Vegetarian/Vegan Shoes ft. TOMs and Matt&Nat

I've been a vegetarian since I was eight years old. It was completely my own decision, and my parents rolled with it seeing as there were many other vegetarians in my family anyway. I never looked back, only becoming stricter and stricter about the whole thing as I got older. In the last year in particular, I started to feel somewhat hypocritcal. I wouldn't eat animals, but I'd still wear them. I knew this had to change.
  Leather was, of course, the greatest problem. It was actually more difficult than I thought to find shoes that weren't at least partially made of leather. However, the two brands which I've gotten vegan shoes from at this stage are TOMs and Matt&Nat

I'd known for a while about the company TOMs. For every pair of shoes sold, another pair is donated to a disadvantaged child. I like that you know that you're giving the company profit as well as "giving" to charity. It feels more honest somehow. I'd never owned a pair of TOMs, but I always liked them. It is also important to note that the vast majority of the shoes they sell aren't vegan or vegetarian friendly, but they do have an ever expanding range of them. I've treated myself to two pairs, a light-weight gunmetal grey pair, and a faux-shearling cable knit one. You can see their current vegan styles here.

What I like about them:

• They're comfortable
• They're fashionable
• They're glittery
• They're good in hot weather

What I dislike about them:

• It's rarely warm enough to wear them without no-show socks
• No-show socks still show
• They get completely saturated in the rain 
• They're not true-to-size

On that last point, they started to fit me properly after a rain-storm incident which shrunk them down somewhat. I'd recommend ordering half a size down from your usual.

What I like about them:

• They're fluff lined and so extremely comfortable
• They feel like slippers (and are often confused for them when I wear them out)
• They're a really nice colour
• There's a higher chance that I'll be able to wear them without freezing in cold weather

What I dislike about them:

• They're still not that warm, probably can't wear them much in winter
• They're 100% going to be filthy and are harder to clean
• They're definitely not waterproof

I got these on sale and really do love them. As per my own advice, I ordered them half a size down, and now they're really snuggly. Would highly recommend them, or ones similar!

The next brand, Matt&Nat, are a Canadian brand famous for their bags. I found them online during my quest for waterproof shoes. And I love everything they do. Their designs are amazing, and look like they're made of leather. I got these chelsea boots for Christmas, and really, really love them.

What I like about them:

• They took no time at all to break in
• They're true to size
• The design is so cool, the elastic in particular is super funky
• I really like the colour
• They're waterproof!!
• They make any outfit look way more put together
• They're an excuse to show off cool socks

What I dislike:

• Honestly nothing. I love them. I'm obsessed. 

So the plan now is to purchase more Matt&Nat stuff at regular intervals throughout my life. It's just wonderful to find companies who seem to be on the same wavelength as you!

I hope you found this post helpful if you're on the lookout for vegan/vegetarian shoes. I know myself that it's not that easy to find them in store, and is better to find them on the internet, even though sizing can be risky. Just make sure to really invesigate the measurements each shoe company makes reference to!

Do you know of any good vegetarian/vegan brands of any description that I should try? Let me know!

Love, Anna

p.s. this post is not sponsored although I really wish it was