A few years back we discovered the brilliance of Smallfly on Etsy, which made cool lightning bolts and wings to lace onto the sides of your sneakers. And our readers went crazy for them--because you are all highly discerning shoppers with excellent taste, of course. But as often happens, small shops like that disappear (sniff) and we find similar products elsewhere, like in the shop Shwings.
From wings, lightning bolts and flames to moustaches, butterfly wings and edgy studded Shwings that look awesome on black high-tops or leather engineer boots, they just make last year's shoes a little more exciting for kids who, no, don't need a new pair one month later.
Also fun: the My Little Pony collection that my girls would flip out for from Rainbow Dash's cutie mark but I think Twilight Sparkle's wings are pretty awesome whether or not you're a fan of the show.
I love that it was founded by a dad-son team and that it's grown from a super small biz to hitting retailers like Nordstrom and Kitson. I think the wing or lightning bolt styles look particularly good on high-tops like Converse, though they work on regular shoes too. Just be sure to measure your kids' shoes and make sure the Shwing isn't bigger than the actual shoe.
Also, be sure your kids' shoes even lace-up in the first place; I almost ordered a pair for my daughter before I realized her shoe closet has entirely succumbed to the Velcro closure. I ended up with the moustache clip-on for the bottom of her shoes, though there are some "slot" Shwings made for velcro tabs too, and some clip options.
Stocking stuffer win. She won't even care that Gwen Stefani's son and Heidi Klum's kids are wearing them too.
Shop Shwings shoe embellishments for kids and save 20% off with code CELEB20%OFF through 12/31/14.
