Experiments with leather laces & sneakers

[VespaMatt Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close VespaMatt]

Those sneakers that got featured recently from J. Crew got some interest because some of the color ways had leather laces. Someone suggested why not put leather laces on regular sneakers. Flash forward to a discussion I had with my buddy about chuck taylors and it rekindled my interest in breathing some new life into my old Purcells, so I dug these out.





What do you think?


I haven't made up my mind yet. I went to the mall to get the laces J. Crew has on their site but my local J. Crew didn't have them. Not wanting to be defeated, I went over to Sperry and picked up a couple from them. Oddly enough, even though both packages said 42in, one pair was about 5in longer than the other so the laces are shorter on the black shoes than the white ones. Shoes are pretty dirty, I hardly ever wear these except for when I ride my bike.


I think this would be killer with navy Purcells.

[LesserBlackDog Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close LesserBlackDog]

I like 'em with the white. I've never been much of a black sneaker person, but those black ones look better with leather laces than with plain white laces, too. If you want to clean those bad boys up, all you have to do is remove the laces, drop the shoes in the washing machine with a couple towels and launder them on delicate with a small amount of soap or detergent. Then let them air dry - takes about a day, but you can shorten the time by leaving them in the sun or in front of a fan.

[JAB Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JAB]

I actually really like that look on both colors and may trow some leather laces on some of my sneakers.

[Heafcliffe Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heafcliffe]

This is so funny bc I laced my blue purcells with leather laces about 6 months ago. Definitely a different look.

[runner-guy Member Find all posts View Profile Close runner-guy]

I kind of like the leather laces too.

[VespaMatt Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close VespaMatt]

I am pretty keen on them, wore the black ones all day yesterday. My guy friends all dig them but chicks seemed to be not so crazy about them. If anyone is trying to replicate the look, get longer laces than the Sperrys I got. At 42in or so, they were on the short side and I had to have them strung pretty tight to get a decent knot. The white ones seem perfect though... I didn't measure them, so I'm not sure if the pair I put on the black ones was shorter than they were supposed to be or the white ones were longer than they should have been. The ones on the J. Crew site are 50in and probably appropriate.


@Heafcliffe, I think navy purcells are the perfect color to pull off this look. I just don't wear sneakers enough to buy a pair.


@BenR Thanks for the tip on cleaning. These are one of only two black shoes I own. I actually like the brown with black, I think it opens up the shoe to more color coordination. Black chuck taylors/Purcells are the iconic color so I think you get a little bit of a pass on them, as well.

[Heafcliffe Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heafcliffe]

@Vespa, I agree. The thing is I felt that the staunch white laces were too sterile and the shoe needed a more relaxed look. I, too, don't wear sneakers often but when I do- Chucks and Purcells is the way to go. My 2 cents.

[LesserBlackDog Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close LesserBlackDog]

[D4rkRXN Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4rkRXN]

@Vespa The leather laces look great! I just bought navy Purcells and I was thinking about trying this. I'm convinced now.


I am curious about one thing though. For those who have tried this, do the leather laces get untied more easily than the regular laces? Is it a problem? I don't have any experience with leather laces.

[Heafcliffe Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heafcliffe]

LMAO!!!!!! @BenR. "Stay 'jiggy' my friends."

[krzys Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close krzys]

I actually just bought a pair of white vans canvas...with dark construction boot style laces. Looks great, probably just as nice with the leather ones!

[VespaMatt Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close VespaMatt]

@ D4rkRXN No worries about coming undone. The leather is grippy.

[D4rkRXN Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4rkRXN]

@Vespa Ok, thanks! Time to do this...

[nftmlk Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close nftmlk]

I think it looks good. Makes it looks a tiny bit less casual. Cleaner/neater vibe

[jicarv Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jicarv]

@Vespa - I was at Target this weekend and I saw a Kiwi branded leather shoe lace for boots that was 72in. long. It would be very easy to cut that one to the size that you need.


these are the ones I saw:

http://www.kiwicare.com/kiwimcmssite...r-rawhide.html