Stepney Workers Club Osier S-Strike
Stepney has been a brand that I was first introduced to when End did a Collab with them awhile back. Something about their brand aesthetic gives me a sort of nostalgic feeling, not really sure why, but it reminds me of an elevated take on a casual-wear sneaker. After trying the Dellow & these, they have some pretty solid models in their lineup. Thank you to the folks over at @hartcopy @corlitotommy , & @stepney_workers_club for sending these over 🫶.
Materials: the uppers on these have a solid mix of a black nylon base w/ some leather & suede paneling t/o it. Starting at the toe cap, they went with a soft, black suede that feels pretty premium to touch. The suede wraps around the entire bottom half of the sneaker, but it splits into three panels on each side & also on the eyelets. Next up is the nylon, which feels a lot better than what you would imagine when you think of a nylon upper. It feels more sturdy & has had very minimal creasing at the time that I wrote this review. Next up, the leather hits... On the mid foot, there's an S logo in a cream-ish white w/ gold lettering that says 'Freedom of Sport'. You'll find more of the leather on the back heel with the SWC branding in gold. Lastly, on the tongue, it has an exposed foam on the edges w/ a tag that overlaps that shows their signature hand-shake logo 🤝. Overall, SWC really surpassed my expectations on these & the quality of materials they used were great given the price point.
Comfort/Sizing: the Osier S Strike is a pretty comfortable model. It has a nice squishy & stable feel on foot & the nylon used really molds nicely to your feet making the all around feel pretty comfy. In terms of sizing, I got these in my tts US 8 (41) and they're a pretty 1to1 fit, I'd recommend going w/ your tts, but half up if you want some extra room.
Overall Opinion: I'm really impressed with these tbh. I feel like where I live you don't see much of this brand, but it low-key feels better than some other brands that I have in the same price range. This design feels like an easy throw on & go pair, yet has a business/casual aesthetic as well.