I have decided to sum up my experience with Maians for you. I have written about this Barcelona-based, ancient seaport inspired casual footwear producing company several times (here, here, here and here). Since first posting about it, I have now amassed a small collection of Maians shoes, purchased through different channels.
I got my first Maians, the “Aurelia” cotton mesh plimsoll sneaker, in May 2014 directly from Barcelona, after seeing that the Canadian distributor’s store, LiveWStyle, did not have the model I wanted.
The “Aurelia“, with its breathable upper, moderate wedge, and neat fit turned out to be great for the tropics. Here I am wearing the sneakers while standing on the stones of the oldest town in the Americas: Santo-Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“Aurelia” also goes well with a short dress. The grey suede trimming gives it that bit of sophistication needed for the evening (mosquito bites, on the other hand, do not).
Exactly a year later, I fell in love with the “Ines” peep-toe mesh plimsoll. There were many different colors and color combinations available and the options for purchasing were a whole lot better. There was the Maians America website, specifically created for customers in North America, there was Maians Russia (I could have had it purchased and delivered by a trusted person), and then I discovered that “Ines” was also being sold through a Canadian shoe shopping site SHOEme.ca. I finally went with SHOEme.ca, because it had the color I wanted (red with blue trimming), the lowest price and free shipping.
I am totally in love with this shoe. It is elegant, festive and very comfortable to wear.
Since September 2014 I’ve also had my eye on “Remedios” mesh ballerina. I wanted a navy color, but the North American sites only had black or brown, at least by the time I started looking. The best choice of colors was available at Maians Russia. The navy color in my size was gone very fast, but they had this really vibrant yellow, a color that is so in fashion this summer that it made me look twice and realize that it would not look at all bad on my feet, especially with a bit of a tan.
These turned out to be a joy to wear – the color lifts up my mood, the stiff mesh (much stiffer than the one on “Aurelia” and “Ines“) provides good support. These simple ballerinas look good with practically any summer wear. I noticed that many girls were checking them out.
So far, so good. Actually, better than good. I’m a total Maians junkie now. A few tips for future owners:
What NOT to do: in my zeal to get orange earth stains out of the “Aurelia” sneakers, I rubbed them too hard with a brush and some soap. Result: stains not gone, but mesh torn. Also, the suede part bled a bit of bluish color. The construction is still intact, because the mesh has a layer of material supporting it, but, alas, they are no longer perfect.
Also, if you have light-colored plimsolls and like to go on long outings in the heat and humidity of the tropics, don’t wear red nail polish.
No, this isn’t blood where the big toe is supposed to be. It’s my “Miami Red” nail polish.
Basically, follow the care instructions (which I obviously didn’t) and use a moderately wet sponge (the soft side of the regular dish washing sponge, for example) to lightly wipe dust or dirt from the mesh immediately after you take off your Maians. If the shoe has suede detailing, try to not get water on it. Overall, even if your Maians do not appear dirty, do freshen them up to remove the layer of dust after every use. After all, it’s cotton mesh, not sleek waterproof leather and you want it to last.
To sum up, I highly recommend Maians, based not only on research and reviews, but on my now relatively extensive personal experience. They have a terrific men’s collection too. It is also a great Made in Spain story: their distribution network keeps growing!
As for me, I now need a new pair of “Aurelia” sneakers!
Cheers,
Ann
