Novesta alternative: Mateo cord shoes by Mod Shoes

You might know I’m a big fan of this particular plimsoll,  but as a Novesta alternative, I was keen to check out Mateo cord shoes by Mod Shoes.

Keen for two reasons. Firstly, these come in cheaper. So it’s a good chance of saving a few quid, And secondly, the cord finish on the Novesta comes and goes. So a cord finish available all the time is definitely appealing.

Not that any of that matters if they don’t look good and feel good. So I’ve been living with these for a few weeks to see how they hold up to regular use.

I’ve had a few pairs of Novesta cord shoes, and they tend to last about a year of constant use before they start to look a little frayed. I’ve no idea how long these will last, but they seem solid enough so far.

Take your pick between a brown boot style and a cord shoe in an unusual blue. That’s the colour I went for. The regular Novesta sizes up a little big, but these fit pretty much as they should. And there’s another thing. They are quite comfortable too.

They seem to have more cushioning than the original Novesta, which I quite like. I just spent three days walking around London in a pair (not constantly, but you get the idea), and my feet felt the benefit of that. A little chunkier as a result, but not that you would notice. In fact, I doubt you would notice much from the originals to be honest,

Well, a couple of things. There are more colour and finish variations from Novesta, you get the label on the tongue, and there’s more of a finish around the edges. That’s pretty much it. Is there £15 worth of difference? I’m not sure there is. I haven’t seen anyone examining the details up-close while I’ve been wearing them.

Granted that you might get some Novestas in the sale, and the price difference might come down, but you can’t get a blue cord finish from Novesta. So if you like those, there is only one place to get them.

For me, the Mateo cord shoes by Mod Shoes are well worth checking out if you want a cord plimsoll. So far, they are more than a match for the originals.

Find out more at the Mod Shoes website