I‘ve just received my second pair of shoes. So my only problem is to decide which one to wear. Do I have to say more?
Btw, I’ll wear them with the green laces not only on St.Patrick‘s Day
Thank you Simone! And hear hear re. green laces on more than one day a year!
I love my new das cognac shoes and I’ve tried to follow the new-shoes advice of not wearing them every day at first, but that’s tough! -- They’re really pretty and they go with all of my clothes.
Great customer service, David was very helpful and kind, he answered my questions and even sent photos of the in-stock shoes.
I was between sizes and they’re a little roomy on my narrow feet, but fit comfortably with thick socks or my arch support inserts (thank you for making shoes with swappable insoles, they are hard to find!). The lining inside is very soft and smooth, and the leather is sturdy but comfortable; you can tell they are high-quality.
I love how the look of the cognac leather changes slightly with wear. The details like the stitching on the heel and the metal aglets are very nice too. One thing is I wish they came with the little black hole logo on the right side lace. I’ll be back for boots someday, and will watch for the brown shoes from Instagram too!
A belated thank you very much, Jordan, for taking the time to write all this! It's super good to see them on your feet and I'm glad the sizing works (probably safer we went for the roomier option given the inserts). The little black hole logo on the right side lace takes me waaaaay back - I don't think we've had it in our shoes for 6 or 7 years. But it's nice to know someone out there misses it :) Thanks again and not long now to wait for those brown shoes from instagram. / David
I love my new Whiskey the Wonder Boots. They are perfect.
I've had a pair of Das Sneakers for a while, and they have been great. I've worn them everywhere for the past 3 years. I wanted to take my athiesm to the next level, so I bought a pair of Whiskey the Wonder Boots two weeks ago. I can't say enough about them. I love a good pair of shoes, but these boots are the best I've ever had.
First, they look great. I love the style, the look of the leather, the stitching, the laces. Unique and timeless.
The comfort, however, is even better. I've read several reviews on this site saying "the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn." Well, these are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn.
I love them.
Also, great service from David, Nana, and the Athiest team.
Thank you, Athiest!
Dear Robert, thank you for your lovely feedback! It's heartening to be reminded that our shoes really are 'the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned', for some people; we have it written on a sign in our shop entrance, as a quote attributed to '- lots of people', and if a while goes by without us actually hearing it from someone's mouth, the we begin to feel a bit bashful about the claim, but then someone says it again and we feel less so :) We're very glad you came back for more and we hope the Whiskeys will give you as long and happy an experience as your Das Sneakers did.
A friend from Seattle showed me his Atheist shoes over the holidays. I've been a working craftsman my entire adult life and I responded immediately not just to the quality and feel of the leather, but the straightforward design and impeccable craftmanship. I went to the website, followed the simple directions to determine my size, and ordered a pair. To my surprise, what ensued was one of the most pleasant exchanges of emails that I've ever had with a company. David went out of his way to make sure I got exactly the pair of shoes I'd been wanting--and he did it with humor and kindness. The shoes arrived this morning. I put them on immediately and, honestly, I've never been more pleased with a purchase. They fit like a glove and are so soft that it almost feels like I don't have shoes on. And the color! All that is left for me to do at this point is decide which pair I'm going to get next. I can't recommend this company more highly. If you're on the fence--do it! You'll love them.
Thank you, Robert! Your kind words mean so much to us. Especially coming from a craftsperson. And thanks, too, for the photo. They look lovely in their new home (the colours!).
I love my new Das!? Don’t care what people think of the color, they feel and look great with jeans! Smooth leather and delivery to the US was fast!
Comfy!
Thanks David, Nana and Katrin!
They look lovely, Daryl! Thanks so much for the feedback.
I’m extremely passionate about discovering and investing in unique, well-crafted items…these boots are at the top of my list of favorite finds. The quality and comfort are beyond what words can describe.
The rest of the world can play their silly Jordan/Yeezy games…I’ll proudly sport my mismatched boots everywhere I go! My daily drivers for 8 years now with thousands of miles and hundreds of compliments ;) I’ve finally replaced them and it brings a big smile to my face knowing how much great use I will get out of this next batch!
Thanks David, Nana, Katrin, and the rest of the crew!
