Gadling Gear Review: Tieks Foldable Ballet Flats

Shoes are always the packing puzzle I can’t quite solve. Travels that require evening dress are a struggle. I once gave up valuable space in my luggage for a pair of strappy platform sandals; the evening dress I packed took up probably a quarter of the space I needed for the accompanying shoes. I ended up carrying my shoes around later that night anyways.

Tieks by Gavrieli are foldable ballet flats that take up a tiny amount of space in your bag and they dress up very nicely. They’re cute – they come in a whole lot of colors and styles – and they absolutely work with your cocktail dress, the one that takes up no space in your luggage.

I was surprised at how little breaking in they needed, the pair I tried (I went with the sparkly Obsidian Black) were comfortable on my feet right away. They looked great with my evening event outfits (you really can’t go wrong in basic black) and my feet were much happier than they’d have been in heels. But they didn’t quite make it through the second night – my feet were tired after two hours on the reception patio’s concrete floor. There’s no arch support – that’s a sacrifice for a shoe you can fold in half.

Tieks come in a big array of colors and some patterns, you can have snakeskin or something floral or something blingy with sparkle. A basic solid color pair will set you back $165, the snakeskins run $295. You can spend a lot less on a foldable ballet flat – a quick search turned up a few brands that have a similar sturdy sole, but they don’t offer the range in style that the Tieks do.

Tieks are all about the style – they come with a carrying pouch and a reusable bag, probably for throwing your heels in when you’ve switched shoes at the end of the night. And they’ve made a nod towards comfort – the flats fit well and are really fine for walking in, though I’d not choose them for all day wear.

They’re cute, they look great and they fold up to pack away very easily. I’d think twice about making them my shoe of choice if I’m going to have to be on my feet for a long evening, but if I just need to make sure I have shoes for a dress up night out while I’m traveling, they’re a great option.

[Image via Tieks.com]

Product Review: On-the-go business footwear (with Gore-Tex)

If you guys don’t know already, New Haven is a wet place. So I was really excited to find a pair of dress shoes made out of Gore-Tex. The Berlin GTX, which retails for about $200, have been an absolute critical part of my wardrobe. In fact, I just wore them to a lunch dinner with Ted Sorenson, one of JFK’s closest advisers (I did make the mistake of wearing jeans, but these shoes at least got me through the door).

Best of all, the GTX is really for people on the go. I’m thinking in particular of those long treks through the airport. My old pair really made my soles hurt just from the walk between the security checkpoint and the gate.

And if you somehow do get them wet–I’m thinking the only case this would happen is if you ford a river–the removable Ecco Comfort Fiber System (ok they might have went a little far with the marketing) means you’ll have a dry shoe in no time. But again, I can’t emphasis enough how clutch the Gore-Tex has been in keeping my feet dry; I think it also helps keeping everything down there aerated.

The only downside is the shoes came with the laces all mistied. I tried relacing, and this may be a sign of my stupidity rather than anything on Gore-Tex’s part, but even now, the laces pop out on the inside of the shoes. Again, I think I’m just rather thick-headed.

There’s a couple other styles that I’ve found on the Gore-Tex site.