The Best Guide to Shoe Laces (and Lace Swaps) - LaceSpace

Shoe laces are the staple to your footwear and the common denominator across many brands of footwear, whether it be OG retros like the Air Jordan collection, the ASICS Gel Lyte III or the New Balance 1500, or modern tech shoes such as the Nike Air Vapormax and the adidas Ultra Boost. Below we have a definitive and detailed guide on all aspects of shoe laces, and lace swaps.

Shoe Lace Materials

The most common materials for shoe laces are cotton and polyester. Cotton has the benefit of being a natural fibre, so that it is easy to wash and is durable and soft. However it does have issues of quickly fraying with wear and washing. Polyester overcomes this issue, and where also durable, does not fray. However it does have issues of being quite firm and lacks breathability.

Our flat lace collection boasts a special cotton-polyester blend that aims to overcome the issues of each. This means they are durable, pliable and soft while also being easy to clean and not fray over time compared to pure cotton.

To level up to a more premium feel, waxed cotton shoe laces are also an option. The waxed layer provides a firmness and shine to the laces while also making them more water and stain resistant and keeping them looking crisp and clean for longer. Our waxed flat lace collection is one of most sought after, and is a staple in your collection. They also come with metal aglets to complement the more premium feel.

Then there is the crème de la crème - leather laces. Leather laces are the most luxurious laces you can put on your sneakers, so give those you love the most the pair of laces they deserve. Perfect for any shoe with a full-grain leather upper, such as Air Jordans and high fashion shoes like Saint Laurent, Common Project or Buscemi. Our leather laces are made with 100% lambskin leather, both supple and flexible, everything you need in a leather shoe lace.

Shape or Style

There are three main styles of laces - flat laces, rope laces (or round laces) and oval laces. Oval laces are almost entirely reserved for performance footwear, with most lifestyle shoes having either flat laces or rope laces.

Rope laces are great for an untied look and fill out the shoe nicely. They generally are a bit harder to tie, but once tied they hold very tightly due to increased friction. On the other hand, flat laces are great for a clean finish, a classic look and easy tying. They form small knots and bows and are versatile enough to suit any sneaker.

You can check out our flat laces and rope laces, all in different colours and lengths.

Shoe lace length

One of our most asked questions is "what is the ultra boost lace length?" and "what size are NMD laces?" The length of shoe laces comes down to the number of rows of eyelets (holes), as well as the width of the shoe. For most runners, including Ultra Boosts, NMDs, Vapormax, Gel Lyte III and all the in between, we recommend 36 inch to 43 inch. For tennis shoes like Stan Smiths, or Converse, or Vans Old Skool, we would recommend 43 inch to 50 inch depending on the size of your foot. For basketball shoes, we recommend 63 inch to make up the height of the shoe.

If you need further information, make sure you check out our detailed size guide for suggestions.

Aglets

The aglet of a shoe lace is the tip, the metal or plastic casing which stops the shoe lace from fraying excessively. Plastic aglets are great for a subtle and simple look and will do the job as required. For a more premium feel, check out metal aglets which are more durable and give some pop, as well as looking much cleaner. We have metal aglets available in gold, silver, gunmetal and black - check out our metal aglet laces for a full view.

Accessories for Shoes

There are a number of accessories available for shoes, including lace locks and shoe lace tags (otherwise known as dubraes). Lace locks hold laces together and prevent them from coming undone, reducing the need to tie sneakers.

Lace tags, or dubraes, go on the front of shoes, or on key chains or hooded jacket where the laces slot through. Our recently launched customisable dubrae service allows for you to tell us what you would like on your dubrae. We then take this and custom engrave it into premium metal dubraes in our Sydney warehouse.

Check out our dubrae/lace tag page for more information, as well as examples that others have done in the past.

How to lace your shoe laces

We have a detailed guide on how to thread and tie your shoe laces for the cleanest look, available on the website for download here

How to clean your shoe laces

We also have a detailed guide on how to clean your shoe laces on the website, available for download here.

So now that you have all the info you need on making your kicks unique, or just getting rid of those worst-ever stock laces, check out our entire collection of shoe laces on site. Remember to hit us up at support@lacespace.com.au for any questions you may have!

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