I Love My Lucy Lites

Last year after trying a few Vivobarefoot Mary Jane type shoes that did not fit my narrow foot, I bought the Lucy Lite, and it's the only shoe I've worn since.

Back when VivoBarefoot was Terra Plana, long before the Evo or their barefoot lineup, there was the Lucy.

As a budding minimalist, I desperately wanted this shoe, but unfortunately there was no way we'd work out together. First of all, that instep is so deep! With my high arch and narrow foot, I'd look ridiculous. Secondly, it was a little too funky for me. My running shoes were as sporty as I got, so I watched the funky Lucy from afar.

Then VivoBarefoot blew up! And from that beautiful mess came the Lucy Lite.

It's a perfect shoe. Reminiscent of the original Lucy in coloring but available in muted blacks and grays and with the same wide toebox but now featuring a low profile and instep. The shoe wears almost like a slipper in comfort, and rather than coming home and kicking them off, it's forgettable that they're even on your feet. The inside is warm with no rubbing on the seams, and the upper is breathable yet water resistant enough to survive Seattle showers and puddles. Aesthetically, the styling is work casual and the shiny applique on the toe gives it a narrowing look. I've read some reviews where women complained that the toe box made it look a tad masculine from the top down, but I can say that as a very petite woman this shoe does not make my feet look like boats and I have gotten tons of complements on them. Ultimately, when going minimalist some fashion has to give, and wide toe box is a key part of replicating barefoot feel.

And Lucy Lite's minimalist options are impressive. I have felt no constriction of my toes with or without socks of all degrees of thickness. Toe splay is key, but where the shoe shines is its 3mm TPU sole. TPU is a puncture resistant, durable, and dense thermoplastic polyurethane plastic. Inside the shoe VivoBarefoot provides a removable 3mm EVA (soft padding) insole which provides a warm and comfortable ride for your foot, but once you take that insole out, there is no closer you can get to barefoot than taking your shoes off. The TPU sole's 3mm width and flexibility provides full ground feel to the point you have to be careful not to feel a false sense of security wearing a shoe and tender foot pads can feel the wear. I find myself having to step carefully when that insole is out!

Just a note - I do not run in my Lucy Lites. Some people do and I've seen good reviews for this aspect such as Barefoot Angie's. Mine are daily wear. And when I say daily wear, I mean literally daily wear. The only other shoe I wear is the VivoBarefoot Brooklyn for skinny jean/Seattle rain adventures. I cannot recommend them enough for that purpose. Your feet will be joyously happy and your muscles will strengthen considerably. My Lucy Lites are the foundation of my running without ever hitting the trail with them.

Since most shoe reviews only cover newer pairs and I've been wearing mine regularly for over a year, feel free to hit me up for pictures or details on wear and tear. I'd be happy to update.

Alexander L update and Brooklyn review

I noticed I got a bit of traffic on my Alexander L post and wanted to do an update. First off, Vivobarefoot sent me a replacement pair of Alexander L's. It took a bit of prodding to get them to respond, but I was very happy with their response and they did not require me to send back the old pair. I want to note that this is not something Vivo will do if you buy from another retailer, but I'm sure they'd appreciate the input if you have a similar issue to mine.

Ended up returning the Kali. My narrow foot simply requires straps and ties to keep a good fit especially on shoes with a wide toe box. Finally learning my lesson, I opted for a pair of Lucy Lites and to put it plainly, I'm in love. I'll go into that later.

I also mentioned that I needed a minimalist pair of waterproof boots. The Clymb had a sale on 2010 Vivo styles and I snagged a pair of Brooklyns just in time for wet and cold football weather.

The Brooklyn is a heavy 16oz, the toe box is small, sole is 5mm thick, and there is very little flexibility (for a minimalist shoe). That said, the thickness gives warmth to the shoe, the smaller toe box keeps it from slipping off , and half that sole is grip.

Despite drooling over this shoe for forever, I was hesitant to like it and considered returning it at first. It is less superior to the 2011 styles and I can see the upgrades they've made in construction and style on the newer models I own. It also runs 2 sizes small and it is obvious when you look inside and see that poor insole smashed into it. I pulled mine out immediately, as it was the only way my foot could fit. It does make the shoe cooler, but there is absolutely no water leakage. That baby is sealed tight! I also felt some strange rubbing at first but trust me when I and other reviewer say it needs breaking in time. Now I wear them often and long treks across campus do not hurt my feet/hips/knees.

Living Barefoot has a great review on the boot if you want to know more. There is also a 2011 version of the Brooklyn , but I have yet to see any thorough reviews on it. Hoping I have the opportunity to try it :)

Vivo Barefoot's Alexander L

For my 30th bday I requested minimalist shoes, and my lovely parents were very generous and bought me two pairs - the Alexander L and Venus. The former I ordered in a 36 (my size in Terra Plana dress shoes) and the latter in a 37. Neither fit!

Luckily a size up in the Alexander L fixed my problem but the Venus is for wide feet and with my AA narrows, I didn't want to deal with Vivo with their slow turn around and the mounting costs of exchanging shoes. I then discovered Planet Shoes which pays for shipping both ways! Hooray! They are located in RI which may take just as long, but they sell a lot of different shoes so they don't have the luxury of being slow and niche. I'd recommend using them over the Vivo site.



I've been wearing the Alexander L every day for the last two month and they are exactly what I was looking for - a work appropriate shoe with breathability and no rubbing. My need was fully realized last summer when I brought only flip flops and my KSO's to ACL. The flip flops rubbed off half the skin on my foot and the VFFs held heat like woolen socks in the August Texas sun. It was awful.

The key to the Alexander is the velcro straps which must all be adjusted to find the perfect fit for complete contact with the ground with no pressure at the top of the foot. After wearing the shoe for a week or so, I initially thought it was too small and felt my arch being pinched like my foot was being compressed. A quick adjustment on the back strap (which I had not touched) opened my foot up completely and the pain instantly went away.

I haven't done any real running in the Alexander, but from the small amount of general sprinting around the office building (when no one is looking) or out the door on Friday, they feel completely comfortable and don't move. I'm actually interested in taking them out for jog, but I'm a bit concerned they wouldn't hold up. I'm not a big person and have never worn a shoe through before, but as you can see on the left, not exactly running shoe construction. The gap isn't growing, but it obviously needs to be fixed and I've yet to get a response from customer service on how to proceed.

So what happened to the Venus?? Well I gave up on that wide sucker and finally order it's replacement tonight from Planet Shoes - Vivo Barefoot's Kali!



Now I just need some waterproof, minimalist boots :D