A very belated thank you, Scott, for your kind words AND for your advocacy of mismatched shoes. It was lovely to meet you again, an event recorded forever in this insta post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl89QXBszWT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I have purchased 4 pairs (3 boots and 1 sneaker) of these Atheist shoes over the past 7 years. They are stylish and so comfy! I have worn one of them almost daily since 2016. Needless to say, these shoes have taken a beating. They have maintained their form remarkably well. I've had the oldest two pairs resoled and polished, though I'll be replacing one of them soon...all good things must end. My cream sneakers were the only pair that didn't survive beyond a couple years, though their premature end was entirely my fault. (Lesson learned: 'Magic eraser' is a great sneaker cleaner; whitening stain remover is too strong and ends in a color-leaching disaster.)
Customer service has always been excellent with Atheist. I had an issue with an order once, but it was resolved promptly and fairly.
Atheist laces look quite nice in my opinion, and earlier issues with them breaking rather quickly seem to have been resolved in recent years through a combination of a stronger design/material and including extra laces with new shoes.
I can't speak highly enough of this company and their shoes!
2016! Incredible! Thanks, Brady! And for sure, those stain removers can be brutal. Sorry to hear your creams didn't survive it.
Thanks again, and until next time!
New Berliners: you will be walking a lot, so you need sturdy, well-made shoes. I stopped by the Atheist Shoes shop in Mitte. While I tried on different pairs for quite a long time, I greatly enjoyed talking with the people working there — the actual craftsmen and craftswomen who create these shoes and have fussed over every detail. Everyone I met in the shop was so kind and personable. They answered my many questions and made me feel secure about a pricier purchase than I normally spend on shoes. I’m glad I did — my leather boots (with two different laces, pink and cream) are breaking in beautifully around my weird wide feet and fitting better every day.
Atheist Shoes reminds me that shopping small means interacting with real people who care about their customers. Buying hand-made, artisanal quality products should be expensive — it’s worth it — and that’s what Atheist Shoes offers. But shoes aside, the people in the shop really sold me. I would have lingered longer just to talk if I hadn’t had places to go.
10 out 10 in both product quality and customer experience. Thanks for being so nice, particularly to this newcomer still working on my German. Danke!
Hey Alexander, it was our pleasure - very lovely to meet you and we're grateful for your kind words! What a generous thing, to take the time to write such a fulsome review - thank you, it means a lot. I hope Berlin is treating you well and we hope to see you again.
Got my first pair in 2018, second in 2019 and I wear them at every chance I get. When I first got a pair I would clean them every couple of weeks, now I think they age well either way and tbh now It looks like they've lived which in itself is kinda beautiful.
Sweet of you to leave feedback, Ali, thank you! Here's hoping they continue to age well.
I live in Southern California, and recently bought a pair of black leather shoes online from Atheist. This is my second pair - I bought my first when Atheist set up a pop up shop in Venice Beach many years ago.
Unfortunately, the United States Postal Service made a mistake and returned my order. When I contacted Atheist via email, I received great customer support from Katrin and David, both of whom made me feel great about the company.
I know their shoes are great - I always receive compliments when wearing them. Now I know the company also has employees who put their customers first!
I received my replacement order and I’ll buy again from Atheist!
Thank you Chen!
I'm really glad you got your shoes in the end, after that USPS kerfuffle. We never get to review our customers, but if we did I'd share that you were an absolute joy to write with from beginning to end. Thank you for your patience along the way - we're very glad you're one of our customers and we hope you'll be happy with your Holly Go Blacklies for a long time to come.
After admiring a pair worn by a colleague in Berlin, I brought my first pair (squashed frog) home to Canada 7 years ago. After years of happy hopping, comfortably and stylishly, I invested in pair of Holly GoBlackly. These solidly-made shoes span a wider range of occasions. Last year I dressed them up with ribbons for laces. These comfortable, stylish, and sturdy shoes still look fabulous, have lasted longer, and fit better than any other leather shoes that I have worn. Thank you for your commitment to quality, comfort, and style! (PS try them without socks!)
Dear Sidney, we're touched and grateful to read your words - thank you for taking the time to share! I can only heartily echo the call to wear our shoes without socks!! And I'm especially happy to hear they lasted so well relative to your other leather shoes; I think we'd choose softness of leather over ruggedness every time, so it's nice to learn that you're getting durability our of them as well as comfort. Ribbons for laces we have yet to try, but surely will. Thank you again.
I received my first order two months after placing the order, the box was soaked through and one of the pairs of shoes was wet, stinking and ruined. I later ordered a different pair of shoes in a different order, the payment went through and then I got an email from Atheist saying that those shoes were not available after all despite being listed as available on the website. Unbelievable. I hope you don't expect more than one star for this.
