10 Questions for the Founder of Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather

Hello Everyone,

Today I have a very special post to share. I know everybody says things like that…but trust me on this one.

How to start? Let’s just get down to it.

I have an interview with the founder of Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather.

If you do not have a vegan shoe blog like me, and feel it is your duty to share cool vegan shoes with vegans and vegetarians, you may not be intimately familiar with this brand.

They are the coolest vegan shoe brand. Based in Paris, they make perfect desert boots, oxfords and other amazing classic (often with a twist!) shoes that did not exist in non leather materials before their company.  They have an amazing tumblr that I love which is full of awesome pics of old movies, music and their inspirations. They have a really cool company name and adorable logo, are extremely nice (connecting with fans such as myself and through facebook), and their shoes are actually cool, which is a rare quality in vegan shoes. Also cute.

(I have written about them here and here for starters).

I was so intrigued by this company I requested an interview.

Well the company is even more interesting than I thought.

It was created single handedly by one woman, Marion, with photography by her twin sister and Francois, with inspiration by her boyfriend, her “vegan muse”. The company is influenced by her love of movies, books and music–which you will read about below. Her logo was inspired by The New Yorker. Woody Allen appears in all caps in her movie recs.

Might I ask…why aren’t more shoe companies inspired by Woody Allen and The New Yorker? (to name only a few of her inspirations). So great.

Thank you so much, Marion, for doing this interview. I loved your answers and can’t wait to check out your movie, book, and music inspirations.

My questions are in bold.

1.

Who are the people who make up Good Guys?

I’m Marion Hanania, french shoe designer, born, raised and based in Paris, France. I’m the owner, creator and designer of Good Guys.

I work with my twin sister Estelle Hanania and Francois Coquerel who are photographers and have shot all the Good Guys campaigns so far. I work with Jessica Gysel for the press and marketing part.

This season I collaborated with Jason and Sophie Glasser for the latest campaign and my boyfriend Yaya Herman Dune is the Good Guys Vegan-Muse from the start 

Amazing! I love this.

2.

How did you get the idea for Good Guys. Had it been percolating for a long time or did it pop into your head one day?

I’d been planning on creating my own brand while I was working for other brands and I got this idea that the brand I’ll be creating will definitely be a vegetarian brand as I am myself a vegetarian. I’m an animal lover and a while ago I realized that it wouldn’t mean anything if my own brand used leather, so I decided that when I start this project I won’t use animal products at all.

3.

Was it difficult to get the company going?

I have a 10 years experience in the shoe-business, so for me it was easy to start with a small collection but harder to find the right factory to produce the vegan shoes since suppliers are used to working with leather which is way easier compared to using fabrics.

Did people think you were crazy and tell you things like “vegan shoes aren’t breathable” (which I get all the time) or were people excited about it?

I had the feeling that in France I could get a weird image saying it’s a “vegetarian brand” as people here are such meat lovers and where leather is synonym of luxe and quality for them. I had everything to prove to french customers. Finally they realized though that the “vegan” part was an additional value to a product they want to wear anyway and not the other way around…Like “yeah…it’s vegan but do I really want to wear those heavy boots?” Now it’s more like “Cool shoes…WHAT? it’s vegan? let me get those “

4.

Was it hard getting up the courage to strike out on your own as an entrepreneur?

I have this in me. I always wanted to create my brand. I had my own shoe line at 21 years old when I started. I learned everything from experience. I had no family in the fashion industry or anything related to management so it’s hard every day, but it’s so much fun too and so instructive.

5.

I love the name “Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather” so much. It reminds me of an old Western movie somehow, while also getting across an animal rights message, but in a gentler and more positive way than some companies. How did you come up with it?

My brand is not meant to make other people feel guilty for wearing leather. It’s not an aggressive statement, it’s a way to show that wearing leather is not a fatality if you also want to have style. I knew the name “Good Guys don’t wear leather” was the perfect fit for my brand.

6.

