shoe review Archives

Sole Provisions Providing Great Comfortable Shoes With Style

May 13, 2014 by Momstart 2 Comments

Shoes? Yes please. I have a summer planned full of fun and on location. It actually started with a quick Spring Break Trip to LA where we did Disney and The Oregon coast and I was rocking in my shoes. Sole Provisions asked me if I wanted to do a review and I said yes, perfect timing. Plus as I look outside right now the sun is out and it’s a perfect day for a walk in one of the most comfortable sandals I’ve ever received.

Sole Provisions, an online shoe retailer that specializes in featuring brands with great comfort features and style is true to their mission statement. Vionic was the brand I chose and the shoes are so soft. I made my husband feel how soft they were and he said he wants a pair of sandals that are that soft.

Visit www.SoleProvisions.com to find a pair just right for you. From funky clogs like the Kayla Graffiti to

To a Pearl Purple Flip Flop by Vionic you will find something maybe a store full of something’s that need to be added to your closet. I know I did.

I love my shoes. The photos of my shoes is the one above. I picked out the Catarina Lavender. The shoes came quickly and in perfect condition. They are made of premium leather with a sling back strap and buckle for comfort and adjustability. I love them. They come in three other colors, black, white, and bronze. I wore them all day one day at Disneyland and my feet were comfortable. I was sore the next day but hello I walked a few miles back and forth from the hotel with the kids. We had fun and I was fashionable.

The Fit Flop, Vionic, Or Taos brands are all comfortable and the top picks on Sole Provisions. Be sure to check them all out.

Famous Footwear Back To School In Neon

August 28, 2013 by Momstart Leave a Comment

By Rachel

(samples received)

I know that a lot of the country has already headed back to school, but here in the Pacific Northwest, we don’t start until after Labor Day. That means that everyone around here right now is at the mall, back to school shopping for their kids.

That’s all fine, but before you hit the mall, let me suggest that you hit up Famous Footwear to take care of the shoes (and possibly socks and backpacks, as well)! That’s what we did, and my kids are super happy. Buying shoes for your kids is one of those inevitable parts of parenthood. Usually, it kind of stresses me out because, let’s face it, shoes can be expensive! Not only that, my kids are picky. And the older they get, the pickier they get! But, Famous Footwear totally had me covered, and you will be too.

Maybe you’ve noticed that NEON is all the rage this year. What’s that about? It’s like I’m back in junior high! I kid you not, the things kids are wearing at my son’s school (he’s in 8^th grade) make me think I’ve gone back in time and it’s actually ME in 8^th grade, not him. Anyone else feel like that? At any rate, we weren’t cool enough to have neon shoes, back in the day, but now they sure do. So neon is a style guide must. Unfortunately, for my 8^th grader, he just got new shoes at the end of last school year, so he was out of luck on this particular shopping trip.

My real purpose in going to Famous Footwear this time around was to get my baby (who is starting Kindergarten next week!) a new pair of Converse All stars. Do these shoes EVER go out of style? I can’t count how many pairs I’ve had over the years, starting in high school. I still have some. Anyway, he (along with countless others) considers these to be the coolest of the cool when it comes to shoes. He had a pair of red ones last year that he LOVED. But, alas, they got too small. He was devastated when I told them I had to put them in the hand-me-down bin, but I told him I’d get him a new pair for when school started. So, off we went. Famous Footwear has TONS of Converse. High tops, low tops. Classic colors, neon, fancy prints, etc., for girls, boys, adults, and everyone in between. We found him a pair of plain black low tops, and he was happy. I loved how simple it was. And I totally figured I was done. We came in for 1 pair of Converse Allstars, and that’s what we found.

But then I saw all the “BOGO” signs. What? Buy one, get one half off? Well shoot! That’s hard to pass up. And I had my daughter with me. My poor deprived daughter, who always has a great supply of hand-me-downs coming her way. Who never needs NEW shoes.

And because of this, never GETS new shoes.

So, I told her to take a look around.

She was in heaven.

