Vegan Leather

So regular readers will know I have a major obsession with leather shoes, to the point that that I have avoided anything except pure leather shoes. My reasoning being that natural leather breathes and absorbs sweat, therefore improving the health of my feet. Now after some research I have learnt more about artificial leathers, and having come across a very keenly priced pair of Stella McCartney vegan leather shoes, I thought it would be worth a try to see how good high end synthetics perform.

These slingbacks by Stella McCartney are really quite something, I’ve seen high end luxury leather with worse finishes than this, I think Sergio Rossi have some of the best patent leathers and these are as good!

Visually they are as good as any high end leather products, patent finishes should be smooth and glossy with rich colour, and these are no exception. On feeling the texture, the outer material is creamy like leather, the lining is actually softer and more pliable than leather. The shoe is also put together with care and attention, there are few creases despite the intricate pointed toe. Overall it is produced with then same care and attention granted to any other hand made luxury shoe, the only difference being made from entirely vegan materials.

I have been searching for a good pair of red shoes for what seems forever so this seemed such a good opportunity at only £80. Sometimes TKMaxx does throw up some amazing bargains

Wearing these all day around Paris, they’re perfectly comfortable, my feet can breathe. The heels are just the right height for walking around. Sure for a city like Paris the thinnest of stiletto heels can catch in cracks on the pavement and especially on escalators that is a pretty familiar story with a lot of shoes, and when using an additional clear pair of straps, even the extremely narrow heels here are perfectly stable to wear.

These are pretty much as skinny as they come! Stable to wear however not exceptionally durable

Coming back to home I did begin to notice some issues, first of all were heel tips as narrow as these do need steel tips for better durability, I had managed to wear a new set of tips down to the metal in half a day. Taking the shoes off the uppers looked fine and glossy as they started, cheaper shoes bend and warp, the Stella McCartney’s keep their shape really well. Inside however begins quite a familiar story, the lining being super soft isn’t super tough and my toenails have already started to wear away the linings, I probably will have to wear hosiery with these shoes. On the plus side the soles are definitely more durable than leather, especially if it’s wet!

Lining is very soft and breathable, the downside is that is isn’t as durable as leather, however overall the shoes are very impressive

So the big question is will I continue to buy vegan leather? Well these were great and worth as much as their luxury leather counterparts, it is sometimes difficult to find synthetics as good as these so don’t expect me to be giving up the leather soles just yet!

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