These are both feminine and flexible. When you wear them you'll feel like a cat - nimble, surefooted, ready to spring into action - but with the slide- and spin-ability that suede soles give you.
The sole is flexible to help you feel the floor. They look close enough to a dress shoe to wear with skirts, but act like an athletic sneaker.
They're great swing dance shoes because they provide "dress shoe looks" with the total comfort you need in a shoe that's going to be on the hardwood all night.
SIZING TIPS:
We've found - by trying these on countless dancers - that these fit a half to a full size small.
So if you fit in between two sizes; say 6-6.5 it's possible you'll fit a 7 - but if you're a solid, say 6.5 you may fit a 7.5.
Because they have shoelaces across the ball of the foot, tying them to fit perfectly keeps your heel nice and snug in the back and keeps your toes from touching the end.
Check the links at left for our SHOE TERMS GLOSSARY and INTERNATIONAL SIZING for detailed information about styles and terms.
SPECS:
The foam insole is nice and soft, but is thin enough that you could easily add your orthotics to these if you wanted.
The heel is almost an inch so it looks like an ordinary shoe, but because the shock-absorbing sole is 1/4", combined your heel is only a half inch off the ground - which really helps your stability.
The shoe laces are not ornamental. They actually cinch up the fit to keep your toe from hitting the front of the toebox when you dance.
We've heard from lots of customers that these are dressy enough to wear with office attire.
ABOUT SUEDE SOLES:
These are made with Suede Soles which are wonderful to dance on but require occasional upkeep (it's usually a problem with catching the edge on a piece of hardwood that is sticking up on the dance floor).
If you need to re-glue the suede many people just use crazy glue gel. We have also found that commercially produced shoe repair glue (available from the shoe repair shop in your local mall) works great.
You're not supposed to wear suede soles outside - but every swing dancer knows that you can make suede soles faster by wearing them everywhere to get them dirty, then dance in them until they're shiny on the bottom.
If you prefer them less zippy you can dull the "mirror finish" they can get by roughing them up with a wire brush periodically. Just remember that when they get wet in the rain they won't spin very easily (conversely - if they're too slippery just spill your drink on the floor and step in it!).
|
