Vans Mesa
My friend Bethany has written some excellent articles about clothing recently on her blog. Being sort of a clothing aficionado myself, I have decided to follow suit.
As you may know, I am a hopeless shoe addict. I will not tell you how many pairs of shoes I have in total (it’s rather embarrassing), but I will say that I recently purchased my 7th pair of Vans slip-ons. It’s the new eco-friendly shoe, the Mesa.
The upper part of the shoes are hemp, and parts of the insole are made out of bamboo. They are incredibly light (about 1/3 of the weight of a normal pair of Vans slip-ons), which is cool, because I love the feeling of having nothing on my feet. As with all Vans slip-ons, they allow me to “feel” the earth as I walk.
They are very comfy and cool looking, but probably not good for walking in snow.
If you’re new to the world of Vans sneakers, I would probably recommend something more practical, like the Classic Slip-On. I think that everyone should own at least one pair of Vans slip-ons. They are amazing, and they are available in any imaginable color. So buy a pair today! You will not regret it.
Posted: February 26th, 2008 under Fashion.
Comments
Comment from Jed
Time 2008/02/27 at 9:14 am
I will most definitely wear them to church some time.
I’m glad to hear that you’re at least considering the possibility of making room in your heart for Vans shoes. 
Comment from Ellie Ann
Time 2008/03/03 at 10:45 am
Nice. I like shoes myself- although I’d have to go with Bethany on this one, Converse is a little better than Vans:) I’m also a fan of Puma, Merrells and Rocket Dog:)
Comment from Ellie Ann
Time 2008/03/03 at 10:46 am
Although those look/sound cool! I love the new artwork, btw:)
Comment from Jed
Time 2008/03/03 at 2:23 pm
AARRGH! Converse is in no way better than Vans!! Both are equally cool (although, I like Vans a tiny bit better, because they have standard sizing, and they have a much larger selection of styles and colors).
Puma has some very cool retro shoes. As does Asics (I’ve thought about getting some of the 70′s track shoes, because they are ultra hip. But they’re rather expensive).
Glad you like the new picture, Ellie Ann!
Comment from Bethany Wheeler
Time 2008/03/03 at 11:19 pm
Converse have a huge selection of colors and styles! I bet Converse and Vans are pretty comparable when it comes to that.
Ellie Ann, Puma ARE cool. They are David Crowder’s favorite shoe Rocket Dogs are cool too, they just don’t look good on me.
Comment from Jed
Time 2008/03/04 at 7:17 am
Bethany, check out the numbers on Zappos regarding Converse and Vans.
Converse has 357 men’s styles. Vans has 429. Hmmmmm…
Everybody, check out these and these shoes by Asics. They are groovy.
Comment from Bethany Wheeler
Time 2008/03/04 at 12:55 pm
Ok, but I don’t think that a difference of 72 is ‘large’ when we’re talking about numbers in the hundreds.
The first Asics is cool. I don’t dig the velcro on the 2nd pair, though. Are you looking for those for yourself? Because they look decidedly feminine to me.
Comment from Jed
Time 2008/03/04 at 1:33 pm
Hahaha… well, to engineering types such as myself, a 20% difference is HUGELY IMMENSE.
I would most certainly wear those shoes, Bethany. Regardless of whether they look feminine or not. Because awesomeness transcends the societally-imposed concepts of femininity/masculinity (at least to some extent it does).
But, alas… I don’t really have $80 to spend on shoes right now.
Comment from Ellie Ann
Time 2008/03/06 at 11:54 pm
Those are pretty cool, maybe a tad too retro for my tastes:) Check out these cool shoes, though, which are not;)
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/3252541/c/155681.html
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/3252541/c/130059.html
I can’t do that cool thing where all it says is “these”, like you can, Jed.
Comment from Jed
Time 2008/03/07 at 8:24 am
Hey, those are pretty cool, Ellie Ann! I guess they are non-retro in a very retro sort of way (or vice versa).
Comment from Josiah
Time 2008/03/07 at 9:33 am
I would definitely wear kangaROOS. The Mongolian Shoe BBQ is pretty cool too. Btw Ellie, Dad’s html class says…. 
Comment from Ellie Ann
Time 2008/03/07 at 5:36 pm
Sweet! That is a cool shoe:) And thanks so much for the html tip- I forgot everything from that class, sadly:(
Comment from Bethany Wheeler
Time 2008/02/27 at 8:49 am
The Mesa’s look cool. You’ll have to wear them to church some day so I can see them.
I’ll hold off on the “buy a pair today” bit. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a pair in the future, but as of now, Converse is my one and only (shoe) love.