Non-Leather Dance Shoes - Help!

[DangerousCurves]

Inspired by tales of lovely new dance shoes from Lynn... I am desperate to hang up my old pair and get a new pair of sparklers for myself!

However, I have a problem. I have been a veggie for 22 years, and I don't wear leather either. Most dance shoes seem to have leather or satin uppers, and kid soles. I tend to wear dresses and skirts, so favour the classic shoe shape, rather than a sports-shoe look.

In addition - being a frivilous sort of girlie :blush: - I favour at least a 2" heel, and am drawn like a magpie to spangles and glitter.

Can anyone help with any suggestions of where I might find suitable shoes? :flower:

[JoC]

And if you find out please let me know because I'd like some too!

[drathzel]

The only ones i can think of are RAD cuban heel syllabis shoes. The are canvas and suade soles. They are about £17-20 depending on size and at that price you can add sparkles, other than that i dont have any idea.

:flower:

see here http://www.totaldance.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/24_113_46/products_id/226

[DangerousCurves]

I took a look....but sadly they have suede soles :tears: :tears: :tears:

Thanks for helping though! :hug:

[drathzel]

I took a look....but sadly they have suede soles :tears: :tears: :tears:

Thanks for helping though! :hug:

is suede part of an animal?

I know www.dancia.co.uk do a resin sole, but i dont know if they use leather uppers, worth a look tho

or i think you can get cheaper dance shoes with a PU upper and sole, not sure where tho

[DangerousCurves]

Sadly yes, its a way of treating leather to make it soft and "fluffy" rather than shiny.

Will take a look at Dancia - thanks.... :hug:

(methinks I have found a fellow shoe fanatic - I just brought back 12 pairs from America, sadly none suitable for dance :D )

[drathzel]

Sadly yes, its a way of treating leather to make it soft and "fluffy" rather than shiny.

Will take a look at Dancia - thanks.... :hug:

(methinks I have found a fellow shoe fanatic - I just brought back 12 pairs from America, sadly none suitable for dance :D )


fanatic, me......... yup!!! :clap:

Did you read the comment about pu uppers and soles?

Thank god for editing posts id have posted about six already adding things on:whistle:

[DangerousCurves]

Pu uppers and soles sound good - If anyone knows where????

Woman on a mission now...... :wink:

[El Salsero Gringo]

Sadly yes, its a way of treating leather to make it soft and "fluffy" rather than shiny.
Proper suede is actually the reverse side of the animal hide. The back of a piece of real suede should look shiny and leathery. You can also get nubuck, which is leather with the shiny surface sanded off in a big sanding machine.

[DangerousCurves]

Proper suede is actually the reverse side of the animal hide. The back of a piece of real suede should look shiny and leathery. You can also get nubuck, which is leather with the shiny surface sanded off in a big sanding machine.

AHHHH! I bow to the acknowledged expert! :grin:

...you can tell I haven't had my hands on a decent bit of leather in a long time!

[Dance Demon]

You could try Heavenly dance Shoes. They make up shoes to your own spec. Not sure of the web address, but you will probably find it if you do a Google search.......Mrs DD has at least two pairs she got from Heavenly, and you can choose size & type of heel, type of sole etc

[Little Monkey]

You could try Heavenly dance Shoes. They make up shoes to your own spec. Not sure of the web address, but you will probably find it if you do a Google search.......Mrs DD has at least two pairs she got from Heavenly, and you can choose size & type of heel, type of sole etc

www.heavenlydanceshoes.co.uk

Unfortunately I think they only do leather or suede soles, but you can always ask them if they do synthetic??

LM :flower:

[drathzel]

You could try Heavenly dance Shoes. They make up shoes to your own spec. Not sure of the web address, but you will probably find it if you do a Google search.......Mrs DD has at least two pairs she got from Heavenly, and you can choose size & type of heel, type of sole etc

http://www.heavenlydanceshoes.com/

I have one pair, they are fab....... not sure what soles they can give you but if DD and Mrs DD recommend them then its worth taking a look :flower: :rofl: :hug:

[DangerousCurves]

Thanks folks!

Will check out Heavenly tomorrow and report back!

:hug: DC x

[DangerousCurves]

Have had a chat with the lovely people at Heavenly shoes, who were very informative.... but sadly they only make shoes with leather/suede soles :tears: :tears: :tears:

I'd been lusting after their designs on the web-site all last night too! I'd say anyone without leather hang-ups would do well to take a peek, especially if they have a few pennies to spend!

So - the hunt goes on....

[DangerousCurves]

I've had a suggestion that I should buy some wedding shoes, with satin uppers and resin soles - and dye them black.