Famous Footwear has Skechers. LOTS of Skechers. Skechers takes the concept of girly shoes to a whole new level. Pinks and purples, stars, hearts, flashing lights… It’s like a disco in that aisle and she LOVED IT! She tried on shoe after shoe, and because of the Back to School Sale prices, PLUS the BOGO deal, I didn’t really have to steer her away from any that were “too expensive”. She finally narrowed her choices to between a couple different styles of high tops. She’s been wanting high tops forever now, and was really pleased with her choice (once she finally made it… She’s very indecisive when choosing between 2 things she really wants).

Also, as we were trying on shoes and deciding, a friendly sales associate made sure we knew that if there as a style we liked, but not in the right size, they could have it mailed to us!

When we took our shoes to the front to check out, I was told I could save 5% just by signing up to have coupons sent to me. OKAY!

All in all, it was a very low stress shopping experience. My kids are ecstatic about their new shoes (which I promptly confiscated until the first day of school), and I don’t feel like I paid a ton for good quality, name brand shoes, that my kids are crazy about.

I call that a win.

Back To School UMI Shoe Styles Giveaway

August 14, 2013 by Momstart 49 Comments

Kids feet grow and they grow quickly. I’d like to just send my kids out all summer long shoe less because that’s when they go through shoes like crazy, in fact, my son went off to camp in sandals this morning that were two sizes too small because that’s how much his feet grew this summer. He has shoes that fit, but we bought him flip flops and those aren’t allowed at camp. SIGH! At least it’s close to school starting again so he can wear his new school shoes from UMI and he seems to LOVE THEM.

You know how new shoes make you faster, jump higher, and able to play harder right? That’s my son and even though we did our photo shoot he’s not allowed to wear these until the first day of school because of how hard he plays, even though I know the quality of UMI can hold up to his play time. It’s just I don’t want to have to throw them in the washing machine until at least the second week of school. Know what I mean? If you have a boy you do. For Sure!

See, isn’t he cute in his new shoes!?

Then I have my daugter on the other hand who could take care of her shoes, but I picked out boots for her and it’s still kind of too hot for boots. I’m not even wearing boots lately so that should tell you how hot it is around here. It’s stinking hot! She loves boots as much as I do, what am I saying, she loves shoes as much as I do if not more! The one good thing is that as soon as they don’t fit she’s always willing to pass them on to her friends and with UMI, I feel comfortable doing that because I know I’m handing off quality. They still look amazing, to me, UMI is the brand that makes excellent hand me downs.

She’s so proud of her new boots.

When I pick out samples at UMI I always have a hard time because I love all of them. I worry about what the kids might like but they seem to always love new shoes. UMI continues to have whimsical shoes along with shoes like the ones that I picked out recently that are more modest. I was looking at the website a few days ago and saw some boots that aren’t available yet that ZOE will adore. they are brown with flowers on them. I see another set of boots from UMI in her future and I see a pair of shoes in your future too.

Enter to Win:

A $75 gift card to Umi Shoes

To Enter:

Go over there and tell me what you would pick out if you win

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Use the rafflecopter and leave a way for us to verify your entry.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends August 27th. Please see our giveaway rules.

Cute Crochet Flats Bobs By Sketchers Buy One Skechers Gives One

April 5, 2013 by Momstart 7 Comments

By Rachel

This time of year, I start thinking about how wonderful it will be when I no longer have to wear shoes all the time. The weather is getting warmer (a little) here in the Pacific Northwest and we are getting a few dry stretches (a few days) without rain, and I start getting antsy to ditch the sneakers and boots I’ve been wearing all winter and just go barefoot all the time. In my house, out to the mailbox, through the soft grass in the backyard… aaaaaaahhhhhh…. To just let my feet breathe.

My kids look forward to this as well, whether they think consciously about it or not. All summer long, my kids don’t wear shoes, for the most part. In fact, at home, they wear shoes so seldom that we frequently have trouble finding their shoes (or at least one of them) when we are trying to leave to go somewhere. Or they jumped into the car without their shoes on and I didn’t notice until we get where we’re going. Yes, I’ve had to carry my barefoot youngest into the grocery store on more than one occasion and heave him up into the cart because he forgot to put shoes on…

BUT, my kids have shoes. Whether or not they choose to wear them is my biggest problem. What if that wasn’t my biggest problem? What if I didn’t have any shoes to force my kids to wear in the summer-time. Or worse, in the winter, when it’s cold and wet out? What if they had to go to school, but they didn’t have any shoes to wear? Or if the shoes they did have were falling apart or too small for them?

