It’s funny how nearly all of the overshoe (galosh) companies come from Sweden. And the company being highlighted today, Fred & Matt, are no different. What they are different for is their extremely unique design and how they make their galoshes (or literally ‘overshoes’) which are quite different than what is available in the rest of the market. So let’s look at that and come to understand why they took overshoes to a whole new level.
The story is common: Two friends hate the weather in Sweden and how it ruins their shoes but on top of that hate the classic form of overshoes as they too can sometimes do harmful things to fine dress shoes if one is not paying attention, and thus decided to do something about it i.e. create the next level overshoe. And that they did.
So how did they do that? Well they found a shoe factory that could put them together using traditional shoemaking techniques in order to make more of an ‘overshoe’ as opposed to a ¾ galosh. They preferred a stretchy and soft material that is completely waterproof instead of rubber as it won’t bother your fine leather as rubber sometimes can do as it is so sticky. They put a proper sole on it so it has grip and looks the part of a shoe and a zip that goes all of the way to top of the facing so that not one bit of shoe is exposed, thus leaving your feet in the ultimate protection. And while it is a bold look for some, I think that they did a good job at reinventing the wheel.
Now for the pro’s and con’s. The ultimate pro is that they are lightweight, comfortable, actually cover and thus protect your shoe and just truly do the job that they were set out to do. The con’s are that they look quite large on. I had a medium for a UK6.5 which is meant to fit from Eu40-Eu41.5. This is a common problem with overshoes though. Unless you fit that perfect size then you fall between sizes and never have a perfect fit. So they made me looking like I was wearing UK10 on my feet, which I was not crazy about as I wear skinny trousers and like proportion. But hey, what’s worse, overshoes that make my feet look bit or getting my shoes ruined?
But the killer that I think that most people will run into is the fact that they are quite pricey. They cost 1195 SEK which is about £104 ($150). But I guess that you are paying not only for the quality but to get the job done right. To be fair, nearly all other galoshes only cover 75-80% of the shoe, which leaves it vulnerable. But these don’t. They cover 100%. It’s like the age old saying: ‘you get what you pay for’!
I see the point in wearing galoshes, yet I have never used them. I suppose they shine (err, well, they don’t…) in terrible weather and as long as you have to wear proper and nice shoes and have to walk in the outside… Otherwise, I think I’d cope with bad weather with sturdy yet nice shoes. Just the idea of wearing galoshes makes me feel… awkward. Don’t know.
Anyway, these ones look the best ones indeed! Thanks for posting!