Colline Review – Italy’s First Barefoot Shoe Brand

Colline is an Italian brand striving to create simple shoes for small children with sustainable materials. They just launched their first collection this summer with 4 styles in a few beautiful leather colors, and have since release a fall/winter line. Get to know this new brand here!

Meet Colline

The brand Colline was founded by Charles, a dad who transitioned to barefoot shoes and wanted to start his kids off on the right foot so they wouldn’t need to experience the adverse effects of conventional footwear. With the help of an engineer and renewables expert, Colline was born. Everything is handmade in Tuscany, Italy and uses leftover leather pieces from luxury Italian brands – how cool is that! Let’s dig into the details of this first Italian minimalist shoe brand for littles, taking a close look at 2 of their styles.

Sizing & Fit

Colline shoes fit average to wide straight feet that don’t narrow in the middle and are offered in sizes EU 18-26. The toebox shape isn’t too sloped so they should fit most foot shapes. My son’s feet are a perfect angled slope and he has quite a bit of extra space in front of toes 2-5. They are all high volume, except they’re low above the toes due to how they’re constructed.

When choosing a size for shoes with top stitching construction, I prefer to leave a smaller amount of extra space in toddlers since there’s already an extra bit of sole in front (so they don’t trip). The size chart from Colline indicates recommended foot length, as well as a printable option to make choosing a size easy.

Learn how to measure your child’s feet here!

Colline Nido Review

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$69 | Leather | Sizes EU 19-26 | 6mm Sole | Handmade in Italy

The Nido is a simple leather loafer with a two tone design on the heel. It comes in 3 color combos, and the leather on the front is really soft and unlined. The heal area is multi layered so it’s slightly sturdier than the front – which means it stays up on it’s own making these easy to put on. My 3 year old can even do it himself! There’s hidden elastic inside as well that keeps them on, even if they’re a little big around the ankles.

The 6mm Vibram sole is thicker than I prefer for littles, but it does flex with my son’s foot just fine when he walks. I expect the ground feel is minimal, however. I manually rolled the sole around in my hands first to help soften it up first and it really improved the flexibility. Overall, they’re a win for us because my picky toddler will wear them AND loves that he can put them on independently.

Colline Ballerina Review

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$69 | Leather | Sizes EU 18-26 | 6mm Sole | Handmade in Italy

These ballerinas are adorable! The silver leather makes a bold statement and the removable ribbon at the back of the heel just makes them that much more precious.

This metallic leather is a little stiffer to start with than the blue and I recommend stretching the area over the toes before wearing since there is not much vertical space (a handle of a wooden spoon works well for this or even just your fingers). You can also stuff the toe box with something firm overnight. Below, you can see how much vertical space I gained in the toe box with just a couple minutes of stretching.

The strap has a functional buckle with hidden elastic and while again the sole is thicker than I would usually put on a baby, they are lightweight, pretty flexible, and really darling. I’d love to see a soft sole option from Colline in the future on the littlest sizes for non-walkers.

Ordering from Colline

Colline ships to most places around the world and unworn shoes can be returned for a full refund and for any reason within 100 days (customer is responsible for return shipping).

Conclusion

Colline is taking high-end leather destined for the landfill and turning it into functional footwear for littles and that is an idea I can get behind. I am looking forward to watching this new Italian company grow and expand their product line in the future.