Seeking high-instep slip-on shoes for style-conscious tween

August 4, 2019 10:00 AM

Difficulty level: boy. And while I am a cheapskate, I want to get him something cool enough. He wears a men’s 7, and keeps growing vertically out of his shoes. He strongly prefers slip-on sneakers. The default is the Converse Chuck Taylor slip-one, which work ok, but suddenly he’s getting a cracking callous on top of his foot! Yikes. I wonder if there’s a solution that will fit his proportions better.

Prefer sneakers, but casual boots are ok too. Pretty sure loafers will not work because 12yo boy.

These don’t have to be very weather-proof; he’ll switch to Sorels once snow hits.

Also: yes, I agree that lace up shoes are a great answer except that they introduce a certain additional set of issues.

posted by chesty_a_arthur to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

Have you tried slip on vans? Maybe they could be stretched out a bit? Also they have elastic stretchy “laces” that you don’t have to tie that make any shoe a slip on.
posted by catspajammies at 10:13 AM on August 4, 2019 [6 favorites]

You can look through the "extra depth" section on the Hitchcock Shoes website.
posted by slkinsey at 10:16 AM on August 4, 2019

I have high insteps and thick feet. Slip-on Vans Pros in a half size up from what I take in other shoes fit my feet and the extra length isn't enough to be a problem. Regular Vans work okay, but the Pros are better.
posted by Frowner at 11:08 AM on August 4, 2019

I also have a high instep and Vans slip-ons are my shoe of choice. Very comfortable.
posted by sevenofspades at 11:43 AM on August 4, 2019

How about no-tie shoelaces? (example, and another, one more)
posted by gakiko at 11:51 AM on August 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Onitsuka Tiger has a few slip on styles - more colors options on their website. In my experience they're a bit higher volume than the Van's slip ons.
posted by asphericalcow at 11:56 AM on August 4, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks, all. I’d assumed Vans were out of the question because my 8yo couldn’t get them on her feet for the same reason, but it looks like there may be more options in adult sizes!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:48 PM on August 4, 2019

ps: a shoe horn is a life saver for getting on slip-ons. My husband has somewhat tall/wide feet and he likes his Vans. They stretch over time.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:41 PM on August 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

I put Stretchlaces in my Vans Old Skools and I can easily slip them on. I love them! Sorry no link but they should be on Amazon.
posted by peep at 4:30 PM on August 4, 2019