Novesta Star Master in Beige Canvas

Novesta Star Master in Beige Canvas

Many of my dear readers might wonder why on the cusp of winter, I might choose to make a review of what is clearly a summer shoe.  The reason is quite simple, I had bought these shoes very nearly one year ago, and after a year of great service, I feel it is high time to share my thoughts.

Last year I had been shopping for a traditional pair of plimsolls and had run through a number of brands with various price points when I hit upon these great looks tennis shoes from Novesta.  The Novesta Star Master in beige canvas with a natural rubber sole is about as traditional a tennis as one could hope to find  - after all they have been making canvas and vulcanized rubber tennis shoes in Slovakia since 1939.  I take great interest in learning about the 80-year tradition of this company. 

I purchased mine from End Clothing, which is a great UK based retailer who has consistently given me wonderful service and great pricing over the years.

The unboxing:

Of course, Novesta makes a myriad selection of this shoe with different canvas colors as well as great-looking Corduroy and Suede options, many of which I find very tempting and do expect to enlarge my collection with in the future.  But to begin, I wanted to get a classic white shoe.  This particular canvas is a natural Ecru color cotton, which I think really accentuates the vintage nature of this plimsoles and makes for extremely easy matching.  Honestly, initially, I had planned to use these mainly as house shoes, pairing them with classic sweat pants from Kent & Curwen for a comfortable home/lounge outfit.  But, I came to love them so much, I couldn't resist incorporating them into my summer wardrobe.

On Court Performance:
I have actually used them for tennis play, wearing them at my local clay tennis courts and the performed remarkably well considering that we're looking at 1930s sports shoe technology.  One reason is the rather hard rubber sole with a very sharp edge corner, which really helps the fast lateral movements.  They really do work well as court shoes, although obviously, I would not want to run a mile in them.  And they looked great while doing it fitting the part with a classic wooden racket and Lacoste shirt.

Here are just a few of the many summertime outfits I've incorporated them into: