Are Tieks Ballet Flats Worth the Price for Travelers?
Sundance Vacations travelers do a lot of walking on their vacations and, they need a shoe that keeps up with their adventurous spirits — which is why we are here with our own Tieks review!
You may have seen some Tieks reviews and that’s for good reason. Tieks are the trendy ballet flats many ladies are wearing while traveling and on vacation for maximum comfort and style.
Tieks shoes, made by Gavrieli, are hand stitched from full or split-grain Italian leathers — they are also available in vegan textiles — and are designed to be supportive and cushioned for the active woman on the go. Unlike most flats that cause painful blisters and sore feet after hours of walking, Tieks flats have rubber soles designed specifically to dampen each steps impact and a flexible leather frame to give with the natural motion of your foot.
Because of Tieks innovative anatomy, design and high user-rated comfortability, many travelers rave about the shoes for wear on their vacations. However, the custom designed shoes rack up a pretty penny, ranging from $175 to $345 a pair, and many buyers try to wait for a Tieks sale before committing to the hefty purchase or need some thorough convincing to order their first pair!
That’s why I decided to purchase a pair of Tieks myself and see if the ballet shoes are really worth the price for our Sundance Vacations travelers.
I discovered some things about these shoes that may surprise you:
Here’s what you’re paying for:
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A custom-made, unique shoe
According to the Tieks website, every shoe is hand-stitched for optimum quality and durability.
Their CEO Kfir Gavrieli said, “It takes three days and over 150 steps to put together a single pair of Tieks from start to finish,” and he stands by the careful time and care devoted to their products.
With up to 72 hours of work put into each pair of shoes, it’s no wonder the price is a little higher!
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High-end materials designed for durability
In this Tieks review, you’ll learn about 5 great reasons women buy Tieks shoes.
Some Tieks reviews tell you to toss out your faux leather shoes, for they have no place ranking up against the high-end materials used in over 50 different design and color variations of Tieks.
Perhaps it’s because the high-quality leather was designed by the Tieks team to withstand daily wear. Because of this, many Tieks reviews claim that their shoes have unmatched durability like they’ve never seen before in another flat shoe.
Broke for Beauty, an avid Tieks lover from YouTube, compared her two year old Tieks to her new pair she just purchased and noticed that the wear on the material and the soles was not that different.
“That is pretty amazing to me,” she said in her one video Tieks review. “That I could have this pair of shoes for a couple years and they feel pretty much the same [as the new pair].”
Any woman knows that even her good pair of flats can’t withstand two years of near-constant wear, and it is almost unbelievable that one pair of shoes could remain in such good condition after that long. But the reviews don’t lie!
Tieks also makes five pairs of vegan textile shoes for people who prefer fabric. Made from a vegan interpretation of wool, no animals are harmed in the making of these flats, but they still are known for their durability.
I know what you’re thinking. Just because these shoes don’t fall apart after heavy wear, doesn’t mean they are comfortable. But many people who do Tieks reviews vouch that they are!
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Innovative comfortability
Many travelers claim Tieks shoes are just darn comfy too, which is important for those long days walking on tours through museums in Williamsburg, Virginia or strolling down the Vegas strip.
Each shoe contains two rubber, non-skid soles to absorb the shock of walking and keep you from slipping. Each Tieks shoe is also lined with an advanced foam-cushioned sole and back for all-day comfort and support for your Achilles.
Unlike traditional flats, that often have rigid V-shaped backs like many popular designer shoes, the gentle curve of their U-shaped back was designed to not rub against your heel. Plus, the soft genuine leather does not cause blisters or red marks on your feet for many women like traditional flats do.
Because Tieks flats are designed to be form-fitting to your unique foot, many travelers have reported that these shoes have virtually no break-in period and were simply perfect for their foot upon slipping them on straight out of the box.
Women are taking to YouTube to tell their stories and share their Tieks reviews! In her video, Lux_Mommy said, “They required zero, ZERO, break-in. They have been extremely comfortable from the very first time.”
Okay, people online claim Tieks are comfy, but what about the suitcase test?
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Compact for travel
Tieks shoes literally fold in half to make the perfect compact shoe for travel. The shoes fit in a tiny black bag and come with an additional blue bag to toss your old shoes in when you’re ready to put on your Tieks flats.
If that’s not enough, reviewers love the Tieks team!
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Attentive customer service
The Tieks team always hand-writes a note to include in your shipment.
People also rave online about Tieks amazing customer service. Because the shoes can only be ordered online, and can’t be tried on at a store, sometimes ladies will have to do exchanges to get the right size.
On her blog, Decorchick shares her experience with Tieks customer service when she had to return a pair.
“They responded quickly and were happy to let me exchange them for a different pair, which fit perfectly! Then even paid for shipping both ways!”
Each pair ships to you in a turquoise box and comes with a flower, a personal hand-written-thank-you note and two bags to hold your shoes.
Sundance Vacations Reviews Tieks — Jenn’s Review
So now that you’ve seen what you’re paying for, I’d like to share my personal experience with my first pair of Tieks ballet flats and let you judge for yourself if Tieks are worth the cost.
Let me first start off by saying I never paid anywhere near this price for a pair of shoes before. I think the most expensive shoe I own is my pair of Brooks running sneakers, and it pained me to swipe my card for $120 at the register. They have been the best pair of sneakers I’ve ever owned, so I decided to make another, hopefully, worthwhile investment by purchasing a pair of Tieks.
I’ve had my Tieks for about a month now and I’d like to share with you my experience as a first-time Gavrieli flats owner by doing a Tieks review.
Do I feel like it was a worthwhile investment? My answer is yes. I think it’s worth it to try a pair to see if they are right for you.
