REVIEW: Groundies Melbourne

My Groundies barefoot + Melbourne sneakers came. First impressions are great. The leather is buttery soft and it’s by far the widest shoe I have tried. I actually no longer own/wear any other shoes other than VFF and earth runners.

I was curious when I saw the groundies barefoot + because I love the look of their sneakers but knew their regular barefoot width would be too narrow for me. The width of these are great. The heel area is slightly wider than I’d like but not a deal breaker—we will see after I wear them out and about if that changes.

They are wide in the toe box and mid shoe but don’t feel overly wide in the mid shoe. If you have super narrow heels you may find that area too wide, mine are average-narrowish but not super narrow and so far I haven’t had any issues, but I will update if I do.

I have low to average volume but think these would be fine for someone who has higher volume feet. My feet can FULLY SPLAY . For someone like me who hates squishy feet shoes but loves shoes to change up my outfit looks, style etc. but hates to feel like your toes are being confined and can’t fully splay, definitely consider these!

Sizing: My usualy size depends on the brand and shoe style but typically I'm a 40 or 41. Honestly I usually fall between those sizes but very few brands carry half sizes. In the Groundies, I ordered a size 40 (measurements from their size guide 26.3 cm length, 10.0 cm width). A lot of times I’m in between sizes and most barefoot brands do not offer half sizing so I always go for the larger size. These feel like they are the right size for me. Hope this was helpful!

Feet details: 25x 10.2

Volume: low/average

Shape: gentle slope/ mountain-ish

Heel: avg-narrowish

Pros:

• Buttery soft leather

• Extra wide toe box

• Will work for low, medium, and high volume feet

• Thin and flexible sole

• Cute & stylish

Cons:

• A bit too wide in the heel

Nini Lopez Aylworth is owner of The Snack Mama, organic edible cookie dough and DoTerra Wellness Advocate.