Hi Leonie,
It’s true, you had a double whammy of things going wrong, for which we’re sorry, and we have tried our best to fix things quickly.
Here’s a fuller account of what happened:
The shipping issue was pure misfortune - dare we say it, 'an act of god'. Somewhere, on its long journey to New Zealand, your package got soaking wet (which obviously shouldn’t happen) and was nearly destroyed. Water damage like that is exceedingly rare - we’ve seen it maybe 7 or 8 times in our 10 years of being in business and sending 10,000+ shipments worldwide. It may have happened in New Zealand, as there was an unusually long delay of a couple of weeks once your package arrived in the country. We would have loved to figure out exactly what happened but we would have needed your help and we did write asking if you could take closer photos of the labels on the damaged package. That would have allowed us to investigate properly and to make an insurance claim, but we never got a reply to that request.
Damage aside, lengthy shipping delays for intercontinental shipping have unfortunately been more common since the pandemic. And New Zealand Post recently gave out a warning that international packages inbound would be moving slower due to capacity issues at their end, something we only became aware of after your package was sent.
Once we heard about your wet package, we offered to refund you straight away or send replacement shoes - you chose the latter and we sent them immediately. I'm glad to see you received them much more quickly than the first time, with them only spending one day in NZ before being delivered to you.
What was totally inside our control and a mess-up on our part was that you were able to order a pair of shoes that were no longer available, having been bought by another customer in our shop, a couple of days before you ordered. We should have been quicker to update the stock levels once they were sold, especially as this was a model where we only had 3 pairs left. We did let you know about the error within a few hours of you ordering and we offered you another pair with a discount by way of apology. I'm glad to see this morning that you've accepted that.
Things can go wrong. And it particularly sucks that two bad things happened to you in such a short space of time. But I hope, despite all this, that you'll be able to enjoy your shoes.
Best,
Nana, Katrin & David
That's it. I've worn them one day, and they're the best boots I've ever owned. Worth every penny and then some.
Truly excellent quality, comfort, style- you name it, they've got it!
Ben, we're delighted to read this!
Thank you for taking the time. And we hope you'll continue to love the shoes!
Cheers,
Nana, David & Katrin
Hallo,
ich war vergangenen Donnerstag in eurem Shop in Berlin. Wir sprachen über meine knirschenden Schuhe von euch. Ihr habt mir ein Paar neue Einlagen, das Problem ist wohl behoben. Vielen Dank
Danke, Wolfgang aus Köln
Thanks so much for your feedback, Wolfgang! Happy to hear it worked out.
Really happy about my new pair of shoes. I love them and i'll probably buy a new one. Great experience about the contact with the staff, always kind, helpful and resolute. They answered all my questions.
Thank you so much and keep doing this, you're doing well!
Oh my, that is all so lovely to hear, thank you Borja! We're touched and we're very happy to hear you've had a good experience. Thank you for taking the time to write!
Enter your comfort system into a work shoe.
Thank you Robert, we appreciate the review!
Very comfortable. The sizing is true. The toe-box is roomy. I think I will get the boot style in cognac next. And of course I need something in black. Clean lines. Low heel. Kitten Testicle Grey? What a great name for the color.
I've been following the Atheist Shoes for years, more or less since their first kickstarter (was that 10 years ago? Really?!?)
I'd always wanted to try them, but for one reason or the other I kept faltering... then, this summer the offer on the "kittens" (one of my favorite colors) finally pushed me over the fence, and am I glad I did! The team's courtesy, the great communication, their awesome service (and free shoelaces in all colors!) impressed me even before receiving the shoes.
Then... I did receive them! And, as everyone says, I've been stunned by the quality of the materials and the level of craftmanship. Just check the pics, even my cats look impressed... well, at least one of them. But let me tell you, he's not a guy who's easily impressed!
Of course, with their extraordinary comfort, my Holly Goblacklies can go anywhere. But as my wife says, they are dress shoes and suitable for the most dressy events. Not only that, they answer that vexing question: How does a man spiff up a monochrome formal look now that men don't wear ties very much anymore? The answer is in the laces. Here, at the opening of NYC's Metropolitan Opera, after being closed for 18 months, and NY premiere of the important new opera "Fire Shut Up In My Bones," the Hollies make a striking fashion statement at an event with volumes of fashion dissertations.
