Perfect Vegan Men’s Shoes and Vegan Moccasin Options from Manimal

Do you have a male animal lover in your life? This would be a cool gift.

A new company launched with a great name that is called Brave Gentle Man (good name). It has clothes, bowties and most importantly vegan shoes for men.

They recently did a collaboration with the vegan shoe company Novacas and came up with some great mens shows that I think women, or rather I, would like to have as well.

They are made out of recycled materials.

You like?

Worker Black, $250

These remind me of a cool ll bean woodsman.

Also if you are a man, you will need shoes like these:

 

Mastermind, $250

great name.

and this is their full range.

Do you like them? I like that worker boot. I think that’s my style.

Now while I am posting let me alert you to another range of price-y vegan shoes.

There is this store called Save the Manimals. I love that name as well, except there are only two vegan shoes and the rest are the dreaded leather.

The problem is i have become fixated on these tan booties, if you will.

vegan fringe Ankle Bootie, $2oo

These have recycled tires on their soles.

Also in the sale section there are some cool vegan options but in limited sizes.

vegan double fringe boot

vegan fringe bootie

vegan ribcage flat

vegan fringe bootie sand

Love these last ones.

Vegan Saddle Shoes and Some Awesome Saddle Shoe Style Inspiration

Forgot if I wrote about these before, but I recently bought a pair of saddle shoes from payless for $24 that I love.

Do you DARE to wear saddle shoes?

They could be seen as very Lolita-esque. But I think they are so cool and remind me of this whole thing I wrote about…Take Ivy style, 1940s and 50s style, prep school, cheerleaders, Vassar, and other cool things…in theory haha! In reality I went to a prep school and hated it.

Well, while google imaging Saddle Shoes for some style inspiration, I found an enormous amount of cool saddle shoe style inspiration. Now I am sold. The saddle shoe is a totally classic shoe, the sister of my beloved pennyloafer, according to the blog Take Ivy.

Here are some great photos to keep in mind if you chose to purchase a pair of saddle shoes:

on the cover of life magazine 1937!!

Rory from Gilmore Girls (my favorite tv show)

no wonder they make me think of Lolita. HA they were on the cover of my copy of Lolita.

seen on cheerleaders throughout the ages

70s ones

and 50s ones

seen on hip bloggers

and supermodel types

seen on hipster musicians

seen on schoolgirls throught the ages

seen in the most amazing australian fashion line LOVER THE LABEL’s models (the girls above)

on a girl from Vassar in the book Take Ivy

And last but not least, here are the vegan saddle shoes you can buy from payless for $ 24

Your thoughts on saddle shoes, my dears???

The Photographs of Jo-Anne McArthur

Through a wonderful comment I received today from a woman who owns what looks like an awesome vegan store (online store here) called the Cow Jones Industrials Boutique in Chatham, NY, and following a trail through her fascinating blog to a documentary about animals called “ghosts in the machine”, I found an interview with photographer Jo Anne McArthur, which led me to her website where all her photographs can be seen.

Wow. I feel so filled with emotion. Her photographs are so moving and powerful. Each one captures a moment which says so many things that can’t be said.

Allow me to attempt to explain.

Looking through her set of photographs on Greyhound Racing, I saw this picture.

Through her series of photos you learn that these greyhounds are treated like machines, boxed up in tiny boxes with muzzles on all the time. Then you see this photo. In this photo you see a little girl and a dog, with its muzzle on, share a single moment or two of dog like love and connection, but then it is back to their boxes. I see in this photo a dog with the eyes of a slave looking out at someone offering it love and affection. Who knows what the dog is really thinking, but when viewed in larger form, you feel it! The photos at the end of the greyhound rescue agency where dogs wait to be adopted made me cry. It made me want to adopt a dog–tonight!!

I have looked through many sets of her photos documenting different things like animal sanctuaries, companion animals, zoos, a gorilla rescue organization, animal cruelty investigators, and one called “good intentions”. What remains for me to see are the sets of photos of more obvious cruelty, like mink farms, factory farms, research and vivisection (im scared to look at this), the culture of bullfighting, etc.

From what I’ve seen so far, I know those photos are going to hurt to look at.

And yet the photos are so amazing, they are works of art in addition to documenting the suffering. They are powerful in a somehow wonderful way. It makes me realize how much art can do to shake people up and change them.

Here are some examples of her photographs I found on google images, though her sets of photos are extremely powerful when viewed in their entirety. She writes great captions as well which explain everything. You gotta see em.

This is true photography.

There were so many more amazing photographs documenting in the most terrifyingly powerful way the suffering and cruelty and situations animals endure all over the world, but I will leave those to you to seek out if you so choose.

Here is the link Jo-Anne McArthur’s site is called We Animals where you can see all these works of art.

Here is the interview with her that I found her site through.

An excerpt from the interview:

OHH: Do you have an all-time favorite photograph that you’ve taken?

