I don’t really care that much about sustainable shoes.
But I do care about comfort and fashion (pretty much in that order), and so I was very curious when I heard about Rothy’s.
Rothy’s pointed flats are stylish and sustainable shoes.
Rothy’s claim to be comfortable and fashionable and also eco-friendly. (They are made from recycled plastic bottles.)
And while a better person would probably be more excited about the eco-friendly part, I simply consider it an awesome bonus.
I mean, sure, I am intrigued and impressed by the sustainability of these shoes. But my intentions were not noble. Mostly I just wanted comfortable flats that would pass as work appropriate. (I don’t do heels. There’s a reason the main character of Are You My Boyfriend? is always rocking flats.)
Essentially, I want to wear slippers all the time
And granted, I do indeed wear Uggs moccasins as loafers and I thank my lucky stars that Allbirds exist.
But the fact remains that when I am at the office, I am generally expected to wear more formal footwear. And as boots season draws to a close and flats season approaches, I must necessarily evaluate my options.
A tale of two flats
Last spring I treated myself to two new pairs of pricy flats.
Sam Edelman: yes
One pair, the buttery soft and pillowy cushioned Sam Edelman flats, remains in heavy rotation. I love everything about them except for the fact that one year later the toes show serious scuffs and the fronts of the soles may be starting to detach.
But they’ve given me solid service for a year on the streets of Manhattan, so I’m not complaining.
Tieks: no
The Tieks, on the other hand, have been a huge(ly expensive) letdown.
I researched them thoroughly before making the splurge and justified their $175 price tag with the high praise I heard both from friends and online.
And while I’m still proud of myself for investing in quality and comfort, that is not what I received.
What I did receive—as I noted in one of the first official #thankyouthursday posts!—was blisters.
Pain does not necessarily mean gain
I thought that pain was an acceptable price to pay for the comfort to come, but the comfort never came.
Approximately twenty wears later, the shoes still hurt my feet. A lot.
I finally realized that most likely they were a size too small—or really, a half size too small, but Tieks doesn’t sell half sizes and so I’d opted for snug rather than loose, and since they also don’t offer returns once you’ve worn them, I was stuck with my too-tight Italian leather closet decorations.
The only thing worse than not having something you need is technically being in possession of that thing but not actually being able to appreciate it.
In other words, for a whole year I didn’t buy more black flats because I had just bought black flats. And even though the truth was they weren’t a good fit, I’d invested a lot in them, and I really wanted them to be a good fit.
I kept thinking maybe I’d take them to a shoe repair shop to have the leather stretched, but the idea of spending even more money on something that had already disappointed me was unappealing.
And so I did nothing.
(Well, that’s not true—for nearly a year I creatively designed my outfits to circumvent the need for black flats, which is definitely not nothing.)
Rothy’s to the rescue
Then I saw an ad for Rothy’s—lightweight, comfortable flats that, thanks to a pointed toe, look eerily similar to legitimate work shoes but are in fact the highly evolved equivalent of jellies, the plastic sandals I wore as a child.
I spent maybe twenty minutes exploring online before deciding to take the $145 plunge and order a pair of Rothy’s.
I learned they would take more than a week to arrive, which isn’t awesome. But shipping was free and I wasn’t in a rush and they have a solid return policy, so I figured both the wait and the risk were worth it.
They came a couple days ago and I’ve been wearing them ever since.
Rothy’s look like shoes, but they feel like nothing
Joke’s on everyone else wearing “shoes” while I get to be barefoot all day!
Because, yeah, Rothy’s basically feel like nothing at all.
I wouldn’t say they are exceptionally comfortable, but they are distinctly not UNcomfortable, so, yes please.
At first I thought my 7.5s were maybe too big. But they don’t flop when I walk, and though I can step right into them, I have to try pretty hard to kick them off. So I think they felt big mostly because I am so used to wearing shoes that are too tight.
As for the texture, it feels like a sort of slippery canvas (which makes sense since they are actually plastic, hence my comparison to jellies) that is not particularly absorbent nor problematic.
I am curious how they’ll hold up in the summer when foot sweat is a bigger concern, but for right now I am a very satisfied customer.
In conclusion, I now get to wear slippers to work (and you can, too, for a little less $$ than me)
Rothy’s are basically casual shoes masquerading as dress shoes, and that is a beautiful deceit.
And although the shoes are no doubt on the pricy side (being eco-savvy isn’t cheap!), I think they are worth every penny.
Love > fear,
p.s. Speaking of spending pennies, if you think you might want to try Rothy’s out for yourself, please use this exact link to make your purchase because if you do, you get $20 off, and I do, too. Win win, right? (Especially since I am already saving up for a second pair.)
p.p.s. I’m told the special $20 discount code is only good for a limited time, so use it while you can.