I’m back from my travels, which I will do a separate post on, but now I would like to finally talk about AGARE, my (relatively) new discovery.
I came across AGARE website in early spring. After reading an interview with Ignacio López Modrego, the founder of the company, I found out that AGARE is a family business named after Mr López Modrego’s three daughters – Ana, Olga, and Teresa. The sisters are now running the business, which is based in Illueca, a small town near Zaragoza in northeastern Spain. AGARE‘s target market is urban men and women aged 35-50, who are looking for casual, sporty, and comfortable shoes at a reasonable price.
AGARE To The Rescue
I owe the discovery of the company to my mother. All winter she had struggled to find a good pair of winter boots, that would be warm, but not too heavy. A lot of winter boots have heavy soles. Most people don’t mind if the boots are heavy, as long as they protect them from the cold and look presentable. If you have had a serious back injury, however, you don’t want to drag around too much weight on your feet. So the boots had to be light and sporty, with some elevation. Plus the leather had to be good and the lining warm, without making the foot too hot. And the design had to be tasteful (not boring, but not flashy either). The color was important. And the construction of the shoe. And the price had to be right. You’ve got to give it to my mom: she knows what she wants.
Great Boots
So, after watching my mom buy and return several pairs of boots, I took up the challenge to find her something that she would be happy with. She is not a big online shopper (even though I’m converting her), so when I suggested that we order two pairs of boots from AGARE, she was a bit hesitant. Not much convincing was needed, however. She had searched for too long and the boots looked and sounded too good.
We chose two models: “Alameda” lace-up ankle boot with fluffy fleece top and lining and “Nevada” short boot, also lined.
“Alameda” ankle bootie, in”sand” color.
“Nevada” short boot, in brown.
Ordering was breezy (payment through PayPal) and communicating with the company a pleasure. Ángeles, a representative, went out of her way to help me with color and leather options, as well as the exact measurements – to make sure that the fit was right. The boots were dispatched by post and arrived in good time. And, !tada!, both turned out to be great. Just as shown.
Besides boots, which were on sale for well under 100 euros, AGARE‘s summer collection is out, of course. I really like their platform ballerinas and sneakers. Spanishoegallery has already featured some of the AGARE sneakers here.
Feline “gold” and shimmer platform ballerinas from AGARE SS15 collection.
Cool, isn’t it? Bronzed leather sneaker from AGARE SS15 collection. Imagine wearing it with bronzed legs!
So, thanks to my mother’s particularity, I discovered another great Made in Spain shoe company that was thankfully willing to ship to Canada. Now my mom has a pair of boots that she really likes (she is thinking of giving the “Alameda” pair to me (yay!), as she herself prefers the “Nevada“). We are both looking forward to wearing the boots when the cold weather comes (and it will come before we know it). I’m happy and proud that I solved my mom’s problem by finding boots that are light, well-made, well-priced, practical and cute. Thank you, Ángeles and the whole team of AGARE!
AGARE employees at the company factory in Illueca. Photo courtesy: AGARE.
