Raising four kids -- not to mention, three very persnickety girls -- I find that clothes shopping can be very daunting. Especially, shopping for shoes. I try to look for styles that are both appealing and functional, while my children focus their choices more on whatever all the cool kids are wearing...at the moment.
Soooo, who is this Vincent and what's so special about his shoes?
Swedish designers Patrick Österman and Thomas Elbaum are the creative forces behind the Vincent shoe brand. The birth of Thomas' nephew, Vincent, in 1998 and their subsequent disappointment with a lack of high quality, stylish children's shoes, sparked their desire and initiative to design a fun, fashionable and functional kids' shoe brand.
Vincent Shoe Store is the North American distributor of the Vincent shoe brand and perhaps the closest that my youngest daughter has ever gotten to wearing designer shoes.
Mini-me (she's 6 years-old) is the smallest of the clan, so a lot of the hand-me-downs from her sisters either don't fit properly, or are totally out of season when they FINALLY do. But, I really DO try not to skimp on her shoes.
Still.
My family is not used to living the kind of lifestyle where we can just go out and look through (not to mention, buy) the designer stuff, especially for kids.
So, with summer just around the corner, Mini-me and I were very excited to have been given the opportunity to click-through Vincent's Spring/Summer 2008 line and chose two styles of children's shoe:
Vincent's designers name ALL of their shoes - sort of like how some people....ahem...love to name their cars - and this pretty little patent leather-like number is called Isabella. Mini-me absolutely fell in love with this style...because, well it's pink...had pretty flowers stitched on it...like a fairy would wear...probably...did I mention it was pink?
Isabella fit Mini-me like a glove. She wore it to picture day at school, as well as a few play dates with friends, and I was very surprised at how light-weight AND sturdy its design really was. The heels are non-slip, perfect for dancing and skipping across our slate-tiled playroom floor and - after wearing them for a solid two weeks - the shoe did not crease at the toes.
Mini-me chose Kelly to be her summer-go-to-shoe and I was just as happy for it. This sandal is practical - she has trouble walking on the boardwalk, let alone going anywhere, in flip flops - and the pearls make this sandal pretty enough to wear with a party dress, too.
Again, the fit was impeccable. Mini-me was very comfortable running in them (so was I, btw) and she insisted that it felt as if she weren't wearing a sandal at all. Nice. In fact, it reminds me a lot of the Earth shoes I loved to wear as a child.
Final Verdict: My daughter absolutely adores her new shoes and...THIS TIME...so do I. These guys have shown me that buying designer shoes doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg and we can't wait to see what Vincent Shoes has in store for us, next season.
CHECK IT: Their shoe fitter tool is awesome and Vincent Shoes is offering free shipping for orders over $75 -- plus they do have a store locater on the site if people want to find them in person.
FIND IT: Vincent Shoes
GET IT: 20% OFF coupon code: "SPRING-DEAL-8" - valid for all full-price item purchases through April 30, 2008.
[This review was brought to you courtesy of Parent Bloggers Network.]
© 2008 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.
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