Cheap Summer Sneakers

Yesterday I found myself in Old Navy, a store I rarely visit. But sometimes even stores where you don't normally shop are worth a look. For one thing, there are a lot of promotions and discounts in ON stores that are not available on their website. This sort of practice can be confusing, but it's done to draw customers into the stores.

For summer, I've become devoted to simple canvas sneakers like Vans. (I briefly tried wearing sandals, but they're not for me.) They are relatively inexpensive, are wide enough to fit my problem feet, look good with shorts, and come in lots of interesting color choices.

While poking around the store, I found that ON is currently offering a sneaker that looks exactly like a Vans Authentic, except it doesn't have a tag sewn onto the upper or a rubber logo patch on the heel. So what? They're $25 a pair, about 60% of what a pair of Vans typically costs.

Then I saw the sign: sale price $15. That's lunch money. Among the color choices they had, a nice bright blue caught my eye. I don't have anything like it. And when I got to the cash register, the shoes rang up at $10! I don't know if that applied to all the colors, but I wasn't about to question it.

There are as many as eight different colors available; of course, the selection is going to vary by store. There's off white, a creamy beige, gray, the bright blue, red, a sort of dusty olive, navy, and black. You could get two or three of these in different colors, or two or three of the same color to have a clean pair in reserve. Even at the $15 sale price, who cares how long they last? (Here's a tip: if you rotate among several pairs, they all last longer.)

They have a nicely cushioned insole that is lined in cotton (the rest of the inside is too), so these are going to be decently comfortable to wear without socks. Also worth mentioning: they are only available in whole sizes (up to 13), which isn't really a big deal for a casual kick-around shoe.

Remember, this deal is not available online. You'll have to visit your local Old Navy store, but in this case I think it's worth it.