Sperry Top Siders

The true Authentic Original Boat Shoe with a bit of flair. I’m not sure when this style came back but it has run ramped on the east coast and in the dirty south. I have never really ever sported a pair of these shoes so I cannot comment on the comfort of these classics but by the amount I see everywhere they gots to be comfortable. My cousins wear them and they are all pretty hip or at least they believe they are hip.

What I love about the shoes are the elements that make them. The classic hardware, the rich leathers, and the best are the sipped out soles. Non skid slip proof outsoles that are typically white. Hampton’s What Up?!?

A Brief piece of history provided by http://www.sperrytopsider.com/text/about/history.jsp

In 1935 Paul Sperry invented the world's first and most enduring boat shoe. Where all other footwear brands have laid claim to every inch of terra firma, from the highest snowcapped peaks to the lowest desert valley, from baseball diamonds to basketball courts, Sperry Top-Sider has flourished by helping all who love the water master the world's final frontier... the oceans, lakes and streams of Planet Earth.

Surprisingly, the Sperry Top-Sider story begins with a cocker spaniel named Prince. On a raw winter day in New England when avid sailor and hobbyist inventor Paul Sperry let out his dog for its daily exercise he noticed that Prince was remarkably stable, even at a full run on the snow covered, icy crust.

An idea was born.

Paul raced back to his laboratory to begin working. Soon, with pieces of rubber, a razor blade and an ordinary sneaker, Paul had pieced together the prototype of the world's first boat shoe. Subsequent designs yielded the original Sperry Top-Sider now known as the Authentic Original.

Today, that heritage and performance are hard at work for those who can't live without the water. Sure, our shoes are still standard issue for most sailors. In fact, the Authentic Original is part of the US Naval Academy casual uniform.

Clark Wallabee

Sorry for the long awaited post.  I have been down and out.  Unfortunatley, not in Beverly Hills.  I hit two major cities in two weeks.  Chicago first and then Denver.  It's been 80 + degrees in San Diego and it was snowing in Denver.  Talk about some dramatic change in temperature.

Anyway, I want to talk about a true classic.  The Authentic Original Clark Wallabee.  This thing has made so much impact on the footwear world.  Everything from the butt stitching on the upper to the gum rubber out sole.  I just can't say enough about these shoes.  Complete Icons for every decade and age.

If you don't have a pair as of yet get a pair.  They will not disappoint.

JLew

Osiris is the Dopest!

Osiris is the dopest! I first heard those words in 1999. My roommate in San Diego at the time was Matt Manuel. Matt and I have been good friends since the late 80’s. I was a year ahead of him in school. Fast forward a bit, I went to school in the south and Matt stayed in Maryland and attended Maryland University as a Terp. Let’s hop forward a few more years and Matt moves out to California and becomes my roommate. The year that Matt moved to San Diego he had a job as a buyer at World Core which was a surf shop in La Jolla. So he and I headed to the ASR trade show that year for his work. Matt was on the quest for a new job and I was in tow as a friend as well as a spectator. I really went to check out the REEF Girls. Long story short Matt landed a Job with Osiris.


Osiris is a nitty gritty skate brand that stays true to its core customer. Each year they continue to bring product that is demanded and it never falls short of getting stale. They often push the bar on fashion, style and skate. Over the years I have seen some crazy shoes that they have done. One year they did a high top sneak covered with patent leather and graphics on it of a banana.

Back to my Long story which I’m trying to make short. Osiris was passing out a mix CD that some DJ made for free. I was pretty excited to get it into my car on the way home. I put it on and turned up the sound, for the first 5 minutes, the intro was OSIRIS IS THE DOPEST all scratched and mixed up with a crazy hip hop beat thumping in the back ground.

One final note I wanted to show how fashion transcends from brand to brand and from category to category. Yesterday I shared the Kanye/ Louis V. collaboration and today these Osiris are not to far off what we just saw. I took this photo on my blackberry at this year ASR Spring 2010 show. I stopped by the ASR trade show to see a friend who has just launched his own sunglass company (www.raenoptics.com) and walked around the expo. That place is crazy to say the least.



