Shoes for travel lovers. Refined travel shoes you can wear in rain or shine

Preparing for the trip, preparing your shoes

Whether it's a long stretch like summer vacation or just a weekend getaway, travel is a break from the everyday, and there's something about that slightly restless feeling that makes us want to prepare carefully so the trip becomes an even better, more memorable experience.

Some trips are spent relaxing at a resort, while others are packed minute by minute with places to see. For that latter type—the "I want to walk a lot and see everything!" kind of trip—choosing the right shoes becomes a real dilemma.

Rather than assuming that "a trip with lots of walking = comfort = sneakers, no other option," it's handy to have a pair of shoes that's easy to walk in yet still looks polished, and that pairs well with your usual outfits.

This time, we take a closer look at travel shoes—shoes originally developed for travel, but with functionality that makes them wearable in everyday life too.

Pants: Chino Trousers KHAKI, Hat: HAT moncean, Necklace: Ronnie Kapoos (discontinued), Bag: fabrica Shoulder Bag

Comfortable shoes for travel lovers

Let's start by thinking about what conditions travel shoes really need to meet.

・Works for both casual and dressy occasions

・Won't leave you stuck if it suddenly rains

・Easy to carry with you

Since you have to pack everything you need for daily life into the limited space of a suitcase or travel bag, you obviously can't bring along several pairs of shoes just for the sake of it. That means a small number of shoes need to handle every situation you might encounter on your trip. Those situations range from "a day spent walking around in casual clothes" to "a night out at a nice restaurant for dinner," and from "a bright, hot sunny day" to "a day of pouring rain from morning to night." Even in situations where you'd normally choose completely different shoes for daily life, chausser's travel shoes meet all the necessary conditions.

Having one pair of shoes that can meet so many different needs while traveling means you don't need to bring multiple pairs. The point about being "easy to carry" is covered by this very quality.

A recap of the travel shoes' features

At first glance, chausser's travel shoes look just as elegant as ordinary leather shoes, but once you put them on, they feel just like sneakers—and reassuringly, they can even be worn on rainy days.

The secret behind how these travel shoes, despite being leather shoes, hold up so well in the rain lies in how the leather is processed. During the dyeing process, fluororesin is woven into the fibers, increasing both strength and water resistance, while the surface is also given a water-repellent finish on soft leather. The result is a material that repels water while still allowing air through to maintain breathability—an ideal quality for footwear on rainy days.

The comfort comes from the soft leather, which flexes well right from the first wear. The outsole uses a custom Vibram sole made with a special rubber blend, while the insole uses low-resilience special urethane, absorbing shock on the inside while providing excellent grip on the outside.

This one-strap style has a feminine heel type. At 4cm, the heel isn't too high, and its thicker, more stable shape means you can walk with confidence even when you're out walking a lot on your trip, or on slippery streets on a rainy day. Since even this pump-style shoe has a strap, you won't find yourself unconsciously curling your toes to keep it from slipping off as you walk.

The mannish design of the lace-up shoes makes them a versatile choice that pairs well with all kinds of styles. If you dislike the feeling of water splashing onto the top of your foot on rainy days, this is the style we'd recommend. You can adjust the fit with the laces, and since your whole foot moves naturally as you walk, you won't tire as easily. The laces are made of stretchy elastic shoelace material, so you can slip the shoes on and off without ever untying the knot—a nice added convenience.

Asking chausser store staff about the comfort of wearing these shoes

We understand how good these travel shoes sound, but you can't really know until you've worn them yourself. So we spoke with Ms. Mori, a chausser staff member and devoted user of the brand.

On workdays, Ms. Mori wears chausser shoes from the moment she leaves home, keeps them on all day at the store, and even in her private life, she's almost exclusively a chausser wearer. We asked her all about the travel shoes.

— How many pairs of travel shoes do you own?

I have two pairs total, which I got right after chausser released the travel shoes: a "white lace-up type" and a "black one-strap type."

— What made you decide to buy them?

I happened to have a trip planned right when the travel shoes came out, so I thought they'd be perfect and bought them. Since they were brand new, I was a little worried about bringing them on the trip, so I packed another pair of shoes as well just in case. But in the end, wearing them and walking around a lot during the trip broke them in nicely, and I didn't have any problems.

Skirt: Cotton Tiered Skirt

— When do you wear the travel shoes?

First of all, I wear my travel shoes on days when it's definitely going to rain. I also choose them on days when it's not raining—specifically, when I'm wearing an outfit that pairs well with them, or when I'm feeling a bit tired (laughs). Even though they're leather shoes, I really feel the sneaker-like comfort while standing at the store all day.

So honestly, I don't really think of them as "shoes only for rainy days"—I choose them the same way I'd choose any other pair of shoes.

― If you think of them as ordinary shoes with the added functionality of being "water-resistant," they're really easy to use. Do you actually feel the water-resistant quality of the Travel Shoes' leather in practice?

Yes, first of all, I really feel that unlike other leather shoes, the Travel Shoes don't stain even when they get wet—that's a characteristic unique to them. Also, even in the rain, water doesn't seep inside the shoes. There was only one time, when I got caught in a sudden downpour, that water did seep in, and I thought, "I trusted you...!" (laughs), but when I looked closely, it turned out the water had seeped in through the stitching holes. So the leather of the Travel Shoes itself is truly water-resistant—you could say that unless it's raining as hard as a sudden downpour, water won't even come through the needle holes.

The Stain Resistance and Care of the Travel Shoes

The leather of the Travel Shoes is also water-treated on the surface, which is effective from a "stain resistance" perspective as well.

― Do you feel that they're resistant not just to water, but to stains as well?

Right after I bought a pair of white Travel Shoes, I tripped on the tracks at a railroad crossing, and a tragedy occurred—oil that must have been on the tracks got smeared all over my shoe! I was really shocked, but when I wiped it with a shoe cleaner at home, it came off completely clean.

That said, while I do think they're stain-resistant, scratches on the leather or spots that have worn from walking can't be restored, just like with ordinary leather shoes. If the color has worn off, you can touch it up with matching color to make it less noticeable.

― Since it's a special kind of leather, how should it be cared for?

I take care of them the same way as ordinary shoes. The rubber edge of the sole tends to get dirty easily, so I wipe it off whenever I notice, and otherwise my routine is: brushing regularly → removing dirt with shoe cleaner → moisturizing with cream → touching up any worn spots with color → and finishing with a dry wipe.

When they get wet from rain, don't forget to wipe off the moisture, too.