Eureka!

It should come as no surprise that we all oggle the Valentinos, the Saint Laurents and those irresistible red soles - they are impeccably designed. These brands consistently manage to come out in the most inspiring colours and innovative shapes, making us dream with nostalgia or fastforwarding us into the future. Ah, those frenchies and italianos, masters in the art of shoemaking, right? We, on the other hand, in my native Portugal, were never too keen on design but had craftsmanship as a proper tradition, to an extent where it become the backbone of a vast industrial capacity.

It's great to see a Portuguese brand such as Eureka put such exciting designs out there. I don't think their collections are entirely a hit, though; they seem to be searching for an identity or creative direction but whoever's in charge isn't scared of bold decisions or of making mistakes. I really liked walking into one of their boutiques; I wasn't expecting so many good surprises.

These were the first one; got myself these mofos as a present for myself this Christmas:

They kind of look like Vans, only with fancier materials rather than the usual canvas - suede and pony hair. Because of the whole grown-up, ton sur ton look of this shoe, I tend to wear mine with a variety of silly socks - ya know, polka dots, stripes, glittery ones, you name it. 

These puppies are now on sale: they're 79,99€, which is pretty good for a pair of impeccable shoes ethically made in Portugal. 

Then I went on http://www.eurekashoes.com/ to see once again what else I dribbled over when I checked their boutique in Braga. Check it out:

So ninja, right?

And I also liked these pristine white wedges (below). I love their unfinished appearance, kind of like as if a prototype was sent out the factory by mistake or something. But I would totally get it if people found them gross because they look like nurse shoes, only this would be the shoe of a nurse who's got one leg much shorter than the other, this being the shoe she wears on the tiny leg's foot. Only I don't see it that way!

Yet, I think I preferred the Eureka version before I realized they reminded me of the Chloé wedges below:

     

This is just a better take on the deck shoe, after all.  It just has a more positive resonance. It's not as chunky and it's much more feminine and delicate, and I do prefer a bit of detail here and there rather than the dry, unfinished, prototypey look. Still, kudos to Eureka for going down that road, I think. 

I hesitated between these and the grey ones I ended up getting because I am a sucker for the super modern look of these bad boys. I know, I know, these look like something Kanye West would wear. But look at this shoe; forget its functionality for a second and just enjoy the whiteness, imagine how soft that leather is, and the pony hair in that yummy honey colour. What a great object to look at. Plus they're slip-ons. 

Having just said I like most of the Eureka shoes for being so fresh and futuristic, these ones I dig for looking so nostalgic. Yet, the metallic heel sucks them right back into the 21st century. Not to mention the contrasting toe cap is très Chanel, dahlin.

Most of the Eureka shoes come in different colour combinations, so there really are loads of great options and you do get excellent value for money, I think. Another thumbs-up goes to super friendly boutique staff.

What I don't find as interesting, but to be honest, only relatively important, is the odd blatant copy:

Like these 2013 Eureka by Filipe Sousa oxfords (above)

...identical to Prada's 2012 Fall/Winter ones (above). But hey, who doesn't love Prada, right? I just think Eureka's original stuff is far more exciting than these two years old copies anyway. I am definitely keeping my eye on this brand, as the prices are decent, quality is superb and they are both stylish and really, really comfy. 

Nicely done! :)