Real Talk: Why I’m Not Sleeping on the Vomero
In 2023, there’s really no excuse to sleep on the Having returned to the shelves once again, this performance-turned-lifestyle superhero has anything you could ever want in a shoe: it’s comfortable, has stacks of colourways and even to boot. From where I’m standing, once you go Vomero, you can never go back. Here’s why.
Here’s to Feeling Good, All the Time
Nike’s Zoom Vomero franchise has always been praised for its comfortability, and it’ll only take you stepping into a pair to know why. I mean this by no stretch of an exaggeration when I say that the Nike Zoom Vomero 5 is by far the most comfortable shoe I have stepped into this year – a fact I was reminded of when I acquired the
Originally poised as a simplistic yet reliable runner when first introduced in 2011, it’s fully equipped with Zoom Air cushioning in both the forefoot and heels. In layman’s terms, they’re super lightweight with a wide toebox (and this is coming from someone with a narrow foot), and they basically give me a bounce, or should I say zoom, in every step.
Being someone who identifies as being in an open relationship with sneakers (yes, I’m romantically involved with multiple brands), I’ve got a feel for how different sneakers size up for my feet. And it got me thinking: with a shoe as good-looking, comfortable and accessible as the Nike Zoom Vomero 5, how could anyone pass it up? Let alone choose it over something like the adidas Samba, which isn’t even easy to get in the first place.
Given that I’m at a point in my life where comfort matters, where it’s more of a necessity rather than a maybe, my Vomeros ticked a very important box for me – with a big, bold (and shiny) Swoosh.
It’s a Lifestyle
Considering that I’m indefinitely in my lazy era, it’s pretty un-ironic that I’d be so obsessed with a performance-turned-lifestyle shoe. But I guess that gave us something to bond over.
Over the years, the Vomero has seen a slow and steady transformation, bringing it to a whole new category for a whole new purpose: to look damn good. While still technically a runner that’s great for physical activity, the Zoom Vomero 5 has comfortably found its place within day-to-day rotations and not just for runs or sessions at the gym.
Of course, runners worn for everyday wear is no new move for most people, but the Vomero does it differently, and Nike made sure of that. This year alone, the Nike Zoom Vomero 5 has seen over ten colourways, dressing the silhouette in just about every shade there is, from bright blues to deep reds and many hues in between. They’ve basically made it possible to have a pair for just about every outfit – an attribute only the best fashion accessories are able to possess.
And for me, the ‘Metallic Silver’ were among my most sought-after shoes to release this year. Once they’d come into my vision, I was a woman on a mission. For days on end, I’d scour the relevant channels for release details, wondering when they’d finally land in my region. I waited patiently – patience, I admit, that I hadn’t practised in a long time. But as they say, good things come to those who wait… although I was this close to copping the ‘Cobblestone’ or the ‘Wheat Grass’ beforehand.
But, alas, I waited – and oh, was it worth it. Upon opening the box, they were even shinier than I had hoped. The ‘Metallic Silver’ panels stood loud and proud, the laces were chunkier than I could have imagined, and they were just begging to be thrown on-foot.
If money grew on trees, I’d probably own at least five colourways more at this point.
A Women’s Win
And that brings us to our next segment. Even if I wanted to actually buy five more colourways of the Vomero, I’d have little struggle doing so. And that’s because so many of Nike’s recent Vomero releases so far have been women’s-skewed.
Given I’m a female in the sneakerspace with what I consider a pretty regular-sized foot – not overly small or big – I find I sit within the middle space of the sizing scale, meaning that sometimes I miss out on drops because my foot is a centimetre too small to make the size run or availability. I can only imagine I’d probably like the Zoom Vomero 5 a little less if the size runs all started from a men’s US 7 and up – sneaker sizing animosity is real.
But fortunately, the reality has been the opposite, and for so many of the drops (as seen above), women (and anyone with a small foot, for that matter) have been prioritised, allowing us to actually be able to spend our hard-earned on a pair (or two) of Vomeros. For this reason alone, I’ll always have fond memories of the time in 2023 when Nike made it possible for me to shop some Zoom Vomero 5s with ease.
Here’s to much more of that in the near future.