Have a picky girl dresser? Yes, me too.
Particularly, it seems, when it comes to footwear. And this winter my girl took against trainers – she wanted the best girls skate shoes, pleasethankyou.
When we started working with the amazingly lovely people at Naturino they asked if we’d like to review. In fact, they insisted – “no, really, you must. Our shoes are different. We promise.”
Now my daughter Bear is almost 9, and she’s the youngest of four. I have been trying out kids shoes on small (and not so small…) feet for a Very Long Time. It takes something pretty special to make me sit up.
Things didn’t start well either – Naturino wanted the review to be completely impartial, and asked us to go ahead and choose any pair we liked. Bear looked at the girls section of the site for a long time, and couldn’t see anything she really wanted to wear. There were loads of cool shoes and boots, but they were all just a bit.. fussy for her. She’s an eclectic dresser, loving a frou frou skirt with a chunky fisherman’s jumper, and probably wellies on her feet. But no metallics, bows, stripes, buckles or animal prints, thanks. Picky? Much?
So after long silences interspersed with sad sighs, I accidentally clicked on the ‘boys’ section of Naturino’s site.
Immediately she perked up and stabbed a small finger at the screen.
“THOSE! They’re sooo coooool!”
‘Those‘ were the 3960 sneakers. And she was right – they’re SO cool. Gorgeous bright blue slightly metallic colouring with soft grey suede accents, and a scratchily casual silver star on the side.
She was nervous about the laces (she’s not really mastered them yet) – but then spotted the sneaky little inside zip. No lace tying needed!
So we ignored the whole ‘boys shoes’ thing, and went ahead and ordered them for Bear.
When they arrived, I removed them for the packaging and gave them the once over.
And yes, I admit it.
They were pretty damn special.
I don’t think I’ve ever owned a pair of leather shoes like them myself, let alone any of my children. the leather is as soft as you could wish – not just around the ankle where it’s often padded, but the whole shoe is soft and flexible. And yet the leather is thick and tough and sturdy enough to a busy kid’s battering.
The design is brilliant – we both love the pre-distressed scuff marks on the white rubber ‘bumper’ (no, they’re not dirty in the photos, that’s exactly how they look).
And the neat little velcro flap that sits over the top of the zip means it never comes undone by itself – and it never scratches or catches on her other foot either.
Because they uppers are entirely made of leather – insole, exterior and interior – they just feel beautifully constructed. They’re roomy enough for her feet to spread as she runs, and the soft rubber sole is gentle and grippy; perfect for busy feet.
The ankle edge scoops nice and low so that it doesn’t restrict or rub on her rather sticky-out ankle bone – something we nearly always have a problem with in winter shoes. But the back of the shoes runs high enough with the softest suede covering to provide really great support. They’re just something I’m really happy to have encasing my child’s growing feet.
And of course she can use the zip to get them on herself – but she’d determined to master the laces. Because they’re there too, she can practice as often as she wishes without the need to have a grown up take over if she’s on her way out the door.
Naturino’s 3960 sneakers are just genuinely, instantly comfortable and utterly brilliant. We love.
The NATURINO 3960 sneakers in light blue can be bought direct from Naturino for £77.00. And they’re worth every penny. And they’re not just for boys!
But if you would like the chance of trying them out for free, we’re running a competition to win a pair right now. If you want to know more about Naturino’s brilliantness, I wrote all about them here, or simply go explore their Italian site for yourself (don’t worry, it fully translates into English)
So. How to win a pair for your child to see how fabulous they are? Step this way…
The prize is one 100% discount voucher; so you can choose any pair you wish from the Naturino site for free.
I know – properly awesome.
Just use the Rafflecopter magic box below; first two are compulsory, after that the more love you show the more chances you get to win :)
Closing date is midnight on 25th October, and the winner will be the first random answer pulled for the hat.
Good Luck!
NOW CLOSED
