniform look. They also offer a padded tongue, which increases the comfort and longevity of daily wear factor.
Marsha has also product tested the flat, unisex espadrilles. Although they are a cotton-based fabric and will stretch, she found them to run a bit narrow but true to length. Given the fabric, we believe that with wear, they will mold to the foot with ease.
We have even found willing participants to test our children’s shoes. From the information we have gathered, they run true to size, are comfortable, and regardless of specific style, they all take the dye well and have turned out as well if not better than we might have expected. In our children’s footwear we offer a dual Velcro sneaker, and both a low and high-top version of our lace-up tennis shoes. The tennis shoes offer the option of a white or black rubber trim, and I can attest to the fact that they’re very comfortable.
Bottom line: we are working on a complete line of discipline-oriented tennis shoes. In and of themselves this is to our best knowledge unique. The adult tennis shoes we’re trying to focus on more classic white with black silhouettes, but we’re having more fun stylistically with the children’s shoes, the boots, the three kinds of espadrilles, and come spring/summer, the women’s leather slides. As a sneak preview, this spring/summer we are also looking to add some basic (with the unique BE twist of course!) flip flops. Stay tuned!!!