JLew

Louis Vuitton and Kanye West.

The day is not over until you see the Sneak of the Day.


Everybody is getting in the game of partnerships even your boy Kanye West. He now has collaborated with Louis Vuitton to make a sneaker pack that is some what crazy but also incredibly cool. I personally am having a super hard time putting my head around the Louis/ Kanye collaboration. I could see Nike, adidas, Supra, Bape, etc, etc. Coming together for a package of shoes but when it comes to LV I think nothing but the best. You know the whole Dom Perignon thing. But anyway after taking a look at a few of these shoes they did a great job and they are super ill. So take a look and notice the price tags. Hefty price tag, huh, possibly a back to school option?

Kanye West for Louis Vuitton - Jasper’s - $1140

Kanye West for Louis Vuitton - Jasper's - White $960

DC Shoes

Sorry for the delay on postings but I was at the 2009 Chicago Marathon.  I always judge my trips on how I feel when I get home.  Let's just say it's the second of day being home and I am still beat up.  I'll get myself back together.  I went out just a bit ago and slugged out a few miles and am now sitting at my desk.

Anyway back to Sneak of the day.

photo courtesy of Hypebeast.

DC Xander TX seen above will retail for $120 in November 2009.

DC shoes definitely top the charts on the skate footwear front. They have made cutting edge shoes for the skate industry for years. Kenny Block, and Damon Way of San Diego, California started the brand in 1993 and have been making some of the dopest shoes in history. These guys have not only turned the skate channel upside down, but they have expanded into other categories. You can now find DC Shoes in multitude of footwear categories: BMX, Surf, Snowboard, and some of the most rad lifestyle shoes on the market. My personal favorite is a pair of black vulcanized quilted leather kicks that I sport in the winter time.

As mentioned before DC has expanded into lifestyle, with that being said they now have a new category called DC Life. The above shoes were originally spotted during the tradeshow season. They are part of their new “High Visibility” pack which consists of the brand’s Xander TX and Admiral TX. I’m not to familiar with the shoes above since I have never laid a hand on them yet. But I would for sure kick it in them with a pair of dark denim jeans and a Black V Neck T-shirt. Original JLew style!

photos courtesy of DC Shoes

The DC Dress Sneaker in Black and Copper....

Check out the Ken Block DC Video.



Here is a crazy video you need to check out.  Ken  Block is not only the owner of DC Shoes but he also is a well respected Rally Car Racer sponsored by Monster Energy Drinks, Subaru and of course DC Shoes.  He also is always experimenting with things in his car.  Check out his Gymkhana video like Tokyo Drift on Steroids and Crack!




Of course this is what made them who they are today. The true DNA of the brand.

Zoot Sports

I found a photo on my Buddy Dave Jewell’s facebook page of what I believe is a SS2010 lightweight/race trainer by Zoot. I’m not really sure what the name of this Zoot Beauty is or if they really are from the SS2010 season. As a tidbit of information when you’re head of product sometimes you get to preview stuff that is never even made. But these shoes look sweet. Here is my interpretation of the Zoot Bumble bee shoes that I found.

Like I mentioned earlier I’m guessing that these shoes are from there 2010 footwear collection. They have a simplistic minimal upper which is almost like a slipper. The shoes only seem to have one overlay right at the toe box of the shoe. I’m sure they feel pretty amazing walking around barefoot in the shoes. Zoot actually refers to the technology as Barefit (Bare-Fit - constructed for sockless wear, the lnings are a Dri-Lex fabric with anti-microbial Smart Silver to battle moisture, odor and to reduce hot spots; Tri-Dry technology limits water retention in the shoe; Patented Quick-Lace system for speed of entry with a single-handed pull; CarbonSpan+ provides smooth and powerful toe-off; Asymmetrical perforated neoprene panel ensures excellent fit and quick entry while maintaining breathability). Info courtesy: www.zootsports.com