It kind of makes me rethink the tragedy of not being able to find the second sandal when we’re trying to leave. I am very thankful that I’ve never had to deal with choosing between new shoes for my kids or food on the table.

This is where this great campaign comes in that Skechers shoes has going on. We all know Skechers. Super-cool sneakers and shoes for kids and adults. My daughter, especially, thinks Skechers are the greatest, and would love nothing more than about 10 different pairs the Twinkle Toes shoes! Right now, Skechers has another line of shoes called BOBS. These are a simple, cute, casual shoe that come in a variety of colors and fabrics.

Aside from the cute factor, the great thing about BOBS by Skechers is that for every pair of BOBS that are purchased, Skechers will donate a new pair of shoes to a child in need! New shoes for someone who really needs them! How awesome is that? So far, through the BOBS program, Skechers has donated more than 3 million pairs of new shoes to underprivileged children in the U.S. and around the world.

I was sent a couple pairs to try out, and I must admit, they are really cute. At first, I thought neither of them was really my style. I set them aside, in my ‘pile’ of stuff I need to take a closer look at, and just let them stare at me for a couple of days. Guess what, they grew on me. The green canvas ones are SO bright! I am usually very practical with my shoes, opting for neutral browns or blacks, so I won’t have to think too hard about whether they match my clothes. That said, I am a firm believer that a pop of color on your feet can be one of the best accessories to your outfit. The other pair is equally adventurous, with the oranges and the funky pattern, but I think I like them too. They’re even lined with cute fabric on the inside and my teenager approved of them! ::gasp::

Now that I’ve had them on my feet a couple of times, the only criticism I have is that they rub the backs of my ankles a little bit. I wore them barefoot, so I want to try them with a pair of those low-profile no-show socks, because I’m pretty sure that would solve the problem.

So, cute shoes that do good by making sure kids have shoes to wear to school or out to play? Sounds like a winner to me.

About Rachel

Rachel is also a MOMS club member. She is thankful for the blessing of staying home to raise her three crazy, wonderful kids. In addition to scrapbooking, she likes knitting, gardening, reading, blogging and otherwise avoiding the housework she should be doing. You can read about her adventures and disasters at rachel’s ramblings.

Spring is In At Umi Children’s Shoes: Love The Color Giveaway

February 7, 2013 by Momstart 105 Comments

The groundhog called it! You have to get ready because you’re going to fall in love with color this season in children’s shoes. These shoes from UMI are adorable and exceed expectations. Zoe will NOT take these shoes off.

I’ve always loved UMI for color, fashion, and comfort. Every season I wish they made shoes that went up to my size so that my daughter and I could wear the same shoes.

The same colors can be found from UMI Baby to UMI Big girl.

Zoe received the: Tala Ii
One of her favorite things about going to the farmers’ market with you is getting to show off her Umis. Inspired by the famous espadrilles of the Pyrenees, the Tala combines a classic jute rope sole with funky, worldly stripes in fresh colors. These shoes are crafted with canvas uppers and lining, as well as a sport adjustable hook and loop strap for a secure fit. $45.00

Comfy, fun, spirited and ZOE ( her name means full of life and these shoes are just like her, full of life)

Miles who is all boy took off running down the street in his new shoes from UMI. The ones I picked for him were out of stock and these came instead and you know what, I think he likes these more than he would the other. It’s just the same show with more color. He loves them.

Miles received the Damian in Blue Multi and I love them. I love the velcro because he’s just not ready to pay attention enough to learn how to tie his shoes.

On field trip day, your boy can’t wait to slip on his Umi shoes and hit the road. Modeled after traditional oxford sneakers, the Damian offers a happy medium between practical and cool, whether he’s on his way to the natural history museum or the city aquarium. Canvas upper with grippy rubber soles: choose either two-toned navy and gray or the slightly edgier scratch print. 40.00

With Spring comes the need for dress up shoes, Miles also needs some dress up children’s shoes because like all growing boys his foot grew and it grew more than I thought it did. He’s a size 11 now and he won’t stop growing. Looking at UMI there are lots of dressy shoe options for girls and boys, including open toed shoes, closed toe shoes and fancy sandals.