JM: There are a few. One illustrates my look at our good intentions towards animals, gone wrong. I was photographing a young boy at a matador school in Spain. He must have been about 6.  I asked him why he wanted to become a matador. He answered “Because I love bulls.”

A New Line of Designer Vegan or (Cruelty Free Rather) Handbags from Cornelia Guest

I recently read on the peta blog about a new line of “cruelty free” handbags from Cornelia Guest, daughter of fashion icon C.Z Guest.

Cornelia Guest. I love the name Cornelia.

With mother, the famed C.Z Guest.

Cornelia seems to have been an animal lover her whole life, with nine dogs, a donkey and a tortoise, a line of vegan cookies and now a beautiful new line of handbags. I am a fan.

I read an interview with her in which the interviewer asks “what would you like to achieve before you die?”

she responds:

“To let the world know that there is an alternative, and animals suffer horrifically, and there is no need for it.”

Inspiring.

Here is a quote about her design process I liked. She says:

“Every day I learn about resourcing fabrics,” she says. “It’s like being in a candy store. I sit on the floor of these warehouses and sift through different sorts of corks, PVCs and faux leathers in every possible texture. So much of it is recycled.

“I love using woods, organic cotton, so many things available to us. I don’t know where it could go and it morphs every day. Right now I am using sustainable PVC that is also recyclable. The faux leathers now are incredible quality. You can’t tell the difference and it’s just as – and even more beautiful than – any leathers I have seen.

This is quite admirable. I think this line will do well. I really like her bags.

I totally love the woven satchels, and the rest are very nice too. You can see them all and purchase them here.

The woven satchels:

A Better Vegan Riding Boot

I read about these babies on the vegan shoe blog veganshoaddict and I agree with her. These are the perfect classic riding boots. Best looking I’ve seen. You can buy them at Mooshoes.com for a steep fee of approx $200.

Red Velvet Vegan Ankle Boots. For Valentine’s Day?

I’m in a Valentine’s state of mind. sung to the tune of New york state of mind.

Check these out.

What a beaut!

This Vixen Velvet Bootie is made of all manmade materials, and like most vegan shoes, can be had for a relative “steal” ($58).

I wonder how comfortable they are. Wish all shopping sites had reviews. I find the reviews so helpful.

I recently received those clog boots from American Eagle, and they are beautiful and very very comfortable. recommended.

I also bought some low vegan doc martens. Also a great buy!! Comfortable and surprised me with how cool they look.

A wonderful article on The Gentle Barn

The Gentle Barn is the fulfillment of a childhood dream, says its founder, Ellie Weiner: “I was one of those children that brought stray and injured animals home. My parents were not amused.” She adds that it was her love of animals that helped her through her own abusive childhood. “The animals saved me and healed me. If they could do that for me, then they could do it for others.”

“At The Gentle Barn, Animals and People Find Healing Together“

A touching NY Times article on a farm animal sanctuary in California that helps “at risk” youths heal through bonding with rescued farm animals.  Ellen Degeneres is trying to make a reality tv show about it. I am sure it would be a tear jerker and I would love it!

A very touching article that gets at something deep. Animals speak to the lonely, childlike, loving parts of ourselves and will accept you and love you when no one else will.

A Vegan Shoe Bonanza: Vegan Hasbeens, Vegan Ankle Boots, Vegan Riding Boots, and Vegan Pennyloafers

Hello,

Happy Autumn!

I have found a few exciting vegan winter and fall shoe options, most of which I purchased for myself being in dire need of winter shoes!

Let us begin:

American Eagle Outfitters has a LOT of cool vegan winter boot options! Surprised much?

The most surprising shoe of all is an imitation in fake leather of that really cool swedish hasbeen clog boot.

vegan swedish hasbeen clog boot

pretty great looking right? $59.50

The next is a Rachel Comey look alike boot, which I bought

vegan ankle boot

also $ 59.50

The next shoe is a very good vegan riding boot option. nice looking!

They also have heeled vegan desert boots, imtation vegan “bean boot” (l.l. bean duck boots) and an assortment of other motorcycle type boots. (sample photos below) Check it out!!

A recent shoe discovery I made is a wonderful menswear inspired authentic VEGAN pennyloafer. This is a shoe I have been looking for for ages. Found at modcloth for only $ 34

Modcloth has many other vegan shoe options (remember to look for shoes under $50 and check the product description…full technique described in my article on the side bar “Where To Find Cool Vegan Shoes Online”), one of my favorites being the following:

a green faux suede vegan ankle boot.

Oldnavy has a few cool offerings as well. I like these designer looking vegan ankle boots:

faux leather ankle boots

$24.

I also enjoyed these vegan velvet ballet flats, for approximately $20

Well, I hope you have found this helpful and please let me know if you have found, bought or wanted any vegan boots/ shoes for the upcoming chilly months (where I am at least– I forgot this is the internet for a second there!!)

Hope everyone is well!