It’s been a while since I wrote my first review about this. It’s been 2+ years! You’d be pleased to know that I still use them up until now (it’s the only white shoes I have so far). Since it’s been years, I’m sure it would be valuable for some people to know the durability and performance over time of this pair. Here’s my review for the Lacoste Lerond white shoes.
(the list is in no order and it’s a mix of positives and negatives)
The look “degrades gracefully”
That’s a tech term we use: “graceful”. As mentioned, I’ve used it a lot and I’ve used it for so long but it still gives you that impact, that clean look (even though your shoes are 100% clean).
To give context, I use it for style not really for performance. That means I usually just wear this when it’s an event where I want to look good. I don’t use it at all for hiking, long walks, or days where I know there’s a lot of walking/running activity. It’s not because this pair cannot handle those. It’s just that I have better, more appropriate footwear for those activities.
I use it a lot when travelling actually. It’s that perfect combo of, it makes you look good + it’s comfortable. We’ll get to the comfort part soon but what I wanted to say is that there are some instances (like this) where you want it to be on its toes, always presentable but you want minimal clean-up time with it. In those cases, this actually carries on like a trooper and does the job. It’ll have dirt but you can easily dust it off.
My one worry with white…anything when it comes to clothing is that over time I fear things go yellow. This one does not yey! Mine’s used so it just follows the dirt colour and level of how you use it (which makes sense).
The mud stain never went away
In my earlier article, I got into a situation where there was a water + dirt combo that landed on my shoe. This did a mud effect on my shoe and it took me forever to clean it out. I never 100% cleaned it out. I’d say 92% at best.
Well, years after, it’s still here. It never went away and I never got to completely clean it out, immediately after that happen or even the many times I cleaned it months after.
To give context, “I” see it because I know what it looked like when it was new and perfect vs after the incident. The person you’re talking to will never notice it even if they’re an arms reach distance. I don’t anybody will ever notice it until they actually pick up your shoe, look up close, and if you point it out to them.
It’s weird sometimes too since that first time it happened, it left a stain. But that wasn’t the last time it happened. I’ve had a few times where it started raining. Weirdly enough though, those situation never posed a staining problem.
I know it has weakness, I just avoided them
Like all things, this one isn’t perfect. I know it has weakness and I just don’t subject it to them. For example, I know that this pair will definitely perform poorly on rain, wet situations. I just don’t. I like snow and snowboarding and last time I went west to snowboard at Crystal Mountain, I just didn’t bring it. I just didn’t want to risk melted snow + dirt again and most of the time, if it’s not snow, it’s muddy so hell naw.
It’s not a good insulated pair anyways and it doesn’t have the best traction (for snow). I have a winterized Ultraboost for that.
Chafing on the heels, once
I’ve had a situation where it actually chafed both my heels and I never noticed it until the following day. The next day when I was about to wear it, “why is there a pale red colour on the heels (both)?”. Turns out it chafed and made my heels bleed a bit but I didn’t notice or feel anything!
As usual, I’ll give more context to this since I think this is one of those edge cases. I was in Dominican that time (hot, can be humid), and I was wearing it a lot for a string of afternoon, evening, and after-party events. There was dancing after too so that’s probably where most of it came from.
I wore those heel socks but it kept on slipping down (maybe natural with all those motion). I also may have tied my shoes too loose(or too tight?) to cause that much friction.
It was no big deal at all. I didn’t even feel or notice it until the next day. I just think it’s worth mentioning for you. The inside of it can be as rugged as the outside. I guess. I haven’t had that happen to me though ever since. That was 1-2 years ago and I’ve had almost similar scenarios but never bled/left a mark.
Comfortable even if you wear it for long amounts of time
As mentioned, I wear this a lot when travelling; not just when I’m flying towards somewhere, but also when I’m getting lost in the city, doing 10x as much walking as I normally do at home.
Starting from the airport, it’s actually a very comfortable pair to travel with. The materials themselves are softer and more breathable (than the leather ones) so it lends itself when walking between terminals and also when you’re sitting and relaxing.
In the airplane, I find it has a balanced breathability: It’s not thick enough that your foot starts to get clammy inside (e.g.: my dress shoes or winterized Ultraboost), but not porous enough that it’s letting out 100% of your foot heat (e.g.: my Nike Pegasus) which becomes a big deal when flying.
When I’m at my destination, I can use this the whole day with no problems with comfort. The foot bed remains comfortable, not flattening and eventually feeling like there’s no padding any more. Laces don’t unnecessarily get untied, and…~well it’s just overall really just comfortable. It’s not Ultraboost or Pegasus comfortable but it’s definitely comfortable considering it’s a style shoe and not originally intended for long walks.
It doesn’t cause me any blisters or foot problems at all.
Wrap Up
I really like it for the value, longevity/utility, and the style impact it provides considering it’s not leather and it’s not the most dirt-proof Lacoste shoe out there. As you can see, I’m still using it for now. If I ever do replace it, I think it won’t be because it’s starting to fail but rather I probably just pre-emptively replaced it with something better.
I haven’t encountered any drastic wear-and-tear with this (then again I use intentionally).
I’m definitely really curious (then and up until now) to try on the leather versions. I think it’ll give me way less maintenance. It’s just that it’s popular…Hopefully it’s not common and bland by the time I get one lol.
Edit (30 Jul 2024): I actually got myself a leather one. The Lacoste Carnaby Pro!
