22 FOOT FEB10 foot focus:Footwear_Jan10_p30 02/02/2010 12:36 Page 22
Fashion Footwear
Stormy weather suede
A
fter this winter's floods, and the serious stuff being debated
at the Copenhagen summit on Climate Change, it seems
frivolous to get excited about waterproof footwear. But, life
goes on, and there is no doubt that our feet are going to get
wetter - especially for people who live in especially-damp places like
west Wales, for instance (Like me, for instance.) And, however many
pretty & practical pairs of wellies there are on the shelves these
days, you can't spend your entire life in rubber.
So I was pleased and intrigued when I was asked to test a pair of
Van Dal hydrophobic boots. One minute I was reading a newspaper
report telling me it had rained every day of the month where I live
(as if I needed telling). And the next minute, I was being offered a
pair of boots which promised to be water-repellent, as well as
stylish and super-comfortable. Were these the Climate Change
boots of the future, I wondered, and would they also have a low-
carbon footprint?
But, when the boots arrived I forgot all that stuff. I just stroked
them lovingly as I pulled them out of the box. They were
sophisticated and black, with leather at the bottom and then
fabulous suede all the way to the top. The heel was high enough to
be sexy and sensible enough not to topple me into a puddle. At this
point many women would have started drooling. I may have
Dawn Smith tries a pair of sassy suede
dribbled just a bit, but with water-repellent boots, where's the
harm?
boots that can you can wear out in the rain...
When I'd finished stroking them, I eased back into the chair and
pulled one boot after the other over my skinny jeans. My toes
wriggled a bit, then sighed with contentment as they settled into
the soft leather. My legs were the happiest pins in town after being ensure the boots stay dry and repel dirt and liquid, so that they look
enclosed in the luscious suede. newer for longer and the suede doesn't get ruined.
I legged it upstairs to see the beauteous boots in a mirror (which Two days tramping around Bath during the Christmas shopping
involved standing on a wicker chair and then bending over and season seemed like a fair test - and the forecast was set for rain.
craning my neck, since we don't do full length mirrors in Perfect. To make the test more interesting, Val Dal had devised the
our house... but let's not get all 'health & safety' cunning plan of only treating one of the boots they sent me. And
over this). There was only one word for they hadn't told me which one. So I was anxious to know, which
what I saw reflected. Wow. All the way boot would fare best at the Christmas fair? Would my left boot
from knee to toe, my legs had gone become bedraggled, or my right boot look blotchy as I queued
upwardly mobile. politely for tea at the Pump Room?
The blurb from Van Dal promised that And should I even risk such a divine pair of footwear in the
the Mocha TLC boot I was testing would December drizzle, or keep them both safe at home? If I hadn't been
offer 'TLC' or ‘Trainer-Like Comfort’. I could tasked with testing their hydrophobic qualities, I would definitely
feel relaxed in them all day without having not have chanced it. No suede boot of mine... But these weren't
to compromise on style, thanks to the latest mine.
underfoot cushioning materials and Before I took them into a wet Bath, I performed an indoor test by
phenomenally soft leather linings. dripping water over each boot. The water didn't immediately soak
And after the first day's test, I can safely say into either boot, but left boot seemed much more water hating.
the claims are true. My feet felt like little Beads of water just rolled off it, as I tried the test a couple of times
nurtured creatures in a soft-lined burrow - safe more.
and warm and snuggled up, from start-time to Out on the sodden streets, the difference was less obvious. In
tea-time. truth, both boots looked pretty good at the end of the weekend,
Of course, as a writer, my normal day involves despite being worn throughout a whole Saturday of persistent rain
taking the weight off my feet and sitting on my and half a wet Sunday, most of which was spent outdoors. Looking
behind, so it wasn't the hardest test in the more closely, the left boot had fared better. It was only slightly
footwear-testing manual. Something sterner was smudged, but not stained, and a soft wipe down brought it up
required. Also, I needed to check out the almost as good as new.
manufacturer's other claims. On the comfort front, I did a lot of walking that weekend and
I had been told by Val Dal that my Mocha TLC boots these boots proved they were made for it. It would be hard to find
were part of the range featuring ion-mask™ anything with heels that looked and felt so good at the same time.
technology. This groundbreaking nano-technology I just hope they send me the other boot now!
treatment, applied to the boots after
construction, makes them hydrophobic or Van Dal’s Mocha Boot in Black Suede/Black Leather
‘water hating’. The treatment is designed to Trade £58.78 RRP £130
www.vandalshoes.com
22
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FOOTWEAR TODAY
•
FEBRUARY 2010
www.footweartoday.co.uk
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