Review: The Back to Hogwarts Collection from K-Swiss

by Nicole Olmsted · July 31, 2020

When I was first asked to review these House-inspired sneakers by K-Swiss, I was excited because who doesn’t love shoes? And more importantly, who doesn’t love geeky shoes? I have never tried a pair of K-Swiss shoes before, and these ones definitely did not disappoint. While these come in all four Hogwarts Houses, I received a pair in my house – Slytherin.

I admit I am a sucker for packaging, so I instantly fell in love with the shoebox. The box is a navy blue with very subtle House emblems covering the box. On the top of the box, we have a House crest with the Harry Potter logo. The sides of the box have the K-Swiss logo in gold and the crests of each of the four Hogwarts Houses. My favorite part was opening up the box to the print of a Golden Snitch and Daily Prophet–inspired tissue paper!

K-Swiss shoebox, top view

K-Swiss shoebox opened, with inside artwork details and tissue paper

Once I peeled back the tissue paper (carefully, so as to not rip it) to reveal the sneakers, my first thought was “Wow, I love these even more than I thought I would!” Undoubtedly, my favorite part of these shoes was all of the little details. The base of the Slytherin sneakers is black, and the material has a suede-like feel. For this reason, I will likely waterproof these before attempting to wear them outside.

The sides of the sneakers have stripes in the colors of Slytherin House – green and silver – and I loved that both House colors were included here. The backs of the sneakers have a brown leather-like backing with a small snake on the outside edge and “K-Swiss” in the Harry Potter font, which was one of my favorite little details! The soles are well-made. The laces of the sneakers have a silver base with notes of green and, to my pleasant surprise, came with a spare pair of fully green laces, allowing you to subtly change up the look of the shoes.

I usually don’t notice the tongues of shoes, but the one on these sneakers is really nice! It is thick and plush, making it really comfortable against the tops of your feet, and it is black-based with a thick silver stripe and an embroidered Slytherin-crest patch. Just when I thought I had noticed all of the little details, I went to put the shoes on and noticed the full-colored Hogwarts crest on the side of the shoe!

K-Swiss shoebox opened, displaying sneakers

Okay, so on the outside, these shoes are awesome, but how was the fit? I admit I was nervous they wouldn’t be comfortable based on feeling the insole, but I was pleasantly surprised! I definitely think I could wear these for an extended period of time; however, I don’t know if they would be my shoe of choice to wear for a long day walking around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal.

K-Swiss sneakers modeled, front

Overall, I am a huge fan of these. I cannot wait to incorporate these sneakers into my outfits and see how they wear over time. I do think one of the pros of being a Slytherin (apart from it being the best House, obviously) is that the color scheme of these sneakers is much more subtle and wearable in my opinion than those of some of the other Houses. So if you are someone like me, who likes to subtly incorporate Potter into your everyday look, I highly recommend you pick up a pair of these in your House!