God I love me some Zappos. While I was on there, trying to figure out how not to blow our entire monthly budget on new shoes for my fast-growing kids, I came across a brand called Cienta that was new to me.

The nearly 20-year old, eco-conscious Spanish children’s shoe label makes one of my favorite styles of shoes for girls — a summery slip-on canvas sneaker with a mary-jane style strap and a thick, flexible sole. It’s a style that does double duty as a sturdy playground shoe and a casual girls’ dress shoe that looks adorable with skirts and flowy dresses.

My near three year-old has been wearing her Ciento sneakers the entire week and hasn’t once complained or tried to rip them off halfway through the day. Plus, she likes to put them on herself. Mostly backwards.

You can bet I’m about to order a second pair for my older daughter,
although knowing her she won’t go for the classic navy when there’s pink
to be had.-Liz

Find children’s shoes from Cienta in toddler and youth sizes online at Zappos.