Playday 2.0 – Vote for Your Favorite New Shoes!

Playday 2.0 – Vote for Your Favorite New Shoes!

As some of you may recall, the Soft Star elves held our first playday back in March. We liked it so much we decided to try it again! Last week, we closed our shop for half a day and encouraged everyone to work on a new shoe design.

Once again, we were both surprised and pleased with what our staff could invent in a mere 4 hours. There are a lot of great ideas floating around in our heads, but having the space, time and joy to focus on them made for an energizing afternoon. While the real intent of playday is to inject more fun into our work, we ended up with some wonderful ideas to share.

Now we are curious to know what YOU think! Listed below is an overview of our playday projects. We would love for you to look them over and vote for your favorites at the bottom of this post. We would also like to hear any comments or opinions you have to offer about your dream shoe.

 

1. The Merry Moc
Elves Jodi and Tesla teamed up together to combine our existing Merry Jane pattern with our moccasin sole. The result was a "Merry-Moc" with a cozy sheepskin innersole and soft suede outersole. They could be used as a very fancy indoor-shoe/slipper or classroom shoe that feels heavenly on your feet. They even made a second pair with a street sole barged onto on the bottom to be more durable for outdoor use (this is the green pair).

merry-moc-cream merry-moc-green merry-moc-cream-foot merry-moc-green-foot

2. The Marache
Elf Martin, with no experience in sewing or shoe design, decided to try his hand at a pair of homemade huaraches following online instructions and made his very first shoe! Using a 5mm Vibram trail sole coated with green suede, a simple nylon cord ties the shoe around the foot. If Soft Star took on a huarache-style sandal, we would work to develop it into our own unique design.

martin-huarache martin-huarache-foot

3. Leah's Layers
Elf Leah created a simple slip-on sandal by sewing a layer of suede onto a Rambler sole, then weaving strips of leather across the top to keep the foot in place (and to look awesome).

leah-layered-sandal leah-layered-sandal-foot

4. The Moc-erina
Many of our customers ask if we make ballet flat shoes, which inspired elves Gwen and Karen to team up together and give it a shot. They created four different styles, each featuring our thin and minimalist Moc3 sole with different aesthetic designs for a slip-on upper. Please note that these would be for casual wear, not for dancing en pointe!

ballet-flats ballet-flats-foot-1 ballet-flats-foot-2

5. The Kasual Keita
Not to be confused with the cozy Keita winter shoe, Elf Keita’s latest sandal design uses a unique pattern of leather straps to hold feet onto a suede-lined rubber sole. Note the small piece of elastic sewn onto the rear strap to keep the foot snug! Keita experimented with both shiny platinum and shiny pewter leather for this dressy, minimal sandal.

keita-sandal keita-sandal-foot

 

6. The Hava
Elf Hava took the time to cut several long tassel-like strips of suede leather to give the back of her sandal both style and versatility for lacing. Wider strips of smooth leather cover the top of the foot, which can be adjusted for tightness. She used our Rambler sole with brown suede leather. 

hava-sandal hava-sandal-foot

7. The Sarandal
The first design by Elf Sarah! She used our new and very pliable Vibram Newflex sole with her own pattern for uppers that resemble a stripped-down Merry Jane. A Velcro strap holds the sandal securely around the ankle. 

sarah-sandal sarah-sandal-2

So there you have it! That’s our lineup for our second successful playday (Note to guys: we realize that most of these shoes are women's styles, but fear not—we'll have a future playday focusing on manly shoes). Remember to cast your vote for the shoe you like best, and feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. You can vote for more than one.

Which shoes most interest you?

Click here to see more of our Playday projects

29 Comments

  1. Susanne
    How could I decide on just one!! The elves are very talented and creative. I'm excited to see which styles get the most votes :-)
    Reply
  2. Leyda
    LOVE, love, love the green Merry Mocs! Can it be made into a grounding/earthing shoe? And what other styles do you offer now with this feature? I promise, I won't be wearing them if it's wet outside...
    --Leyda
    Reply
  3. monica
    This is SOOOO exciting. Like SOOOOO. Please sign me up for some of those moc-erinas in a metallic or that funky camo STAT!
    Reply
  4. Cassandra
    I'm really sad some form of sandal is not winning. The ballerina and maryjane ones are only slightly different from the regular maryjane, but there are no adult sandals whatsoever. :(
    Reply
  5. Matt Barlow
    I'd be happy to see more new men's designs!!!
    Reply
  6. Emma Potik
    Yes Please!
    Only, please please make sure that any new styles are offered in wide widths. Lots of barefoot places seem to ignore the fact that minimalist shoes often cause feet to spread naturally and therefore require wider shoes. Soft Star has done pretty well with this, and I hope you keep it up.