Thank you for taking our shoes to all the best places, William! And for your beautiful, considered words. I love 'shoelaces-are-the-new-ties' - I couldn't agree more. And the Hollies somehow are our dressiest shoe - I don't understand why, but it's something about the mix of the leathers. You've inspired me to want to spiff up and take my shoes somewhere nice - I've pawned them off with a few too many date nights chez my sofa over the last couple of years. Time to get out there and add to the volume of fashion dissertations. Thank you again!
Danke Schoen for another pair of splendid sneakers!
I bought my first pair in Berlin in 2016 and wore them very little, keeping them pristine as though they were holy. I started wearing them recently and am convinced, all over again, they are the best shoes I’ve ever worn. The most comfortable and well made for sure. I’m fond of Marsel and Trippen and Uggs and Visvim and Crocs, all good footwear. But wearing your shoes is like prancing about town inside kid gloves - - on my feet!
Thank you again for a wonderful pair of shoes.
Dear Billie, you are most welcome! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts... 'like prancing about town inside kid gloves - - on my feet!'... lovely .) I'm chuffed that you managed to fall in love with your shoes all over again. And I do hope by now that you're not just keeping them pristine and are giving them a bit more regular rough and tumble (I promise you they can take it :) Thank you again!
A huge thank you for all of you, and Katrin for your handwritten note!
I received my 45 Holly Goblacky on august 31st, and they are just perfect! So beautiful and comfortable.
I already had a pair of Cognac Boots size 45 I bought in 2015, so choosing the size was not a problem for me.
I still did your sizing guide, which is really good and simple, and it confirmed that my size were 45.
And thanks for the additional laces!
I wanted also to say that your shoes are the most comfortable I've ever had!
Here are some pictures of my 6 years old Cognac Boots (with a nice patina) which have been repaired twice by a cobbler. Yeah, I wear them and love them a lot!
Once by adding a piece of sole to the heel, and a second time recently by gluing a new sole to the heel and toe.
The cobbler said that the leather and the whole shoe was of very good quality ;)
Thanks again for your work! Beautiful shoes made by beautiful people!
Thank YOU, Sébastien! We're so glad you like them :)
I have now owned a pair of these shoes for about 4 years or so. First, they are very comfortable. These are probably the most comfortable shoe I own. Second, I did not think I'd be returning to buy another pair but I must. My wife got these for me as a gift and if I could afford a closet full I would fill the closet. Just the best. It's a of these shoes we're made by God for God. But that would just be silly. :)
Thank you, Michael! We're honoured you came back for more. And I think we can live with 'Made by God for God' :) it's beautiful in some kinda democratising-divinity, anyone-can-be-god kinda way. If we're god, you're god, and we're glad to have made shoes for you.
There was a time when I eschewed shoes -- they were necessary to protect my feet, but nothing else. But three years ago, after guardedly purchasing my first pair of Atheist Shoes at the shop in Berlin, my life and my feet have become much better and happier! These shoes give new meaning to the word comfort -- they gently and lovingly embrace and support the feet, and make walking an unsurpassed pleasure. The styling is perfect -- the essence of "shoe" --- so that they make a very definitive fashion statement while being almost inconspicuous. Over the years, I have gradually expanded my shoe wardrobe to nine pairs of Atheists: the black boots and shoes are perfect for client and business meetings. The Holly GoBlacklies and Gentlemen Steppers are the envy of everyone when out at a restaurant, the theater or a concert. The Kitten Testicles are my all-around go-to shoe, perfect for any setting or occasion, and the ??!! and (soon to arrive) petrols and BRGs can be mixed or matched with serious or frivolous outfits for fun times. The relatively recent introduction of colored, durable laces is a brilliant and characteristically minimalist way of encouraging each model of shoe to blossom to its full potential: The Kittens, for example, are dignified with brown laces, and saucy with red! And, of course, when people notice and ask about my shoes -- I regard this as a sign of high intelligence -- I simply invite them to take a look at the sole!
Oops, I'm a month late to thank you for these kind words, William. I could have sworn I wrote a reply already, but no sign of it. At the risk of lavishing too much gratitude on you, thank you once again for the feedback - we really appreciate it and it has been a pleasure to shoe you. Kitten testicles are also my all-time-favourite, everyday, go-to, any-situation, great-leveller of a shoe. Grey for the win, in any situation!
I have received my shoes! They perfectly fit to my feet and feel so great. No doubt, I have tried them a shot a second time. That was excessively tight. Thank you so much for the entirety of your assistance with this buy. Much thanks to you for stunning client support.
You are too kind, Ehtisham - it was our pleasure and I'm happy it worked out so well!