A few weeks ago we were fortunate to get a pair of Vans shoes from Union Jack Boots to try out. As my frequent readers know, I don’t generally acquire anything new that we don’t need, but Sen was in need of new shoes. Let me explain a little more…

As the end of the school year neared, Sen and Ro were both quite excited for summer break. I didn’t ask why, I mean, the answer was obvious, right? No school, sleeping in, playing all day, staying up late.

On the last day of school, my parents, who normally pick up the children from school, were out of town adopting the most adorable little puppy (I could digress quite a lot here describing the cuteness…), so I had a great excuse to get off work early to pick up the children and see their elated faces as they exited school for the last time for a whole two months. Ro came out first, dropped her bags, gave me a hug and then skipped off to socialize with her friends and make very important ice cream-related plans. Then Sen came out, ran to me, but gave no hug — which is very uncharacteristic of this affectionate boy. He dropped his bag on the ground, sat down on the concrete yard and as fast as a superhero removed his sandals. He then pulled his indoor shoes out of his bag and put them on his feet. “Mama!!! I can wear my indoor shoes outdoors! It’s summer!”

It hit me, as he sprinted away and across the playground, showing me and all his friends how fast he was in those shoes, that his excitement over summer was at least 75% related to wearing these shoes outdoors. He felt fast, able, unstoppable in them.

When we got home many hours and ice cream cones later, Sen removed his shoes at the front door and laid down on the couch to decompress. A few minutes later we all noticed a special odour invading the house. (I know these are the exact details you were hoping for). His shoes smelled awful. It seems that the last month of school, in my brilliance of sending him to school sockless in his Salt Water Sandals for outdoor play, that his indoor shoes had over-marinated, shall we say, and developed a powerful odour. His shoes were also two entire school years old, so they had seen better days. We (ok, me) decided it was time to let them go.

So, the offer from Union Jack Boots to try out a pair of Vans ended up being perfect timing. We have a few small production, ethically made shoes in our home from Soft Star and Mikoleon, but have yet to find a typical athletic shoe from a small scale company that could really stand up to tough wear. We’ve been a fan of Vans for a long-time, the aesthetic is great, but more importantly these shoes are made for skateboarding and BMX-ing and so they are made to last. No one destroys shoes like skateboarders. In addition, Vans has quite a few canvas and non-leather options in their collection, so we were happy to find a mostly canvas pair in Sen’s size.

To summarize thus far:

• Vegan friendly – checkmark
• Durable  – checkmark
• Stylish – double checkmark

The only challenge left was to ensure that Sen would feel as inspired by these shoes as the ones we were going to have to unceremoniously say goodbye to.

When the Vans arrived Sen loved them at first sight, as he’d seen “cool dude guys” at the skatepark wearing them. He put them on immediately for a test run around the main floor. Fast? Checkmark! He then proceeded to put them through a battery of tests including, running up and down stairs, jumping off the porch, pedalling his bike and riding his skateboard. I’m happy to report they passed all the tests with flying colours. Sen was stoked! I was relieved!

I kept his beloved indoor shoes for a few days in case the honeymoon phase with his Vans faded. But it’s now been two weeks and he hasn’t asked for them even once. And I doubt I’ll ever hear mention of them again.

{ Sen’s Peace shirt and shorts are organic and made by Nico Nico Clothing in the USA}

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