topic Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials in Shoes

Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

1MrsT — Tue, 31 May 2016 00:21:17 GMT

I thought I'd put my Vionic wish out there, too...

PLEASE use breathable materials for the uppers and insoles for your shoes and slippers. I honestly don't have sweaty feet with any other brand...but it's a real issue with your shoes and slippers. Using anti microbial lining doesn't really help prevent sweaty feet...nor prevent foot odor.

I LOVE your arch support...but material choices has always been the weakest part of your brand. It's great that you're starting to use more leather for your uppers...but the lining and insoles need attention.

Thank you in advance!

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

libbyannE — Tue, 31 May 2016 01:35:44 GMT

I wrote a review of Vionic more than a year ago, I think, and I mentioned that I never had a foot odor problem before but ran into it with Vionic shoes ?AND slippers. I thre them away and gave not gad a oroblem since. So, you are right that something is wrong with the materials and breathability of their products. Yuk. Never again.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

Kachina624 — Tue, 31 May 2016 05:36:49 GMT

It's hard to imagine those shoes being as expensive as they are and using inferior man-made materials and not leather. There are many brands of orthopedic shoes on the market; why do people flock to buy an inferior product? I'd suggest branching out and trying others.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

1MrsT — Tue, 31 May 2016 13:53:32 GMT

@Kachina624 I can only speak for myself, but I've bought Finn Comfort and Naot for their foot beds, and they use beautiful materials (soft leathers and suedes with lamb skin linings) and the Vionic foot beds fit my foot better. I just HATE the materials Vionic chooses...but I stick with them because my knee and hips feel better with them.

I like the Vionic foot beds so much, I've re-engineered their shoes and sandals to make them work for me, using mole skin under the uppers for some of their sandals that used a hard material that would either rub or cut into the top of my foot. I've had my husband drill small holes in their removable insoles in an effort to allow air to move when I walked. I've used thin charcoal liners to help the slip on sneakers with odor control. I've machine washed and air dried my slippers for the same reason. Any other brand I would have given up...but the foot beds work for me. But even their insoles sold separately have the hot foot/sweat issue because of the materials they chose.

I know lots of people would HATE to pay more for their shoes, but I'm one who would have no problem paying more if they used higher end leathers and designed for features like air flow. Clarks has many lines and different price points...Vionic would be smart to do that - and do it without embroidery or heavy embellishments! 😄

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

cah — Tue, 31 May 2016 14:07:28 GMT

I so agree. I love these shoes, but the materials rub my feet and after much walking they make blisters.

A better material would certainly help. I hesitate to
buy more for that reason.

They're very high priced for plastic, and I know the
profit must be very good.

On the other hand, it may be better with leather and
most companies want a good profit no matter what.

A little leather on a pair of flip flops certainly wouldn't cost that much!

I know they have some in leather, but the charge for that little bit is silly.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

suzyQ3 — Tue, 31 May 2016 15:46:30 GMT

I've never been interested in Vionic, but do they make just insoles that you could put in the higher-quality shoes made with better materials?

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

1MrsT — Tue, 31 May 2016 16:00:42 GMT

@suzyQ3 Unfortunately they're made with the same material...I've purchased a pair to use with another brand. I don't wear socks with any of my Vionics but I also don't wear socks with the other brands I wear...the hot/sweaty feet are solely a Vionic issue.

I don't want to sound like I'm whining...just throwing out a request - with the reasons why I'm wanting them to consider improving their design choices. Feedback is good. 😊

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

libbyannE — Tue, 31 May 2016 16:32:02 GMT

I would and usually do pay more for shoes. I only ordered Vionic because I had injured my knee and the orthopedic specialist said good arch supports would help as I healed. But it wasn't worth it to me to experience foot odor for the first time in my life. It wasn't only the breathability issue but a man made odor from something in the materials from which the shoes and slippers were made.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

libbyannE — Tue, 31 May 2016 16:39:10 GMT

That is a good point, but the arch support insert itself seemed to be a big part of the problem. I washed them and thought I might try them in my good shoes, but the insoles retained that odd odor, part of which came from the material itself.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

jaxs mom — Tue, 31 May 2016 17:22:34 GMT

I don't have any problems with foot odor or sweating when I wear vionics and the only ones I wear socks with are the sneakers.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

libbyannE — Tue, 31 May 2016 22:06:47 GMT

Lucky you! Maybe I should have called it shoe odor versus foot odor. I have never smelled anything like it. My husband thought it was from something from which the shoes were made. No problems since I threw the bionics away.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

Kachina624 — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:17:41 GMT

@1MrsT Sounds like Vionic ought hire you to work in their engineering department. Too bad you have to go through all that you do to get a satisfactory shoe.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

1MrsT — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:23:53 GMT

@Kachina624 😄 I actually sent them an email via their website. I haven't heard back as of yet.

My my husband has been in the footwear business for over 40 years. He's a Master Last Maker (mouthful of a job title), so I've picked up a lot of how shoes are built from him, I'm sure. I even had him drilling holes in my Vionic insoles (the removable ones) in an effort to get air circulating. Not as handy as a plumber...but being married to a shoe guy has its perks! ☺️

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

sallybusky — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 14:54:03 GMT

Several months ago I bought a pair of Vionic loafers. Finally, I thought, they've made some cute shoes I can wear when flipflops are not appropriate. And that adorable Liam told me they were leather, so I believed him..... One look at them in the box, and I knew they were manmade. I went back to the online presentation, and carefully read the label: Uppers made of leather and manmade material. The upper was the part attached to the sole. (Driving moc, with the little grippy "teeth" on the bottom...that part was leather; the part that wrapped around the rest of my foot? very obviously not leather.) I was very disappointed. Their presentation was misleading at best. I wrote about it on here, and it got poofed. (So..read fast, everybody!!) I have five pairs of Vionic flipflops and love 'em! But I've accepted that I'll never be able to wear a closed toe shoe from them.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

1MrsT — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 18:56:06 GMT

@sallybusky I have some of their leather clogs. The leather is so thin as to be a veneer...and its glued to a silky feeling man made material that goes inside, next to the top of the foot. The footbed is that sueded man made material.

So you're absolutely right that when they use leather, anything touching the foot is made made. But a lot of brands use man made materials...but no other shoes (boots or slippers) make my feet sweat. Not even my Nike sneakers! So it's their chose of materials, or whatever chemical(s) they're using. I know lots of shoe companies are using copper in the construction of their insoles to help with odor. Maybe they need to investigate new options for their shoes. Fingers crossed. 😄

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

Mustang Shar — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 15:14:55 GMT

I agree! Better materials are needed.

Re: Vionic - Please Use Breathable Materials

violann — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 00:07:32 GMT

There are a VERY FEW styles of Vionics that are LEATHER. I bought 4 pairs 5 or 6 years ago and still wear them ll the time in cooler weather.