Becoming a vegetarian in March this year, there was one thing I had not yet had to do until recently: Buy new winter shoes while avoiding the leather.
Now, I struggle as a shoe wearer, because if I could have it my way, I would wear "barefoot" shoes for every single occasion. That is, shoes with quite thin soles (typically 5 mm or less. Up to a cm including tread for off-road varieties) and no rise in the heal. Sadly, Vibram don't make winter/ rain friendly casual Fivefingers, and Vivo Barefoot's entire casual lineup is leather for some reason.
However, I also really love the look of combat boots. They go together with my skirts particularly well. Also, though: Nobody makes combat boot styles with "barefoot/ minimalist" soles.
My struggle is now doubled as I don't want anything with leather in it, for obvious reasons. So I ended up at Vegetarian Shoes' website. They seem to hold almost a monopoly on what they do. There people in the US and Australia who swear by them and their proprietary faux leather materials.
I went back and forward on being able to afford new shoes, and whether I wanted to compromise on soles. Then, my hand was forced as my old, pre-vegetarian leather combats were disintegrating in the autumn rain (they were old when I got them three years ago). I kind of wanted to go for their 14 eyelet Intrepid, but plumped for the 10 eyelet combat boot, plus a boot zip (because I'm lazy). My reasoning was that the combat boots, though less stylish than the Intrepid, have a classic sole that can be resoled by a professional and - potentially - then be resoled with a less chunky sole.
The combat boots are great! The material is almost entirely indistinguishable from real leather, except it doesn't have the smell of dead animal skin. It's like leather even down to the break-in period. I feel like I'm still breaking them in a week and a half later, but it took only two days before I could wear them out for hours without blistering. They feel like they'll last me a long time, definitely. Very sturdy.
I am struggling with the soles, though. They are way too chunky and rigid for someone like me, and I really miss being able to feel the ground I'm walking on. Aside from sensory deprivation, though, my knees are just not happy with it. I can really feel it after a long walk with my dog, and I get tired much quicker in these than in my old combats or in my other winter shoes (which are also fighting a losing battle against my shoe-shredding feet). This might still be part of the breaking-in period, but it doesn't quite feel like that.
As for the boot zip, I tried to attach that when I first got the shoes, but I couldn't zip them up when I was wearing them. I have a feeling this might have changed now that the material is more supple, so I will try again.
Despite my issues, I do love my new boots, and I love that I can have these kind of shoes without any animals suffering as a result. Vegetarian Shoes are proving pretty clearly that we don't NEED leather for our shoes, and I can't wait to buy my next pair (when I'm not broke). I hope that by the time I have money again, they'll have reconsidered their policy to only have massive, chunky soles on their boots. If they do come out with something more appropriate for my tastes, I will give them that final star. :) read more