The mid sole seem to be single density foam with some minor flex grooves in the outsole. All the flex grooves seem to be in the right place for a quick heel to toe transition. The outsole has a carbon rubber outsole in all the right places. With some with blown rubber to keep these shoes light and fast. The flex grooves look like they are going to allow the foot to flex and move with the upper. This Zoot beauty seems to be made for race day for that mid foot striker. Dave thank you for allowing me to share the photo and if you would like to make any comments we would love to hear from you. Also, congratulations on your new roll at Zoot and welcome back to sunny San Diego! http://www.zootsports.com/

Air Jordan Fridays! Air Jordan III

Air Jordan III

1987-1988 was an outstanding year for Michael Jordan performance wise. Mj won the Slam Dunk contest, All Star MVP, All-Defensive First Team and Defensive Player of the Year. Through all this success, he was wearing the Air Jordan 3.


Peter Moore (which designed the Air Jordan I and helped on the II) was let go from Nike, as well as Bruce Kilgore. When they had left, Peter and Bruce were trying to convince Michael to leave Nike with them, good thing MJ said no. Now Nike needed a new designer to make the Air Jordan III. So they went to world famous Tinker Hatfield. His name is known mainly for designing Air Jordan III-XV, and also making a return on the AJ XXs, but Tinker also designed some really nice Nike’s as well. Tinker and Michael worked hard, talked to each other on what were good ideas, and what could “work”. Michael wanted a lightweight shoe, with a lot of durability. So with the Air Jordan 3 they both decided to make them a Mid top, the first mid top to be seen in the Air Jordan line. On the AJ III model Tinker placed the famous jumpman logo on the back of the shoe, and adding in a “elephant print” on the toe box. Also the IIIs were the first AJ to have a visible air-sole unit.

The inspirations for the AJ III are AJ I and II, the free throw dunk, an elephant, and last, but not least Michael Jordan. Nike’s selling strategy was simple, and great, they had MJ and Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee). After watching these funny commercials you had to go out and buy yourself a pair.

In 1987-1988 when the Air Jordan 3s just released they sold for $100.00. In 1994 when Nike re-released the AJ III they retailed at 105.00, but just like the AJ I and II models, they hit sales racks. In 2001 and 2003 when the Air Jordan III released one more time, the price tag was $100.00.

Michael Jordan and Spike Lee

Info courtesy of: Sneaker Files.

EB Lydiard Marathon Running Shoes 1970 9.2 oz

The below photo was taken by my Blackberry and these shoes were spotted on the wall of Encinitas Movin Shoes. Karl Brandt and the older boys have a pretty cool collections of sneaks from their running days.

During a tour of Germany in the late 1960s, famed New Zealand runner and coach Arthur Lydiard met with craftsmen from the EB company who shared his vision of making a running shoe that wouldn't pinch and blacken a runner's toenails and would relieve stress on the Achilles tendon. Lydiard knew it was possible, as he was running 100-plus-mile weeks in shoes with an ample toe box while many of his compatriots had toes that were a greedy podiatrist's dream. The soft, one-piece kangaroo leather upper of the Marathon had plenty of wiggle room for the toes, and a built-in heel cup held the rear of the foot firmly in place. The shoes launched in 1970, and became available in the U. S. in 1974. They never caught on in a big way, partly because of the $32 price tag, more than twice the cost of other running shoes of the time. Lydiard also developed a 4-ounce racer in 1974 and in 1984 helped Converse develop a couple of very nice shoes.

Photo complitments of Joe Rubio of  http://www.runningwarehouse.com/

Seriously the order form to order the EB Lydiard shoes in the back of the May 1977 Runners World Magazine.  Fill out the information and send off and hope in a few months you get what you ordered.  Crazy!  That was the early days, now we do it all by internet, how did we live without it?

JLew