I love shoes. I'm always browsing for shoes online and keep having to stop myself from ordering 100s of pairs of the same ones in various colours. However, it's a long time since I bought a pair of heels - now I'm more of a trainers girl! So I thought I'd do a little unboxing of my most recent purchase, because I didn't even know of the Iso 3's existence until I came across these!
Also prepare yourself for a little rant from me, because I've got a few things to say about shoes. Money definitely does not mean quality...
Here's my problem: I wear through shoes like nobody's business. Above are my Timberland Nellie Chukka boots - I bought these in July last year and stopped wearing them this April. I can't believe that they've worn down this flat in a year! I bought them because I thought they'd be a good investment purchase. I have got a lot of wear out of them, but it's nuts that a pair of shoes that have an RRP of £120 have barely lasted a year. Back in February I spoke to Timberland customer services who offered me a measly £35 voucher. I bought my pair on sale for £80 in Office and used a £45 voucher that I received as a birthday present from my work colleagues. Timberland said they couldn't help more than this and that I'd have to talk to Office. When I did, Office said I'd have to post them my shoes; they'd evaluate the damage and then send them back. I never did this because by the time I'd had all of the back and forth I had bigger things to think about (moving house, for example). Now I get too nervous to use them - they were in fact the shoes I was wearing when I slipped on ice and badly sprained my wrist - again, something I was not expecting from a pair of shoes that are designed to be worn on "sand, grit, ice, rain, and snow". I really don't think I'll be buying from Timberland again!
Then onto the right of this photo - my Vans. I have been wearing these since Christmas and, as you can see, they're wearing down under the balls of my feet too! However, I'm not surprised by this due to how flat the soles were to begin with. I'm trying not to wear these as often, so I can make them last longer. I've seen that Primark do dupes of Vans Old Skool trainers, which I'm half tempted by! I'm definitely an advocate for buying high-quality shoes, but I'm not sure if I can afford to keep buying them at this rate!
This is partially why I decided to buy a pair of Docs for Life. If I'm going to pay big bucks for a pair of shoes, I might as well get a pair that won't wear out (and if they do, they get repaired/replaced)! However, sometimes you just want a pair of comfy trainers to chuck on...
So this is where the Vans Iso 3s come in. I spent hours trawling the sales looking at trainers. I managed to find these in the men's section of Schuh, with a pretty hefty discount. I was actually pretty annoyed by Schuh's online format - other websites will let you search all shoes by size, regardless of gender. The only reason why I found these was because I had almost given up hope and thought I'd try looking just in case. And I'm glad I did because these shoes are almost perfect!
Vans Iso 3 feature a Scotchgard-treated suede outer (I still used suede protector on these, just in case) and have a heat-retention layer to keep your feet warm and dry. They're not the comfiest shoes I own (I think that'd either be my Dr Martens or my New Balance 574s) but I had absolutely no problem walking around all day in them. Speaking of New Balance - they're another one on my list. I'm onto my third pair since 2014...
These trainers are designed for Autumn/Winter, which is why I was so enthusiastic about buying them. Due to my slip on ice whilst wearing my Timberlands, I've been a little bit nervous about falling again. My walk to work now involves a lot more hills than my previous job - my anxiety likes to remind me that this means I'm a lot more likely to fall over. Thanks.
While I'm not expecting snow and ice any time soon, I am expecting lots of rain this Autumn. I do live in Britain, after all...
These shoes aren't necessarily ground breaking, but I am really pleased to see how deep the tread is on these trainers (jeez, that might be the lamest thing I've ever written). But my point is: there's a lot of space for these soles to wear down without compromising the amount that they can grip in wet weather. Perfect!
I did want to buy these in black, but the smallest size I could find was a 7. I do like the grey though, and I think the teal is a nice touch (the shoes came with an extra pair of teal laces, so I'm considering switching the grey out). The fit is a little large for me around the front - but it's nothing that pulling the laces tighter can't fix!
I've also been keeping a watchful eye on eBay. I used to be so good at finding things on there when I was a student, but these days it's rare that I purchase anything. However, I have been keeping my eye out for second hand Vans Old Skool trainers. I managed to find these beauties for just £11! They're well-worn, but the soles were barely damaged at all! Sometimes shoes such as Vans/Converses rub my feet for the first few wears, so it was great that these were already broken in for me. They also fit better than my other pair, too (despite being the same size). I don't know why but they feel a bit narrower, which is great considering I have quite thin feet. The canvas is pulling away from the rubber in places but other than that they're perfect. I feel a lot better about wearing these to death and replacing them with another eBay pair!
Does anyone else have this problem with shoes? Maybe I just walk strangely...
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