Shoe Review | Converse All Star Dainty Sparkle Ox in mint

Converse All Star Dainty Sparkle Ox in mint

Converse All Star Dainty Sparkle Ox in mint

Converse All Star Dainty Sparkle Ox in mint

Converse All Star Dainty Sparkle Ox, £55.50

 

For this month’s Sarenza Brand Ambassaor pick, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and order… sneakers.

Trust me, I was every bit as surprised as you probably are. And yes, they ARE mint, sparkly sneakers, it’s true, but still: SNEAKERS. SO not my usual style. And I guess it’s probably a bit odd to some of you that I would describe these as “outside my comfort zone”, because for most people, sneakers seem to be right in the centre of the comfort zone. In fact, sneakers ARE the comfort zone. That’s never really been the case for me, though. I have owned various pairs in my life, of course, but I’ve always worn them for purely practical purposes, never as an actual style choice.

Last summer, though, I panic-bought a cheap pair of Converse-style sneakers from Primark, to wear while moving house (Heels and ballet flats just aren’t that practical when you’re hauling around boxes and climbing over furniture all day!) and surprised myself by not actively hating them. Then, over the past few months, as the “sports luxe” trend has taken hold, I’ve started to see a lot more people wearing them, and actually managing to look quite stylish in them. As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m on a mission this year to master casual dressing, and find ways to dress down more while still feeling vaguely “glam”, so when I spotted these at Sarenza, I decided to go for it.

The last time I bought a pair of Converse I was in high school (I didn’t wear them then, either, I think I just felt like I should own a pair…), so I was a little confused by the sizing: these were described on the Sarenza website as ‘UK 4.5 / EUR 37’, and normally a European 37 would correspond to a UK 4, rather than a 4.5. I decided to trust the European sizing, and ordered them anyway: honestly, I’m STILL not sure whether they’re a 4 or a 4.5, because there doesn’t appear to be any sizing marked on the shoe itself, but they seem to fit fine, so hopefully I won’t have any issues with them.

I decided to go for this particular style because of the low-profile, slimline look. I actually tried on a few pairs of Converse in the regular (thicker soled) style last summer, when my feet were in agony from trailing around Miami in the heat, and I couldn’t find any other “comfort” styles I liked, but I just didn’t like the way they looked on: although they’re hardly the chunkiest of shoes out there, I felt they made my feet look huge, and I couldn’t imagine wearing them with any of the clothes I had with me, either. The Primark shoes I bought, however, have a very thin sole, like these ones, which worked much better for me. I’m still not totally sold on the sneaker look, but I think these could look cute with jeans, for days when I have a lot of running around to do, so I’m looking forward to trying them out.

You can find these at Sarenza, where they’re £55.50.

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