How did you find someone to make your shoes? Were you already in the shoe business? If not, I imagine it must have been an adventure learning the ins and outs of making shoes.

I looked and asked suppliers that I knew of and they found me the right place to produce my shoes. Also as I said I was a freelance shoe designer for 10 years so it was natural to me and I knew how to start my project.

7.

I LOVE your tumblr. You guys are one of the only vegan shoe companies that has a really cool brand somehow. It’s unique and personal, and inspired by old movies and Americana and music and things like that (as far as I can tell). Your tumblr, your logo, your shoes–all have real style. Did you always feel like you had a vision for your brand?

Thanks, I designed the logo of Good Guys myself. I had a precise idea of what I wanted so that’s how it came up, a dog playing with a shoe. I’m a big fan of the New Yorker illustrations and the logo is so good I wanted to draw something that would last years and be personal too.

Are the inspirations and photos in your tumblr really important to your company–or are they just stuff you personally like.

It’s both.

And finally, what IS your “vision” for the company? (long question!!).

My vision for the company is to grow and get known by vegan and non-vegan and collaborate with people I like, artists or designers..(More soon…) and keep having fun doing it.

8.

Can you list some of your inspirations. What are some of your favorite books, movies, and music. I’d love to know. I’m always so inspired to become more cultured after looking at your tumblr (haha).

Favorite music is Herman Dune, The Beatles, Withered hand, John Frusciante, Jack White, James Levy, Beck, Turner Cody, This is The Kit, The WoWz, Caitlin Rose, Jonathan Wilson, Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith….people who have a lot to say I like lyrics…But I also love the Kavinsky track “Nightcall” on the Drive soundtrack and Zombie Zombie.

I Love reading Murakami, Jack Kerouac, Philip Roth, my favorite is Henry Miller…

I love movies and my boyfriend too so we’re constantly watching something, 2 movies a day basically. WOODY ALLEN, Alfred Hitchcock, Jude Apatow, Terry Gilliam etc…..

9.

Is it fun to run a vegan business? Was it everything you thought it would be when you decided to take on the challenge of starting your own company?

Yes it’s fun, complicated and challenging.

10.

Feel free to maintain your right to remain silent, but can you give us any hints about what the next collection of shoes is going to be like? I’m excited to see what you will come up with for Spring. I loved those pastel shoes!

You better get ready for a lot of colors. I love designing the summer collection because it always have a very “summer-ish, Holiday-ish” feeling and this time more than ever, it’s a good excuse to go get inspiration somewhere far away from Paris

10.

Thank you so much. You guys are wonderful. Please feel free to add anything you would like to add, or further comments about anything whatsoever!

Thanks for the interview and thanks for the support )

Awesome, right?

Hope you enjoyed the interview as much as I did, o readers of the blog.

A Fantasy Vegan Shoe Wishlist …that could just turn into a Reality. And thoughts on the Coming of Fall

Hello my dearies,

It is almost fall. This shocks and horrifies me, as I have had one of the best summers of my life.

I have been having so much fun this summer.

I wear my vegan penny loafers almost every day, with jean shorts and a t-shirt, hipster teen style.

The ones I got I posted about on this blog, but they are sold out. So if you got them on my recommendation, awesome, and I’m sure you are having the time of your life wearing them. However for people who were not convinced by my post on how cool penny loafers are, I have found another vegan pair for you. This time they are being made in brown, navy blue, and pink, which is pretty cool, but be warned, they are not the most perfect replica of the classic preppy penny loafer, though they are pretty good.

Sometimes if I wear a dress or dressier outfit, I wear these really cool black old fashioned looking vegan sandals I have.

And for going out on the weekends, I usually wear a crop top, a black pleated skirt, and my short vegan strappy buckled heels.

It seems as if my life is complete, and so is my vegan shoe collection.

BUT NO.

Fall is coming, and my sister has stolen my favorite pair of vegan heeled clogs (they lookED like swedish hasbeens) I got last year from American Eagle Outfitters.

