While the FiveFingers Alitza and Entrada have been out for some time, I haven’t gotten a ton of feedback on them to date and since they are women’s sizes, well, I couldn’t very well review them either.
Thus, I was excited to get this note from Carole, a figure skater who prefers toe shoes to all other forms of footwear so long as she can help it. Check it out!
I have been wearing Vibram FiveFingers for nearly three years, and am totally sold on their “wonderfulness.” I started out wearing them at the suggestion of a physical therapist, who was trying to help my forefoot and toes unwind and lay flat after toe ligament repair surgery. Therapy just was not doing it. I bought a pair of Sprints and within weeks owned two more pairs of VFF.
Although I have always found the VFF to be very flattering on my feet, I am over the moon about these two new styles—the Alitza and Entrada. They really rock! They’re just as comfortable, if not more so, as the Classic and Sprint, with so much more pizazz!
I should note that I do not wear these for running. FiveFingers, however, are my footwear of choice for all but dressy wear. I have them in a rainbow of colors, and they are so eye-catching I consider them better than Match.com for meeting new people! I feel like a one-woman Vibram ambassador wherever I go. Since I have started wearing these two new styles, it is difficult for me to walk from Point A to Point B efficiently, as I keep getting stopped by total strangers wanting to know more about my footwear!
I wear all my VFF for intense exercise: strength and agility training and all kinds of off-ice training (figure skating is my primary sport). I particularly love to wear my Performa and Performa Janes for Dance, Salsa and Pilates. I am so bummed that these are no longer in the Vibram line.
Enough said! These shoes are what God would have wanted us to be born with if civilization had started with cement and glass under our feet!
Thanks for sharing, Carole!
Anyone else a big fan of the Alitza or Entrada FiveFingers? What FiveFingers styles from the recent Spring release have you been wearing most?
Let’s hear it in the comments!
5 replies on “Alitza FiveFingers give Toe Shoes Pizazz”
To each their own. I have about 6 different VFF and I loooove them! I wear my VFF almost every day, for all activities and just everyday wearing.
But I would never buy an Alitza- just too Barbie/ballerina/pinkprincess-y for me.
Additionally, I think that as a design concept, the criss-crossed two-tone satin ribbons combined with the Vibram innately funky Hobbit feet thing is just too much of a style overload conflict.
I’ve loved the Alitza’s since I first saw them. I love the interwoven elastic (don’t think it’s ribbon) and if you don’t like this particular color, I suggest to anyone that they check out the dark purple (my fav) or the black as the more simple colorway may be something you’d like better. I’m just thrilled that Vibram is (slowly) expanding their offerings for women. I’m thrilled that they finally have a water resistant (Speed XC) and waterproof/insulated (Lontra) options. This is a big step in the right direction. As someone who lived up north, barefoot/minimalist shoes in fall/winter/spring and SNOW has been challenging but I’ve managed to do it for a few years now, with some careful research. If Vibram could come up with a slightly “dressier” option for women, that would be pure genius. Also, more casual styles, like the mens’ leather options would rock. Thanks so much Carole for bringing much needed awareness that women love & rely on their VFF’s as much as anyone does!! Great review.
I own a pair of KSO’s and a pair of Alitza’s. I use both for casual wear and for longer walks in the streets. I have tried KSOs a few months ago and have worn them almost exclusively ever since. I find they accomodate my reasonably wide feet well, help greatly with allingment and provide great ground feel. I got Alitza’s next for the look and for the lightness. Although I was told Alitza’s is thinner than KSO, I find it somewhat less comfortable. I feel that the heel area (or possibly the whole sole) is narrower than KSO’s and it doesn’t let my foot spread quite as evenly as KSO. Also the texture of the sole is a bit funky and it feels simultaneously more flexible and slightly thicker or less even. That said, I do love the look of Alitza’s, they look cute, rather than geeky 🙂 also they get less hot in warm weather and there is more freedom to the ankle. Having tried VFFs I really have hard time wearing any other shoes now, so I agree with Rae, bring on more casual styles. I would love a shoes with a KSO sole and Alitza look and a sandal, please!!! These are still incredibly hot in the summer.
I love my VFFs, wear them everyday to school and work, around campus and the like. I have been wearing VFFs for 4 years now, and I can say that the straps on the Alitza would have a bigger problem for me than the Sprints did – I tried the Alitzas on in a store, fyi. The Sprint straps are at least adjustable, but the Alitza ones are more like wrapping rubber bands around your feet, and the fabric on the edge got a bit bunched on me, not to mention the rubber band tightness feeling. Living in the heat of Atlanta, the Sprint give me huge issues with the strap clinging to my sweaty feet since it is smooth plastic that makes you sweat more underneath it, and I can see the Alitza having even a bigger issue than that. I don’t know if you have ever tried walking around all day in humid summer weather, but wearing sticky rubber bands that feel like trash bags smothering your feet is not fun. If you plan to wear them in colder climates and like a tight, rubber band clingy feeling, then go for it because the Alitzas are super cute, just not practical for anywhere you would sweat.
I’m crazy in love, with the vibram fivefinguers. In Brazil there are no shops or representatives. Only here there are a few options or counterfeit models and figures on eBay. I wish to be representative of the brand in Brazil – Brasilia.