Allow me to get a little cat lady philosophical on ya…
I think that if you’re going to wear something with a cat print on it, be it a dress or a pair of shoes like these Vans ASPCA tennies, for it to really work, the print, from far away, shouldn’t necessarily scream, “KITTIES!”
And then all of the cat ladies out there freak out, LOL!
Wait — hear me out. Before you start throwing Temptations Cat Treats at me, I think that when it comes to cat prints, there’s a fine line between adorably quirky and full-on crazy cat lady, and it’s a line that’s very easy to cross.
Granted, if you do want to go full-on crazy cat lady and rock kittehs
But get up really close, and you see all the cats! Awww!
Yeah, these shoes are super cool. ‘Course, you may appreciate them more if you’re a cat lover, but even if you’re just tolerant of cats, they’re really quite practical for spring and summer.
Starting with the colors, since the cats on the print are in neutral shades, you can wear these shoes with a slew of different outfits. So far, I’ve worn them with dark skinny jeans and a white T-shirt, bright yellow shorts and a loose-fitting heather gray tank top, and even a fitted basic black James Perse jersey dress.
They pretty much go with any of the basics in my closet.
And the shoes themselves are also fairly comfortable. Typical Vans. I did have to break them in a little. The canvas was a little stiff at first but loosened up a bit after a couple of walks.
If you plan to wear them without socks, it might help to have a couple Band-Aids around the first few times you wear them. I do that sometimes when I’m breaking in new shoes. I put Band-Aids on the back of my ankles where the stiff canvas touches my skin. That helps a lot.
I ordered a women’s size 7, which runs a little large. I usually wear a 7, and with these, I have about a half an inch of extra wiggle room in the toe area.
I don’t mind because I don’t like my toes to feel cramped, and with them fitting slightly large, I can also wear them with really thick running socks for extra comfort (have you ever tried Thorlo’s? One word: awesome!).
Being flats, I can wear these comfortably all day, but I’m actually thinking about adding extra arch inserts, since the arches in these shoes are nonexistent.
If you aren’t a cat lady — gasp! — there are also ASPCA themed Vans for dog lovers, too, including slip-ons and high-tops ($55 and $65 respectively) with a dog print collage in similarly neutral colors.
I wondered if any proceeds from the sale of the shoes gets passed on to the ASPCA, so I sent Vans a tweet earlier today to ask.
It would be nice to know if buying the shoes helped a kitty or two.
They actually replied! Vans said that they gave a lump sum donation to the ASPCA.
Cool. And on top of everything else, the shoes raise awareness for the ASPCA and the many great things they do.
Bottom line, I love the shoes! And Tabs likes ’em too. 🙂
You can find the Vans ASPCA shoes at Journey stores, and also online at vans.com, journeys.com and zappos.com.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love these Cat themed shoes and its great that they are contributing for their well-being too.. 🙂
Yes, it’s awesome!
Love these shoes, Karen! Just bought a cat print scarf and cat sweatshirt from a website called Modcloth. Have you heard of it? Pretty cute and inexpensive stuff, everything from clothes to housewares. I think I might need to get those Vans, too. I can’t believe I’ve never owned a pair of Vans since flat canvas shoes are my jam, everything from Converse to Tom’s to Keds. Cat lady power!
Cat lady power back atcha!
I have heard of mine, and I like their cat clothing. What scarf and sweatshirt did you get? In more importantly, do the kitties on your clothes look like your cat?
And I forgot to add…Do you watch the Mindy Project on Fox? One of the characters on the show was wearing that cat print dress you have from Anthro! Ha!
I’m actually watching it right now!! 🙂
Aww, too cute 😀 These are some of the coolest Vans I’ve seen in a long time, actually! So perfect for you, Karen 🙂
Yeah, they’re rad aren’t they?
Your strategy for cat prints is perfect because of the happy surprise factor. Even if you don’t like cats, it’s hard not to be like “oh hey! That pattern is actually CATS! Cool!” when you get up close. These shoes are definitely a win. 🙂
I think you need them in your life, ASAP. MEOW!
Come on, meow, stop tempting me. 🙂 Like you, I’d probably need to grab some arch supports with them.
Gotta get me a pair of these.
I’m totally getting these! I’m a fellow cat lady myself, at one point I had 5 ‘feral’ cats living in my garage. I say ‘feral’ because they let me pet them. They moved out when a skunk started sleeping in their beds! I got rid of Pepe le Pew but they moved down the street someone who lets them INSIDE. I see them every so often and they act like they don’t know who I am…the NERVE!
I need these shoes in my life