My dream shoes, literally

May 19, 2022 3:33 PM

I dreamed I had some cool shoes. What's the closest I can get to them IRL?

I always enjoy shopping questions so here's an assignment from my subconscious. I had a dream that I had a pair of shoes with a stretchy upper and a big chunky lug sole, not like the angular straight-sided kind of lug sole but more rounded, like a cross between a boot and a sneaker. The front had a very prominent silver zipper with a round pull. They were dark khaki with black soles but black with black soles is also good for the purposes of this question.

These are surprisingly close but mine were low-top. The zipper looked like this. And the upper was definitely knit, not leather.

Do these exist in the physical world?

posted by babelfish to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

Sounds like a Fluevog to me!
posted by sixswitch at 5:01 PM on May 19, 2022 [5 favorites]

Wanted to second the Fluevog thing and add that this is exactly the kind of question you could email them with and they would be delighted to answer.
posted by corey flood at 5:05 PM on May 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Thirding Fluevogs. Hell, I didn't even finish reading the first line of the question before I thought Fluevog, and everything else you wrote just supported that.

I suppose they might not have EXACTLY what you want in stock at any given time, but they also have the Fluemarket for buying used Fluevog shoes so definitely check in there.
posted by daikaisho at 6:45 PM on May 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

Nthing the Vogs, but I’m not sure about the zipper part. I was just looking at their new men’s sneakers tonight with woven uppers. Don’t sleep on the men’s section even if you’re not male-identifying: a lot of their casual styles are marketed that way.

I don’t think they have your exact dream shoe, but they’re the company most likely to come out with something like it, or a place where you might find an interesting shoe in general.
posted by verbminx at 10:24 PM on May 19, 2022

The shein shoes you linked are Balenciaga knock-offs. They don't appear to have a zippered pair at the moment, but you can see what they've got here. Before Balenciaga picked up this style, it was more of a Rick Owens/Comme Des Garcons/Y3 thing, so looking at those brands (and their knock-offs) should give you other options.
posted by snaw at 3:47 AM on May 20, 2022

Rick Owens, and his diffusion line DRKSHDW, have had a few models over the years that seem very close to what you're looking for (though your zipper link is geoblocked for me in Canada and I can't see it for reference)- these for example (women's in this case but the men's are basically identical). There's a variation with a coated denim upper as well

Danish shoemakers The Last Conspiracy have done some really nice zip sneakers but always leather so probably not what you are seeking.

edit: rereading your post I see you mentioned low-top, so I guess this isn't too helpful!
posted by remembrancer at 5:52 AM on May 20, 2022