Vegetarian shoes- because I've missed a bit of shoe with my gravy.

My blog posts are like buses- you wait months for one and two come along in one weekend.

There are several reasons why I'm doing two posts this weekend:

1) I'm alone this weekend, so no Boy to distract me

2) I have my blogging head on, and was practically writing this post in my head- I've found that in this situation, it's best to seize the moment or I'll develop writers block.

3) The most important reason- I'm supposed to be cleaning and I cannot be arsed.

When you tell people your vegetarian or vegan, the one question omnis ask is:

So why are you vegetarian/vegan?

On many occasions (but not always), what this actually means is:

"Give me a reason and I'll come up with a counter argument why this is wrong and why your choice is wrong/impossible/ridiculous"

For some reason, when people hear that YOU have decided not to eat meat or any animal products, you're actually challenging THEIR was of life, which actually is offensive to them. Which is not the case with me, being vegan is my choice, they can do whatever the hell they like, as long as they respect my choice as I do theirs. 

A common counter-argument used by omnis, trying to defend their way of life in this non existent argument is:

"Yeah, but what are your shoes made of?" *smug face*

So when I became vegetarian, I decided to make sure that I could answer this with:

"Not leather" *Smug face plus middle finger*

Did I immediately throw away all my shoes? HELL NO- I don't like waste, and since one of the few things I insist on buying new is shoes, I'm not going to give my shoes to charity.  Therefore, I gradually started to buy non-leather shoes when my old ones got worn out- which didn't take long because I don't buy shoes that often and all my shoes were getting on a bit anyway.

Now you could get really cheap leather shoes from Shoe Zone etc, however they do not last very long, they may contain animal glues and are often made in places where workers are paid an unfair wage and work in rotten conditions- and if you're going to go veggie or vegan for animal welfare reason, you should give a shit about humans too!

I am now proud to say that ALL my shoe collection is animal product free :-)

First up, was my first ever Vegetarian Shoes purchase, and probably my most useless pair of shoes.  After years of moaning that Ugg boots were pointless, I found myself craving a pair. But not a pair made of sheep skin.  I got these on sale for £35, shoes from this company can be a bit expensive, so it's worth keeping and eye out for sales (act quick, things sell out fast!). They are pretty useless, but comfy and pretty. I tend to use them when I'm going somewhere indoors via car and I'm being lazy- you can just slip em on.

Next are my knee high boots, which I'm wearing quite a lot at the moment.  These are from a new company called Wills Vegan Shoes.  I love these, look very convincing too.

I got these in readiness for this year's snow that hasn't happened (yet).  It can get pretty bad round here, and as I live on an estate, it can get pretty icy because no one bothers to grit it (despite there being quite a number of old people here, which infuriates me).  I go them from Vegetarian Shoes, and they have fold out metal grips to help you keep upright in the ice. A bit on the pricey side, but I got a bonus from work and they are very practical and comfy. I often wear these instead of trainers when I'm out and about.

Prices for vegan shoes can be a bit on the steep side sometimes, however Alternative Stores do have some more affordable shoes.  I got the shoes below last summer for work. The quality isn't great but then they were quite cheap.  I still love them because they remind me of the type of shoes I wore at Primary school, but in adult size.

I got these next ones from Vegetarian Shoes because the ones above were looking a bit worn after a while. Again, these are work shoes, they also do a red pair I think are really cool.

I got the next pair from Alternative Stores again when I briefly had a go at running and then going to the gym. Now I do neither, however as I don't drive and rely on public transport, I do a hell of a lot of walking which keeps me fit anyway.  These are a bit chavtastic, but I love that they are pink and sparkly!

I would never wear these as my casual trainers, as they're too high on the chav scale for my liking, so I bought these Macbeth trainers.  Macbeth are an American company that do a range of vegan trainers.  I actually got these off ebay, and have a saved search on there for vegan shoes.  You can get some bargains on ebay, however you have to be careful as some people just list any old non-leather shoe as vegan so if you don't recognise the brand, google BRAND NAME + VEGAN which should tell you if they are actually vegan, with no animal glues etc.

Wills Vegan Shoes recently had a sale on, so I picked up these.  Unlike my boots, I found the fit a bit tight, but I stretched them by stuffing them with t-shirts when I wasn't wearing them and wearing them around the house to break them in a little.  They seem fine now, but since I'm not a heel girl, I'll probably wear them to sitting down events.

Well that's my entire shoe collection- quite small compared to some people I know!

Other places to find vegan shoes:

Dr Martens: I loved my pair of Doc Martins (mine were purple) and the company sell a range of vegan boots. Keep an eye on ebay for bargains!
Irregular Choice: Label their vegan shoes and bags on their website. I had one of their bags for ages, I loved it and it got so many comments. Again, find what you like on their website and keep an eye on ebay. Bargains are rare but they do come up.
Iron Fist: A completely vegan company. However, my current bag is from there and I'm pretty disappointed with the quality but maybe their shoes are better?
Tuk Shoes: Mark up which of their shoes are vegan. Be warned though, I bought a pair of their shoes in a size 5 and it was way too small (I never usually have an issue) so try and get the next size up.  Was gutted that I had to send them back, and as I bought them for a friend's birthday do, it wasn't worth reordering as I wouldn't have got them in time.
Nu Rock: Have a range of vegan boots.  Not too sure if this is their official site, but again ebay is worth a shot.
Eco Vegan Shoes: I have my eye on a pair of new trainers and wellies on their website.  They have a 50% sale on at the moment, it's taking all my willpower not to splurge!
Free Rangers: Made to measure shoes, I was tempted to get a pair of Summer sandals from here, but since I don't fit into one of their usual sizes they suggested sending a 'foot map' (a drawing of the outline of each foot) by post (a scanned image could apparently be distorted) along with a postal order.  Which for an internet addict seemed a bit too much of a faff!
Tivydale Shoes: A new vegan shoe company based in Salford. Mostly high heels, so not really my thing.

I could go on and on, but I think now is a good time to stop.