Oh Tretorn, Where Art Thou?

I saw them in the LandsEnd catalog.  I saw them on some of your blogs as you reminisced about them in your younger years.  I even saw them on Zappos.com.  They were back: my beloved Tretorn tennis shoes.

 photo courtesy of Zappos.com

What wonderful memories I have of my many pair.  A few stand out: 

• The blue with whale print shoelaces (remember those???).  I used to dance when I was younger, and during one rehearsal of our company's production of The Nutcracker, the director grabbed one in a pinch to represent the real Nutcracker.  Our city's newspaper was there doing a photo shoot, and my blue Tretorn was all over the article!  I was so proud!
• The pink.  I worked as a waitress at Kanuga, in the mountains of N.C,during the summers of '85 and '86.  This is the wonderful place my family has summered every year of my life (visualize the resort in Dirty Dancing ).  The parties, the first real summer romances, the hikes around the lake, the "this is the BEST summer of my life - EVER!"
• The Madras. My college Tretorns that no one else had.  A boy I had a crush on always called me Tipsy, for the book Tipsy in Madras.  Alas, the flirting never evolved into anything else...

So you can see why I was so excited when I saw that LandsEnd had them at 30% off and free shipping.  How fun!  I can relive my create some new Tretorn memories!  I ordered the white on white as I thought they would be nice, Preppy casual shoes if I didn't want to wear my Eliza Bs.  I anxiously awaited their arrival, and when they did, I was so... disappointed.

You see, these are not the same marshmallow soft shoes I remember.  Gone is the scrumptious terry lining that enveloped your foot.  Gone are the almost "waffle weave" thick laces.  Even the logo has obviously gone on a diet as it is not the same robust "V" on the side.  The picture above is pretty much what I see in person.  I was heartbroken.

They are ok on the comfort end.  They are acceptable.  They don't offend me.  And they are the originals.  But they aren't my old, beloved Tretorns of the 80's and early 90's.  So I ask, dear friends, What would you do?

***Update... Checked the website at Zappos.com and saw lots of different views of the shoe.  They look just like mine.  Also, read quite a few reviews by others.  Those that remember the "good old days" had the exact same reaction I did.  Doesn't seem to matter where you buy them.