Red and Re-read

Review: Elsa Boots from Sand Shack Surf Co.

The lovely and talented Emma Gilmour of Sand Shack Surf Co recently asked if I’d be interested in doing an in-depth, proper review of her latest shoes — the Elsa boots.  I was a bit hesitant to do a comprehensive review, as the potential for drama isn’t worth it for me.  Anyway, as Emma and I chatted, we reminisced about the early days of SL fashion blogging, when a reviewer was supposed to be thorough, and include both strengths and weaknesses of a particular item, and their own experiences with the item — when we expected bloggers to educate us on what we should be looking for when we evaluated things.  I decided to rise to the challenge — though in this case, it was easy, as Emma is an experienced, talented designer, and so there’s little need for constructive criticism.

So, these are the Elsa Boots, available from Sand Shack Surf Co.  First, let’s look at the features available with these boots, and then we’ll analyze them more closely.  There are essentially three parts of the boots.  First (working from bottom to top of the shoe) is the boot itself, the foot part of the whole assembly.  This is NOT color-changing.  You buy the boot based on what color you want here (L$200 each).

The next part is the ankle portion of the slouchy knit tops, followed by the calf portion of the slouchy knit tops.  Both of these parts are color-changing.  You need to click on each part, on each foot, to change the color.  Having to click on each foot takes an extra minute (rather than a single click changing both boots), if you’re like me and like for both feet to match.  But, a plurky friend of mine loves mismatched socks, so I’m guessing the ability to change each boot individually will be right up her alley.  Anyway, you pull up the same blue box menu for each part of the shoe.  You have a choice of three color groupings to choose from: Neutral, Muted, and Bright.  Each grouping contains 7-10 colors, as shown with the white boot here:

Now, for the review portion — my evaluation of the shoe can be divided into three areas of analysis: texture, shape, and fit.  The textures are flawless.  There are three physical textures represented in these boots: the knit top portion of the boot, the leather footbox, and the wooden sole.  All are well-done, expressing the softness, smoothness, and/or shininess of each material.  The wrinkles of the leather footbox have a nicely worn-in feel, as do the slouchy knit ankles.  The shading of each area helps to create the illusion of three-dimensionality.  I wish the muted color grouping included more “dirty” colors, rather than tints and shades of the brighter shades, but there are enough neutrals to keep me happy.  The shape of the scupties is also well-done, with attention to detail.  Take a look at the arch of the sole of the boot, and the way the folded-over part of the knit top falls unevenly.

As far as fit goes, the boots took a bit of alignment tweaking on my shape to make them look as pretty as I expect they’re meant to be, but no more so than other boots.  Due to the wider shape of the prims, I didn’t need to resize for my non-anorexic calves, but I did need to bring the ankle portion down and raise the foot portion up slightly to cover a bit of a gap between the two attachments. This is a minor fitting adjustment, compared to other boots I’ve had to fit.

General impression?  They are slouchy and adorable.  They’re definitely more casual than my usual more tailored footwear choices, but on the other hand, this style is terribly fashionable right now.  The boots are well-made, both in terms of the sculptie shapes and the textures.  The color-changing knits mean they’ll match a good chunk of your wardrobe for a cozy, comfy look.

Credits:
Boots: Sand Shack Surf Co. Elsa Boots
Hair: Fri.day Jennifer.2 – Scornful Red
Skin: Blowpop N2 Elizabeth Tone C 10.1 Vapor 1
Necklace: Chronokit Clock Necklace ‘loy’ – WinterChoice!2009 item
Jacket: Niniko Full Sculp Coat – WinterChoice!2009 item
Shirt: 5th & Oxford Rebel, Rebel halter – Olive
Pants: League Ripped 78s – Dark Warm Blue
Stairset pose: Reel Expression Stairs Set
En scene photo taken with Mechanized Life FilterCam HUD at the Error Sim

Disclaimer:
Promotional items received: Elsa boots, FilterCam. I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

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