    I like the Kasual Keita the best, with the Sarandal as a close second. Maybe the Sarandal could also have a bit of elastic in the back, for the most secure/customized fit?
    Reply
  7. Kristie
    I would really really really really love to see your kids' sandals in adult sizes--my dream for next summer! :-)
    Reply
  8. erez
    the only problem with huaraches is that the string betwen the toes is both uncomfortable and unnatural for walking...better to make a leather loop hold across the toes and something in the back to hold the heel...
    Reply
  9. Emily
    I especially love SoftStars for the attached, barefoot shoes.
    If I want something like a flipflop, I can get those anywhere.
    Please, please, pretty please, if we only get one or two new styles, make them ones that stay on feet easily!!
    Reply
  10. Sylviane Fortin
    Oh How I looooove the green Merry Moc and Leah's slip on sandals! Great work dear elves!
    Reply
  11. Kortni Torralba
    I love the Merry Moc! Please make these!
    Reply
  12. Molly
    I would order at least one each of #1 and #4 right now! So, I guess that's my vote.
    Reply
  13. Diana
    The mocarina and merry moc got us excited. The merry mocs reminded me of the Chinese cloth mary janes I wore as a kid. Would also love to see a taller boot than the ones currently offered too.
    Reply
  14. Mel Powers
    They're all fab but I'd LOVE to see some adult sandals. I've been lusting after a pair of the kids' ones for ages but my feet are too big ;)
    Reply
  15. angela
    So excited to have some of these styles. It would be so great to have more of a variety of feminine looking shoes like these to choose from so that we can be comfortabel and stylish! I love the merry mocs and the mocarinas. Also several of the sandals are great! I would love to see a basic flip flip type shoe with a toe ring and some kind of cool leather design on top of the foot for men and women. These are hard to find without a heel of some sort.
    Reply
  16. Jamie Granquist
    Sandals, oh please oh please oh please! My feet love SS in every season except summer! You can't always be barefooted and the kiddies have sandals. Why can't the adults share the summertime SS love?!
    Reply
  17. Megan
    Love the merry moc. Please please please make a natural sole mary jane!
    Reply
  18. Becky
    YES! Adult sandals, please, please, please! I'm rarely in my Soft Stars in the summer months because I like barely-covered feet for hot days. I usually wear my Tevas when I have to go out somewhere, but the soles are HORRIBLE and clunky. I've been wishing since I started wearing Soft Stars that the perfect sandal for my active adult summer feet would come along. All the creative work is great, but I think the Hava and the Sarandal come closest to what my feet want. The Merry Moc looks pretty comfy, too!
    Reply
  19. Phoebe
    Wow, the HAVA! It would be awesome to see you guys make a sandal...and that one especially!!!! I would totally buy those for summer shoes and they look incredibly original.
    Reply
  20. Alexis
    The Merry Moc for me...please, please!!
    Reply
  21. Kelly Williams
    I definitely would be interested in the merry moc but especially the sarandal! I'm new to minimalist shoes and hoping to NOT have to go back to traditional flip flops next summer. I have been looking at Lundasandals but I'd love a shoe like the sarandal too!
    Reply
  22. Mathilde
    They are all great!
    I vote for the Sarandal!
    Reply
  23. Indra
    Oh, I love them all! My personal favorite would be Leah's Layers I guess. I do hope you will integrate some of these in your line up!
    Reply
  24. Jen
    Sarandal.
    Reply
  25. Kayla
    I LOVE #4, #5, and #7! The Moc-erina in LITE leather would be PERFECT for hot weather in situations where closed toe shoes are necessary, and #5 is a perfect dressy sandal! ITS SO CUTE!!
    Reply
  26. Beth
    Please make sandals! I'm looking forward to the ballet flats as well as the brand that made my last pair of ballet flats switched to a narrower last with much less material across the top and they no longer fit me. Thank you elves! Love our Soft Stars!
    Reply
  27. Amanda L
    Is there any way of ordering one of these as a custom order? I desperately need minimalist sandals (not for running but just for day to day, and huaraches hurt between my toes). I love #5 and #7!! If not could I order the materials from you and try and make my own? lol!
    Reply
    1. C.Elf.O Tricia
      Hi Amanda. Glad you like the designs we came up with! Sorry to say these sandals aren't for sale. They were all very early experiments and it takes a lot more research and development to turn them into a proper-fitting shoe. We're currently working on a casual sandal design and hope to have it available for spring/summer 2013. We do, however, sell soling material and give away leather scraps. Feel free to contact our customer service elves directly to see what they can provide you with: [email protected] or 866-763-2525
      Reply

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