You’re not still wearing off-the-peg sneakers, are you? Tut, tut, how very 2009. With a wealth of affordable personalization options online, nowadays you can easily create your own customized footwear.
We’ve found six online solutions that will help you design funky footwear that’s unique to you. So why not show off a bit of your creativity and stand out from the rest of the boringly-shod crowd?
If this sounds good, then put your best foot forward and take a walk through the gallery below. Let us know in the comments which design-your-own services you’ve tried out and if you haven’t yet, then the ones that you like the look of.
Nike’s well-established customization service lets you start with one of the company’s designs and change it to suit your taste, or start with a totally blank canvas.
The service is perfectly suited to anyone looking for proper training shoes, rather than fashion sneakers. With the ability to change the color of every element of the shoe’s design, you can create a cool custom pair of kicks that will stand out from the crowd on any court where you play.
As well as personalize the color-way of your new shoes, you can change the text on the heel and then, when you’re happy with your design, share it to your social networks and add it to the NIKEiD gallery.
Sample cost: Nike Air Mogan iD — $105
Vans keeps its service simple with just four shoe types to customize, one of which is its now-classic slip-on number in both white and black.
As you’d expect from the brand, as well as colors, there’s a wide range of contemporary patterns to choose from, and in the case of the slip-on shoe, you can mix and match designs.
As well as starting with a totally blank shoe, you can start with a patterned model and than tweak it to your heart’s content, choosing different colors for the binding, foxing, collar lining and even the elastic gore (the stretchy bit on the top!)
Sample cost: Slip-on — $60
Converse’s “Design Your Own” service is seriously fun — and offers far-reaching customization options. There are around 20 types of sneaker and baseball boot styles to choose from as your blank canvas. As well as a palette of vibrant colors to pick from, there’s also a ton of funky, and in some cases unusual, patterns.
Perfect for those who pay strict attention to detail, you can change the color of the laces, the eyelets and even the stitching! There is also an option to add text to the heel of the shoe — with a choice of two fonts to select from.
Sample cost: Chuck Taylor All Star Ox Canvas — $67
Offering a variety of sneaks to personalize, Adidas’s take on the customization process is comprehensive and changes with the shoe you choose.
For example, with the Gazelle (pictured) you can make each stripe a different color while the mi adizero Rose design process will see your name laser-etched on the shoe’s bumper. Or you can pick a personalized number to appear on the lace’s tag.
This means it’s worth playing around with the web-based design app to see what options each shoe offers; just don’t get too carried away and order the set!
Sample cost: Mi Gazelles — $95
Sole Creator takes customization to the extreme with its online design service offering tons of backgrounds, a huge album of clip art, the ability to draw designs freehand, add as much text as you can fit on, and even upload an image.
With brands to choose from such as Converse, Vans, DYO and Ethletic, it’s worth noting that Sole Creator offers worldwide delivery, so it’s a great option for those outside the States (because many of the U.S.-based in-house sneaker design services don’t ship internationally.)
Sample cost: From around £25 (approx $40)
If you’re on a budget and don’t want to splash out on a whole new pair of shoes, but still want to personalize a pair, then SneakArt offers flexible, durable, waterproof, adhesive skins in a massive range of patterns so that you can DIY your own designs in the comfort of your own home.
Sample cost: From $19 per sheet
More Fashion Resources from Mashable:
– 3 Ways to Design Your Own Clothes Online
– 9 Ways to Geek Out Your T-Shirt Collection
– 10 Great Geek Tees For Kids
– 6 Ways to Design Your Own Jewelry Online
– 7 Pairs of Stylish 3-D Specs for Fashionable Film Fans
More About: adidas, clothing, Converse, custom, customization, fashion, gallery, Nike, personalized, shoes, sneakers, trainers, Vans
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