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I only have a handful of fashion reviews on the blog so it does take something fairly interesting for me to share it with you all here and the Tieks Ballet Flats are it!
Taking 3 days and 150 steps to make, Tieks by Gavrielli specialize in one shoe and one shoe only - the ballet flat. We have seen a recent resurgence of the ballet flat and while I have always been a pointy toe girl, I have recently found a new love for the ballet flat with when work wearing them with trousers for work as Jayne can no longer handle high heels for a whole work day!
All of us 80s children will remember the time in the early 2000s when foldable ballet shoes were all the rage as they were something many of us kept in our purses to use after a night out since we often chose to walk everywhere (Hi, no Uber). They were never comfortable, I always felt the pavement on my feet, the back of my heel would be bloody and were really a way to get ourselves from point A to B so every time I see a ballet flat that folds, I have mild PTSD.
Tieks are made of 100% Italian leather with the uppers being made from one single piece of leather designed to mold and stretch with your feet over time. Each pair of Tieks come with a small pouch, leather cleansing wipes and Signature Tieks Blue self-collapsing tote for the your heels and other essentials. And all of this is in a super tiny, compact box!
I know I could have chosen a basic black or solid colour, but I feel like leopard print is like having a neutral tan shoe that spruces up a navy pant. To make the leopard print, the leather is dyed and then tumbled to create a natural texture with small black rosettes painted on to mimic leopard spots. A shiny, cracked finish is then applied to the leather to give a shiny lustre.
The bottom of the shoe has a split sole design which is what makes these a little different than my memories of the foldable ballet flat that had just one thin sole. These feature a bouncy, non-skid rubber sole in the Signature Tiek Blue - a turquoise shade that is an homage to the founder's mother and her homeland of Ein Karem in Jerusalem. This means, these shoes are ready for both city walks and going to work! The midsole is also made of a flexible, but durable brown leather.
The back of the shoe is cushioned rather than elasticized which is what made ALL of those foldable ballet shoes hurt after an hour of wear.
The inside of the shoe features a hand-stitched full grain leather insole with a built-in foam cushion which provides a soft in-step for all day comfort - not just getting from Point A to B!
I decided to show you all my left foot because this is my wider foot. I am a size 6.5 on my right and closer to a 7 on my left so generally my left is the foot that starts to hurt a little bit, so I sized up and went with a US 7 and I am glad I did!
I have actually been using this tote for everything because it folds up so small! It actually does hold a lot of stuff! The handle also has a little textured section so that it doesn't slide off your shoulder!
And here are my Tieks at work while I am at work! They are indeed very cute and comfortable, but as much as I love this particular shade of blue, I don't know if I like the sole showing so predominantly. It looks like there is a gap between the leather of the shoe and the blue soles and I wish it looked a bit more seamless, but I understand this is very much the Tieks branding.
You can see my little bunion on my right foot, but it really didn't bother me at all with the shoes. So, I was definitely able to wear these shoes easily for the whole day at work. I am on my feet all day and the only fatigue I noticed was around the toe box after a a few hours.
Final verdict: Despite the small amount of fatigue my feet felt around the toe box after hours wear, it wasn't like I needed to switch shoes. I have worn them for a few weeks solely (pun intended!) at work as that is where I do anywhere from 6000-10K steps a day and they have definitely held up! They are absolutely more comfortable than the foldable ballet flats of my 20s as there are far more supportive features in the shoe itself that almost make me think of this as a "fashionable, ergonomic ballet flat". The fact that they are all leather is also a huge plus in terms of longevity of the shoe making it not just another fast fashion find. I am considering getting a plain leather version in a more neutral tan or dark brown now so you might see me with my "blue prints" again in the future!
You can find Tieks at www.tieks.com
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