Do I think they are the best shoe I’ve ever owned? Time will tell, but for now here is how I rate these ballet flats:
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A custom-made, unique Shoe — 4/5 Stars
There was a small glue imperfection on my pair of Tieks when I got them in the mail.
When I received my first pair of Tieks in a size seven, I had to exchange them for an eight because they were too tight. I’ll address this more below in my review of their customer service, but the first pair I received was pretty much flawless.
When I got the second pair there was a small glue imperfection on the bottom of one shoe, which, if I’m paying for $175 pair of shoes I want them to be in mint condition when I get them!
I had just sent back my first pair of size sevens and didn’t want to send back the new pair as well so I just got over it.
There was also a problem with the stitching on my one shoe which I will discuss in the comfort section below.
Overall, I give this a four out of five stars because with any hand-made product, such as Tieks, you are going to find imperfections. Whether you embrace them or hate them, they are likely to be there. In my case, I chose to embrace one (the glue mark) and am still struggling with the other (the stitching on my left shoe). Please read below or watch my video Tieks review for an in-depth look at this.
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High-end materials designed for durability — 5/5 Stars
From what I’ve observed so far, I love the soft leather of my Tieks flats. It seems like the material would withstand some wear and clean well with leather conditioner too.
The inside of the shoe has been great with sweat, not smelling or getting sticky.
The padding on the bottom of the shoe is good as well. I felt much more support in these shoes than in other flats, even in my Converse sneakers, but I wouldn’t say I’d be confident wearing these if I was walking around in say, Disney all day on vacation. I could try it, but based on my wearing habits these past few days I think my feet would still ache a little.
I know these aren’t padded with arch support like sneakers, and I get it. It’s just for $175, I have high standards for these Tieks flats!
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High-end materials designed for comfort — 4/5 Stars
I really like the back design of each shoe and how it’s padded and curved like a U instead of the hard V-shaped back that most flats have.
I actually bought a $10 pair of flats from Wal-Mart, that look an awful lot like the Chestnut Tieks, to see how they stood up against my first pair. I wore the Wal-Mart shoes for three hours at work, and even in that short time, the back was breaking the skin on my heel, so I had to take them off. I definitely like how the Tieks don’t rub me there!
I had to put a bandage on my shoe to stop it from rubbing!
My Tieks, however, are rubbing a bit around the U-shaped front by my toes, particularly around the left side. The first day I wore my Tieks for my eight-hour work day I had to stop home for lunch to grab a bandage to place on the spot that was rubbing. This issue seemed to affect just the left shoe and upon further inspection, I discovered that whoever made this shoe didn’t cut down the fabric as tightly against the threads as they did on the right and the edge was rubbing. I can’t blame the Tieks team for something that they wouldn’t notice until wearing the shoe, but it’s those small imperfections that I see in this handmade pair of shoes.
I tried getting in there with little collapsible scissors to cut it, but I only shaved off a little and it’s still rubbing. I’m afraid to cut too low and get the stitching loose, so I’m still debating how to handle this problem.
I’m also hoping the leather loosens around my toes, particular my big toe. Some people say they don’t like how their big toe pops up out of the shoe. The look doesn’t really bother me, but the fact that it pushes down on my toenail. My nail aches a bit after wearing it for a few hours and I’m hoping the leather stretches soon so it doesn’t continue hurt.
The black bag is certainly compact, however, it’s a tight squeeze getting your Tieks in and out!
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Compact for travel — 4/5 Stars
The Tieks fold up very nicely and do save much more space in a suitcase or your purse than a traditional pair of flats. The only real discrepancy is that they are difficult to wedge into the little black bag Tieks includes, but it gets the job done!
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Customer service — 5/5 Stars
So as a size 7-1/2 I talked to a Tieks representative named Lisa about whether I was a 7 or an 8 before buying my first pair of Tieks. After telling her about my current shoe size variations, like how I’m a 7 in flats and an 8 in sneakers, she suggested I size up to an 8. However, after watching Tieks reviews video online I decided to start with the 7 because many half-size-wearing girls seemed to size down.
Well, I was wrong. The 7s were very tight around the toes, and even though I had room between the end of the shoe and my toe, the 7s squished my toes and even the pad of my foot tightly together. This made it very uncomfortable to walk, and after a few laps around my apartment I packaged them back up to exchange for an 8.
Lisa was really great and sent my new pair very quickly. I order it on a Friday night and I had them by Monday. She even put a signature requirement on them so I could pick them up at the post office so they didn’t get stolen off of my door step while I was at work.
They sent a shipping label with my 8s and I returned the 7s the next day; all of the shipping costs were paid for by Tieks. I’d like to say I am VERY HAPPY with Tieks customer service and would give her a 5/5 stars in this Tieks review!
Are Tieks Worth the Money?
I really, really hope that my new Tieks stretch out because I want them to be the best shoes I’ve ever owned like they are for so many other travelers.
The nice thing is, if you order a pair and wear them a few times and they don’t work for you, Tieks flats have a really sensational resale value on websites such as Ebay or Poshmark. I’ve seen pairs getting sold for only $10 or $15 less than the original price and although sites like that will take a percentage of your price for selling on there, even if you get 3/4 of your cost back, it’s still pretty good in my opinion.
Overall, I think you just need to try a pair for yourself and if they don’t work, they’ll resell fast for you. People eat these up online from what I’ve observed, so if you’re okay with losing a small portion of the cost, it’s worth the purchase to see if you love them. And trust me, people do love these shoes! I’ve seen people with five or six pairs, and it’s all they wear!
In a few months from now I’ll be able to come back and post another follow-up review video and I hope I have nothing but good things to say about these!
Fingers crossed.
Have you traveled with your Tieks on your latest adventure? Tell me about your own Tieks review in the comments below!
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