This is a review of the black/white velcro style. Any parent will tell you, velcro rocks over ties. But since velcro is so easy to deal with, it's great to have my son put on his own shoes. Trouble is, the tongue on these shoes is kind of narrow in that it has to be aligned just right or one of the other edges pushes up (I hate that). It also seems like the in-step is a little to snug in that the strap doesn't exactly stretch. If the shoes "give" more with wear this may work it self out but I worry the straps will give out first (a problem with other shoes in similar style) in tugging them to make them secure enough. Again, it would be nice if the tongue tucked in a little better. Since we just got these it's hard to tell how sturdy they will be as of yet but that was my 2nd reason for buying them so it remains to be seen how they hold up.