Fays Celtic Choice

Review on Fayes Celtic Choice

I am pretty loyal to the brand Fays for my hard shoes over the years but never tried their soft shoe. Our local vendor (Siopa Brog) offered me a few popular soft shoe choices and the Fays Celtic choice.

I noticed instantly how they snugly fit to my arch. There were no gaps. Fays states that they are 100% leather on the sole with a Poron insole.  Poron is a cushioning material that is used in sports equipment and other sport shoes. It supposedly helps with comfort upon impact. There is definitely quite a bit of impact when Irish dancing and I could definitely tell quite a difference especially in the beginning break in phase.  My arches aren't the best in the world but these shoes make my feet look like they are.

As with most dancers, we have to check out the toe support.  It was a breeze going up on my toes.  I noticed the padding goes over the front of my toes and it gives my toes more support. That is my favorite part of this shoe.  There are no seams to pinch your toes or in the long run, seams to break down as you dance.

I have average sized woman's feet so I am always trying to find shoes that make my foot look smaller. Celtic choice makes my foot look narrow and neat. Who doesn't love that?

Another thing I noticed was that they were so much lighter than my previous shoes. Even my dad pointed that out and he hardly ever sees the difference in anything in dancing.  Haha!

Over time, I will admit they stretch out a bit,  I am a street shoe 7.5 or 8 and I got the 4.5. Make sure you get a very snug fit at the beginning or consult your teacher for advice.  This shoe has great heel grip as well.

Oireachtas Champion, Victoria Schull, wears them after they were recommended to her.

She is a street size 7 and she bought a 3.5. 

        "Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life."

Check them out at your next feis. What shoes do you love wearing? Do you stay loyal to one brand?

Comment below or on any of my social media sites. 

Click here for more information 

Fays website

Siopa Brog 

To Tape or Not to Tape?... An Irish dance question.

Do you tape?  Is tape even necessary?

When I competed this year at the North American Nationals, I did not line my hard shoes with the white tape.  When I looked back at the pictures, my feet did not look neat and clean. In addition to that, my dress is a bit too long so I think it made me look shorter than I really am.

Also, I really like the way the white tape looks on stage.
I guess I just answered my own question: I am taping my hard shoes from now on.

Something else I noticed at NAN's was that a lot of girls were taping their soft shoes, too I really liked the way it looked. The tape makes  the leg look really lean  especially in the back as it blends with the sock.  .

It is interesting to think that socks are getting shorter on the leg and now we must tape the shoe to make the leg look longer.  Can  Irish dance have anymore weird trends?

I also saw a lot of girls who used white laces on their soft shoes.  For me, I tie my laces around my shoe several times and I like that the black laces blend in.  I'm thinking white laces might be too distracting.  What do you think?

I was wondering what you thought of the white tape on the ghillies?
Leave your answer in the comments!

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. " ~Edwin Denby

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 Bella

My Ryan ODonnell soft shoes

More about the company...

This is strictly my opinion about my newest soft shoes. 

A lot of questions have been asked around Tumblr about the newest soft shoes by Ryan & O'Donnell.

 Are they good quality? Do they stretch a lot? What size should I get?

I wear a street shoe size 8 and I got the 5 1/2. They do not stretch very much. My advice to you would be to get a size that is only a tiny bit small and then by the time that they have been worked in completely, they will fit perfectly! I bought my pair in May of this year and they still have that new soft shoe arch. They are extremely comfortable and it feels like I am not wearing soft shoes because of the weightless effect. The extra hole on each side of the shoe helps me arch my foot a little bit more if you bring the strings from the inside out. It makes a big difference! My heels have experienced no blistering and the usual painful process of breaking in new shoes is eliminated.  I noticed the gel inserts at first but now I am not even aware of them anymore.

To the people who have BIG calluses or bunions on the side of your big toe, BEAWARE! I have one callus and it tends to slide into the very top left hole on my right foot and tends to blister.  Band Aids or a slim moleskin easily stop the problem.

I am pretty hard on my shoes and I have noticed that they do not scuff or tear easily.. at least so far.

My other soft shoes have the Hullachan Pros. I've been pretty loyal to those shoes for the past 4 years.  

Overall, these are my favorite pair of soft shoes that I have ever  had. I will definitely recommend them to other Irish Dancers. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I would give these shoes a 91/2.

What shoes do you have?  Would you recommend them?

"Give a girl the right shoes and she will conquer the world"

                                                                                                  -Marilyn Monroe