My Chelsea boots from Maraisusa disintegrated I wore them so much.

My Doc Marten oxfords give me blisters.

I need new shoes.

Here is my shoe wishlist.

1. Black Ankle Boots.

2. A cool pair of vegan sneakers that are hip hop-ping. See my previous post.

3. Real thigh high vegan boots that come really far up, but are flat (no heels), so as not to blow everyone’s mind with my hotness. ; ) I joke. I saw some girl wearing this with a short dress and it looked amazing.

4. Vegan Doc Marten high tops.

5. Off White converse high tops.

6. Chunky heeled fake suede mary janes. Always on the look out for these.

7. White fake suede BUCKS (as they call em).

Well that’s basically it. I now that sounds like a lot, but this is all in the mind.

8. I also want to find a small vegan purse for going out dancing, with a long strap.

9. And a big flouncy black vegan leather backpack with lots of pockets.

Well I’ve found one really cool pair of shoes from my list so far.

I love these. $34 from Old Navy and totally vegan. Womens Faux-Leather Ankle Boots.

These are very hip and I could definitely see some cool people on tumblr wearing these.

Ankle boots go with everything.

Also if you are in the market for some really cool sky high heels for wowing everybody at a party, check out nastygal.com and filter the shoe section by price. Remember my rule of thumb: the cheaper the shoe, the more likely it is to be vegan. And of course, always check the product details to see what materials it is made of.

I myself am dating someone only a few inches taller than myself and don’t want to tower over him by adding up to 8 inches to my height. Most of their shoes, with platforms are like 7 or 8 inches.Crazy! But there are some very avante garde looking vegan shoes over there which are sure to wow.

Anyway,

I hope you all have a great day!

And feel free to comment with any cool vegan shoe finds you have seen about the web, or any shoes on your fantasy vegan shoe wishlist.

G’DAY!!!

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???

Are Keds Vegan? Yes, many are.

Are Keds vegan?

The answer is mostly yes. Here is a letter I received from someone at Keds.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Our current styles listed on our website will state leather if the shoe is manufactured with leather. We use plant based (rubber) or polymer (oil) based glues and rubber or ESO soles.

However, shoes contain dyes and chemicals, i.e. cement adhesives, rubber, latex etc. that may possibly consist of animal products. We are not able to guarantee that the glue or materials used in our shoes do not contain any animal products.

Keds appreciates your interest in our brand.

Kind Regards,

Interesting.

Well Keds are a cool classic brand, and maybe you want some.

When checking out the website, I found the majority of keds are not made with leather.

Here are some cool vegan styles from keds:

champion gingham, $35

Champion leopard laceless, $45

The classic keds style ($35) I had when I was younger. I used to draw all over them with sharpies. These are very similiar to vans’ classic style. I wonder who came first.

Here is the same shoe in a beautiful light blue wash:

 

Not Too Shabby Slip On, $50

I believe this is the first and ultimate keds shoe. Starting off their company in 1916.

Champion canvas original, $ 35.

Shoes with history. Very cool.

Check out their website for many more styles and colors. I will add keds to my article “Where To Buy Cool Vegan Shoes Online” at the top of the site, since they do have a wide variety of vegan styles.

Are Vans Vegan? Yes, Some Are.

I googled this query about Vans last night as I need a pair of some cool walking around sneakers.

Vans are the ones I want.

I like Vans because they signal to me visions of California, which is kind of like a fantasy for me, bringing to mind the extreme cool of the documentary I recently netflix instant-watched Dogtown and Z Boys— a highly recommended, awesome movie.

Were they wearing Vans as they made up an entirely new sport, and illegally skated in empty swimming pools? Probably.

But are Vans vegan? There is a lot of controversy on the internet about this.

They look vegan, being made out of plastic and canvas, but some have an unnoticeable leather trim or are made altogether from leather, so the jury was out.

Well, I  wrote to Vans Customer Service last night to settle the matter once and for all.

