In Person: Tretorn® for J.Crew Nylite canvas sneakers

Tretorn® for J.Crew Nylite canvas sneakers – $65.00

The above grey, a khaki, and a red are all available in non-waxed canvas.  Navy comes in waxed.

They’re different.  But are they different enough to be worth the extra $15 when compared to an on sale $50 pair of Jack Purcells?  Make that more like an extra $25 if you tack on shipping?  Hang on for that answer…

With these, you lose the rubber toe cap that’s common with classic American style sneakers like Cons and PF Flyers.  But unlike a standard laced plimsoll (think vans) these don’t look wimpy.  That extra strip of canvas that’s stitched over the toe like a pair of bonnet stripes makes a big difference when it comes to the looks.  The bright white soles are a nice contrast against the grey canvas.  Nice texture around the outer edges too.  Reminds you of the PF Flyers Center Lo.

The canvas is a standard thickness, and they’re not flimsy or anything, but these certainly live up to the “lite” in Nylite.  The construction feels decent, but there’s not a lot of weight to them.  The Brand is Sweedish but they’re made in China.

The color options, especially the grey, are dead on.  Grey sneakers go with almost everything, and they’ll come in handy in the summer when most of us are in lighter shorts and medium to dark polos.  The description claims that Tretorn designed these to be real breathable.  If that’s the case, they should help prevent swamp foot when summer rolls around and we all shed our socks.

Eyelets are thick and look great with the rawhide laces.  They also come with a standard pair of laces if the rawhide just isn’t your thing.  One thing about the rawhide… it seems to shed a bit when you lace them up.  No big deal though.  Comfortable straight out of the odd smart box, which claims it takes 65% less paper to make.

J. Crew’s “in good company” collaborations can sometimes get a little silly.  But to get back to the question about whether or not these are worth an extra $25, I think the answer is yes.

Would you pay the extra $25?  Or would you just throw some rawhide laces on your Chuck Taylors and call it good?