I was fondling a nice pair of Merrell slip-ons the other day, admiring their firm yet plush foot bed and easy-in styling, just right for plodding to the park and yoga in the summer. I was just about to slip my foot into them, when I remembered: I'm not wearing leather any more.
Drats! This was going to be like vowing not to eat any more chocolate-covered cherries after just finishing one, and then facing the inevitable craving next month -- harder than I'd thought. But I've seen a few cute vegetarian items, as I've mentioned, so I figure there's got to be more out there. Let's take a look, shall we?
I started my online search with bags. LeSportsac has cute stuff, including fab bags from Stella McCartney, though most are just too loosely styled for my taste. These tidy bags from MATT & NAT are more my speed, particularly the awe-inspiring Japanese paper line. (I do hear some of their bags are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), though, which is full of nasty phthalates.) For winter, you can always go wool, but so many have leather handles and trim. Might as well by an indestructible ballistic nylon piece by my beloved Tumi.
For shoes, Zappos.com is searchable by a "vegetarian" option, which yielded hundreds of results when I tried. Most of the items were for lounging (if you're a Tibetan monk) or hiking (if you're seriously punk), though, and some were just non-leather because, well, they were cheap. I did better at mooshoes.com, where all the options are vegan, including these darling ballet flats.
Sometimes, though, you have to go off the grid, and buy a regular brand, but in non-leather. I've been doing poi de soi in heels for some time now, simply because it makes a nice all-season shoe. I also have a nice pair of stretch-fabric Cole Haan with 2-inch heels that have the added advantage of being waterproof, which is the reason I bought them many years ago.
As for summer sport sandals, I'm eyeing these Keen Newport H2's at left. Keen has a reputation for durability and comfort, and I can snap these up on various places on the Web starting at $44.95 (or barely used on eBay, at prices hovering around $9-15). Stella McCartney has come to the rescue here again with great sneakers and such with her line for Adidas. I'm craving the Menari, which I might be able to scam on eBay for less than $50. But - a note to Stella: Tell your pal Gwynnie to stop hawking Tod's huge leather bags, o.k.?
~BurbMom
For those of you who are not willing to spend money for unlocking the car, you can call the cops to come to your rescue.
Posted by: marlboro | January 16, 2012 at 09:06 AM