Enter to Win:

$60 Gift Card to UMI

To Enter:

Tell me which of the Spring shoes is your favorite

Extra Entries:

Use rafflecopter and leave a way for us to verify

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Thank you to UMI for shoes for both of my children.

This giveaway ends February 19th. Please see our giveaway rules.

MUPS Shoes: One pair, for every wear

November 20, 2012 by Momstart 4 Comments

MUPS Shoes: One pair, for every wear

By Christine:
MUPS Shoes is a new and exciting shoe company for women and girls. And really, who doesn’t love new shoes?!

The idea of MUPS Shoes is "One Pair for Every Wear". There are many different styles of shoes and a very large selection of different ornaments. The ornaments are the genius part of these shoes, as they allow for many style changes with just one pair of shoes. Each pair of MUPS Shoes comes with two different ornaments; one with the MUPS logo monogram and the other that coordinates specifically with each color & style of shoe. Additional ornaments can be purchased to created even more looks.

The fashion concept was twenty years in the making for company founder Diana. As a teenager, Diana dreamed the dream of every fashion enthusiast; to own a unique pair of footwear for each and every outfit in her wardrobe. The MUPS line of uniquely interchangeable accessories has the ability to transform the very same pair of footgear from the elegant to the sophisticated and from the sporty to the sensible, as well as every look in between. With seasonal lines featuring dozens of shoe styles and colors, along with an endless array of ornaments and appliqués, the sky is virtually the limit.

Available in exclusive women’s’ and girls’ lines MUPS is ideal for every age featuring an array of classy, sassy, cool and trendy, as well as sensible school shoes and formal styles.

I was sent a pair of the Bella style of MUPS in violet suede as well as two additional ornaments to try out and review. When I opened the box my four year-old insisted that she need to try them on- just in case they fit her too. Unfortunately MUPS don’t come in her size, so she’ll need to wait a few more years to get her own pair.

I played around with the different ornaments to get a feel for the different styles, and to test out how secure the Velcro really is. It took a bit of pulling to get the ornaments off, which I was happy to find out, as I was a bit skeptical if the ornaments would really stay on. The ornaments are also very sturdy. I figured that out after I found my curious one year-old pulling them out of their individual boxes and banging them together. MUPS passed the real-life mom durability test.

As far as the shoes go they are very comfortable and well made. I have owned several other pairs of ballet-style flats and usually wear them out on the outer edge of the foot. I don’t see that happening with MUPS as the sole is thicker then my other flats. They are sturdy but also flexible, and the elastic along the middle allows movement without being loose around the Achilles.

I love that these shoes were born out of a dream and a desire to be both fashionable and budget conscious. I am looking forward to wearing my MUPS Shoes this holiday season and can’t wait for the spring & summer styles.

Gotta Love MUPS!

About Christine:

Christine is our in house baby product reviewer. She has two children that are quite adorable, one is 3 1/2 months old and the other is three and in my son’s preschool class. When she’s not taking maternity leave she works at the local children’s hospital

Samples received.

From Dansko’s Fall Collection The Crepe Boot

October 12, 2012 by Momstart 10 Comments

Boots, I’m addicted to boots! I have more pairs of boots than I do days in the week and I can only wear one pair at a time so it’s very difficult to choose which ones to wear on which day. Whenever I get a new pair I wear them for an entire month and then I’ll start rotating the old ones back in but like I said, it’s a very tough decision. I don’t buy boots unless they are cute, fashionable, comfortable and long lasting. I love for them to be soft and they have to fit well. I wear boots all year round. I can get away with that living in the Pacific Northwest and sometimes I forget that the rest of the country has warmer seasons. So I need to remember when I travel to take cooler shoes, however, that can wait. It’s now Fall! And there are new boots to celebrate Fall with:

From Dansko’s Fall Collection The Crepe Boot

Natural suede and rustic details like exposed rivets and seams give unexpected flair to our tall crepe boot. Goring at the calf and a full zip closure make it easy to slip on and go. Some boots don’t fit my calves, these fit nicely and they don’t stretch out. Dansko has some other fitting tips that I thought I would share with you.

A Good Fit
- Fit may be snug when stepping into the clog
- Heel should move up and down freely
- Toes should wiggle freely

It’s funny to me to think that these boots are built on the foundation of a clog. I never thought I would like wearing clogs, but the foundation inside a Dansko shoe is very supportive, curvy and lifting. I feel like I’m gliding as I walk in a pair of shoes from Dansko.