The only problem is that I did this a couple of years ago - and for the first three weeks it was great and the soles were suitably slippy/spinny, then I went dancing at a place with a very dirty floor with some wet patches, and shortly afterwards the slippy coating on my shoes seemed to just disappear. I'm not sure whether they just had a shelf life of 3 weeks, or whether the bad floor killed them off.

Has anyone else had any experience of such shoes... and if so, did they last longer than my pair did?

Any advice much appreciated :hug:

[foxylady]

Resurrecting this thread because I just came across a magazine article about
'vegan shoes'...

BeyondSkin make eco friendly, but stylish shoes. Their website looks great DC. (Perhaps you had already heard of them)

www.beyondskin.co.uk

Foxy

[drathzel]

Did you get a pair DC?

[DangerousCurves]

Still on the trail of non-leather shoes....

The best solution I have found so far is the KATRINA range by KATZ. These are from their wedding range, rather than their dance range. They have white/cream satin uppers - many with sparkly crystals (:yum: :awe: ) - which can be dyed to other colours.

Since Katz make great dance shoes, you can pick a design with good heel support, and a variety of heel heights are available. You can get the shoes at Felix (www.felixdancewear.co.uk) - though they don't take the range to dance weekenders etc, as they are not dance shoes per se. You can also get them at wedding shops (look out for end of season sales... got a bargain pair a couple of weeks ago when I was supposed to be helping a good friend pick a wedding dress....:blush: ) and there are also on-line stockists if you google "KATZ".

I have also heard a rumour that BLOCH plan to bring out a heeled dance shoe with non-leather uppers and sole - but have not been able to find any examples. If anyone has a hot lead, I would be delighted to hear it....

... and I did take a look at the link to Beyondskin... beautiful shoes.... but sadly Beyondbudget! :tears:

[Saxylady]

I just found a mention of Capezio in an article on veggie shoes - but it may be the dance trainers.

[Daisy Fox]

Was reading this thread earlier, as I own a dance shop and thought it may be of interest. Funnily enough, ten minutes later I had a woman in wanting non leather shoes for Ceroc dancing.
Thanks to all the posts on the forum I was ready with suggestions, she has gone for the Roch Valley Gigi, which is a PVC shoe similar to the New Yorker - Black with a strap, and have said I will look into glitzy shoes if she wants them in the future. :nice:

[DangerousCurves]

Further research by this shoe-crazed veggie reveals...

On ebay there is a wedding shop called "Something Special 4YR Wedding".

You can find them at : http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Something-Special-4YR-Wedding

They stock lots of Katz wedding shoes at really good prices - and are wonderfully helpful about answering questions such as which designs can be dyed other colours. I have just bought two pairs from them, which arrived swiftly, well boxed for protection, and insured in case of disaster for under £30 including postage.

Dee who answered all my queries was really patient and prompt in her responses... I cannot recommend them highly enough! :grin:

[Miguel]

www.flamencoexport.com/flamenco-best-sellers/flamenco-shoes.html?pag=2
Flamenco Dance Shoes - Various colours, black, white, red, etc.
Pure veggie. But can you spin in them?

http://store.danceshoesonline.com/nsearch.html
Type: imitated
in the search engine. Does not mention what the soles are made of.

http://www.steponedanceshoes.com/custom_ladies
Maybe able to help you.

Hope this helps.

[fletch]

www.flamencoexport.com/flamenco-best-sellers/flamenco-shoes.html?pag=2
Flamenco Dance Shoes - Various colours, black, white, red, etc.
Pure veggie. But can you spin in them?

http://store.danceshoesonline.com/nsearch.html
Type: imitated
in the search engine. Does not mention what the soles are made of.

http://www.steponedanceshoes.com/custom_ladies
Maybe able to help you.

Hope this helps.
Welcome on board Miguel, 1st post:clap:

I was just wondering ..................do you have 50p you can lend me:wink: :whistle:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[DangerousCurves]

Hope this helps.

WOW!!!

Thanks Miguel :flower:

I particularly like the look of the flamenco ones... I tried a flamenco weekend once and remember a fair bit of spinning. They must also be pretty robust, as I recall pretty much taking the heel off a normal pair of dance shoes over the course of the weekend!

I feel I should warn you though...... the ladies on here get pretty excited by gents who are knowledgeable about ladies shoes....:awe:

Thanks again :hug:

[Miguel]

Some more links:
http://www.bboheme.com/footwear-c-1_28.html
http://www.veganstore.co.uk/new.html
http://www.veganstore.co.uk/womens_shoes.html

All found at:
http://www.veganlondon.co.uk/shop.htm#category1

For men.
I'm posting this link as these shoes come with a vegan dance sole. Maybe they could make something for ladies if asked? Or just supply the soles.
http://www.ethicalwares.com/danc.htm

Hope this helps.