Stormy weather suede
Published: 11 February, 2010
After this winter's floods, and the serious stuff being debated at the Copenhagen summit on Climate Change, it seems frivolous to get excited about waterproof footwear. But, life goes on, and there is no doubt that our feet are going to get wetter - especially for people who live in especially-damp places like west Wales, for instance (Like me, for instance.) And, however many pretty & practical pairs of wellies there are on the shelves these days, you can't spend your entire life in rubber.
So I was pleased and intrigued when I was asked to test a pair of Van Dal hydrophobic boots. One minute I was reading a newspaper report telling me it had rained every day of the month where I live (as if I needed telling). And the next minute, I was being offered a pair of boots which promised to be water-repellent, as well as stylish and super-comfortable. Were these the Climate Change boots of the future, I wondered, and would they also have a low-carbon footprint?
But, when the boots arrived I forgot all that stuff. I just stroked them lovingly as I pulled them out of the box. They were sophisticated and black, with leather at the bottom and then fabulous suede all the way to the top. The heel was high enough to be sexy and sensible enough not to topple me into a puddle. At this point many women would have started drooling. I may have dribbled just a bit, but with water-repellent boots, where's the harm?
When I'd finished stroking them, I eased back into the chair and pulled one boot after the other over my skinny jeans. My toes wriggled a bit, then sighed with contentment as they settled into the soft leather. My legs were the happiest pins in town after being enclosed in the luscious suede.
I legged it upstairs to see the beauteous boots in a mirror (which involved standing on a wicker chair and then bending over and craning my neck, since we don't do full length mirrors in our house... but let's not get all 'health & safety' over this). There was only one word for what I saw reflected. Wow. All the way from knee to toe, my legs had gone upwardly mobile.
The blurb from Van Dal promised that the Mocha TLC boot I was testing would offer 'TLC' or ‘Trainer-Like Comfort’. I could feel relaxed in them all day without having to compromise on style, thanks to the latest underfoot cushioning materials and phenomenally soft leather linings.
And after the first day's test, I can safely say the claims are true. My feet felt like little nurtured creatures in a soft-lined burrow - safe and warm and snuggled up, from start-time to tea-time.
Of course, as a writer, my normal day involves taking the weight off my feet and sitting on my behind, so it wasn't the hardest test in the footwear-testing manual. Something sterner was required. Also, I needed to check out the manufacturer's other claims.
I had been told by Val Dal that my Mocha TLC boots were part of the range featuring ion-mask™ technology. This groundbreaking nano-technology treatment, applied to the boots after construction, makes them hydrophobic or ‘water hating’. The treatment is designed to ensure the boots stay dry and repel dirt and liquid, so that they look newer for longer and the suede doesn't get ruined.
Two days tramping around Bath during the Christmas shopping season seemed like a fair test - and the forecast was set for rain. Perfect. To make the test more interesting, Val Dal had devised the cunning plan of only treating one of the boots they sent me. And they hadn't told me which one. So I was anxious to know, which boot would fare best at the Christmas fair? Would my left boot become bedraggled, or my right boot look blotchy as I queued politely for tea at the Pump Room?
And should I even risk such a divine pair of footwear in the December drizzle, or keep them both safe at home? If I hadn't been tasked with testing their hydrophobic qualities, I would definitely not have chanced it. No suede boot of mine... But these weren't mine.
Before I took them into a wet Bath, I performed an indoor test by dripping water over each boot. The water didn't immediately soak into either boot, but left boot seemed much more water hating. Beads of water just rolled off it, as I tried the test a couple of times more.
Out on the sodden streets, the difference was less obvious. In truth, both boots looked pretty good at the end of the weekend, despite being worn throughout a whole Saturday of persistent rain and half a wet Sunday, most of which was spent outdoors. Looking more closely, the left boot had fared better. It was only slightly smudged, but not stained, and a soft wipe down brought it up almost as good as new.
On the comfort front, I did a lot of walking that weekend and these boots proved they were made for it. It would be hard to find anything with heels that looked and felt so good at the same time.
I just hope they send me the other boot now!
Van Dal’s Mocha Boot in Black Suede/Black Leather Trade £58.78 RRP £130 www.vandalshoes.com