I’m very grateful for these fun shoes from Dansko. Sample received.

Miss Boots Goes Metallic This Year, Sparkle With Umi’s Fall Fashion

July 19, 2012 by Momstart 406 Comments

Umi is quite proud of their new fall colors and we think they should be. Not only do they have great earth tones and fall colors, but they also have vibrant child like colors that children will love to wear and parents will be comfortable sending them to school in. Plus we found these awesome boots for Zoe in metallic silver. I LOVE them and wish yet again that my daughter’s shoes were in my size.

They look like she’s ready to be the most fashionable girl on the moon. High modern fashion that’s young and hip and she just adores them. I had to put them in her closet so she won’t wear them again until school starts. I just want them to be in excellent condition next year too.

When I went to pick out the shoes for Zoe I just had to get her some boots. She’s known at church as Miss Boots because she’s almost always wearing boots. She wears her Umi boots from last year or she’s wearing rain boots. So I got her Umi’s Elise Boots. Umi’s Ellise boots for big girls seem to have been made for carrying moonbeams home in a jar. With two lacy butterfly appliqués ready to take flight, Ellise offers a fashionable solution to any lackluster outfit. Manmade leather upper; leather footbed and lining.

I love these boots so much I’m trying to decide if I could squish into a children’s size 6 I wear a children’s size 7 pretty well.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Kathleen P.

we received samples

Please see the giveaway rules

We received samples for this review.

Umi Sport Shoes Fit For A Storm Trooper

June 14, 2012 by Momstart 10 Comments

We are Umi reviewers and Umi sent us a pair of shoes to review. It was my sons turn to get a pair of shoes so we picked out a pair of the Umi Sport Shoes in size 25. You may already know this but just in case you don’t, Umi makes their shoes similar to the way that European brands do. They put a lot of care and heart into their shoes and they use the European numbering system. My kid, loves them and they go quite well with his Storm Trooper costumes. (if you’re a true Star Wars geek yes I do know the difference between a Storm Trooper and a Clone Trooper)

The shoes are a soft material that’s quite washable and with a growing boy it’s a good thing. The first thing he did with his new shoes was run them in the dry dirt kicking up dust balls with every step.

These Sport Shoes are called Shane. Shane has the sleek styling of a European athletic shoe but is made for any tough-on-their-feet big boy and girl. With light weight construction for making tracks in serious comfort. Removable, machine washable anti-bacterial footbed keeps feet fresh. Play, wash, repeat!

Miles is racking up the miles in his new shoes. He seems to love them. Actually I know he loves them because he was very upset when I told him that they were for church and school and not his play time motorcycle or bike.

June Deal of the Month is Umi’s Racer!

Enter the Daily $60 Gift Card Giveaway

We received samples.

Dansko Mommy & Me Shoe Fashion

May 12, 2012 by Momstart 256 Comments

My daughter and I are both shoe girls and I think my daughter has more shoes than me, or at least she wears a larger variety of shoes than I do. I find a pair I like and then I wear them over and over and over again. I like to buy shoes from the same brand. Now, I’ve heard of the brand Dansko and heard great things about them but never owned a pair until now. I now own a pair of Dansko Valerie Canvas shoes and they are super comfortable. Plus they provide me with a little bit of fashion as they are quite cute. If you ask my daughter I need a lot of fashion help, so I’m quite happy to wear these. In fact, I’ve found a new favorite that I’m going to wear all the time.

Plus Zoe has a pair to match. Dansko has Mommy and Me shoes. For mom you pick out one of the Valerie and for your little girl you can pick out a pair of the Valentine. And Zoe loves them, she wear them outside all the time and loves to show them off.

About the styles:

Valerie: Our popular sneaker outsole is now available as a Mary Jane. Complete with a removable contoured footbed and rubber outsole, this fun and flirty interpretation will soon be among your comfort classics.

Valentine: This adorable Mary Jane is the perfect complement to Mommy’s grown up version. Plus straps adjust for a snug fit so she can look like a little lady but not necessarily have to act like one.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, LaTanya T.

Please see the giveaway rules.

We received Samples.