They told me:

Hello Victoria,

We proudly offer the following Vegan styles through our online shop
(shop.vans.com):

Classic Authentic Canvas
Classic Slip-on Canvas
Classic Zapato Del Barco Canvas
Custom Slip-on, Era & 106 Vulcanized (the Custom Old Skool is NOT vegan)
Era “Parra” – Limited Edition
Go Green Collection (Organic Canvas Styles) – Limited Edition
Old Skool Vegan (only if it states Vegan)
Rowley “Stripes” – (Synthetic Only) – Limited Edition
Sk8-Hi (True White)

Please note, we constantly refresh our styles, and unfortunately do not
maintain any inventory for items from past seasons.  If you see something
you like we suggest buying it now since we cannot guarantee that we are
able to make more.

So now we all know.

And now:

Here are my picks for the coolest vegan vans:

classic vans authentic: $42. Comes in a wide array of colors.

Classic Authentic slipons– $42. millions of colors and patterns. but of course the classic is checkerboard.

Custom Slip-on, Era & 106 Vulcanized (the Custom Old Skool is NOT vegan). Customize your own– totally awesome!!

Go Green Collection (Organic Canvas Styles) – Limited Edition

I will be adding Vans, with a link to this post, to my article “Where To Find Cool Vegan Shoes Online” for a good place to find cool laid back sneakers!

Tell me what you think of Vans? Would you customize or go checkerboard or just plain white? And have you see Dogtown and Z Boys?

A List of Cool, Normal Vegan Shoe and Bag Basics

Hello everyone,

Well, a blog format is not always the greatest for finding what you need. Unless you have unlimited time, you will probably never scroll through a blog’s entire archives and see all the great things that may have come before that you may have missed. I feel proud that I’ve found  lot of shoes which I’ve always wanted to own in all non leather materials. I know some one out there in the internet could use this information too. That’s why I started this blog.

In this post, I am compiling a list of all the basic types of shoes that I have featured before so that if the gods of google are kind, someone searching for a “vegan desert boot” might find this site, and have their prayers answered.

So without further ado, a list of some basic types of shoes featured on this site previously:

Vegan Desert Boots ( Here’s a different desert boot like option)

Vegan Ballet flats and regular flats

Vegan Over the Knee Boots

Vegan Rain Boots and rain booties

Vegan TOMS

Sparkly Vegan Heels

Vegan Lace Up Motorcycle Boots

Vegan Equestrian Style knee high Riding Boots and a lace up version

Casual Vegan Suede sneakers for men and women

Vegan Doc Martens

Vegan Vintage T-strap Heels

Vegan Over the knee Pirate Boots

Vegan leather jackets

Vegan Victorian Ankle Boots

Vegan Chelsea Boots

Vegan Lace Up Heels

Vegan Hiking Boots

Cool Vegan Handbags and purses

Vegan Leather Satchel and another option here

I hope you found this helpful, and if you do, I would love to hear from you in the comment section. If there is a shoe you are looking for with man made materials but can’t find it please let me know and I will try to track it down for you.

Vegan Shoe Options from TOMS

Toms shoes look so vegan friendly, but don’t be fooled–most of them have a “TOMS classic suede insole cover”. If only it wasn’t such a classic thing at Toms. However, one great thing about Toms is they have a section on their website for vegan TOMS shoes. Not too shabby.

Here are some good looking Vegan TOMS that you might want to pick up for a beach vacation or a trip to Disney World.

Blue Tangier Women’s Vegan Classic. Buy  at Toms.com

$54.00

charity: water Earthwise Men's Classics

$58.00

charity: water Earthwise Men’s Classics at Toms.com

Totally Vegan

Grey Gingham Check Men's Vegan Classics

$54.00

Grey Gingham Check Men’s Vegan Classics

Good Job TOMS. Hopefully soon you will make all your shoes Vegan.

Update: Here is a pic of Toms as featured on the Sartorialist:

What do you guys think of these shoes? Would you wear them? Which is your favorite? Comment below!