Kicks I’m feeling right this minute

Reebok Pump and Nike Air Flow. But Nike needs to come with better colourways for the Air Flow. That’s a diamond in the rough right there.

I’m still a Nike head, but…

 For me, Nike are still up there for sports shoes. They’ve seen off most competition over the decades. The demographic profile of their core audience has remained the same: inner city kids aged 10-25. Their designs have remained the same as well. This however, is not necessarily a good thing in my eyes. How many times can one repaint a classic?

The Air Max family, namely Air Max 90, Air Max 1 and Air Max 95 are classics. They were immediate classics when they came out. Classics are timeless, but you can overcook the perfect meal. How many colourways of the Air Max 90 have you seen? Every month I see a “new” version. Essentially it’s just different colours. Sometimes it’s the same colours, just a slightly different arrangement: Red, yellow black or black, red, yellow. The same applies to the other Air Max shoes I mentioned. It’s like a James Brown classic being remixed a thousand times. What is the point? It’s overkill. There are a few ways of looking at this.

1.    There is nothing wrong with doing a thousand colourways of the same shoe. The fact that there is still an audience willing to pay £89 for a shoe made in 1990 which is losing its novelty by the day, justifies this. It is evidence Nike are doing the right thing. A strong brand with a timeless classic.
2.    On the other hand it could mean Nike are showing a lack of consideration for their more discerning fan base. I myself have accumulated a few Air Max 90’s over the years. How many more do I need? I’m bored of them. I want to see new gems from Nike. I feel cheated still having to pay £89 for a 1990 shoe as well.
3.    Maybe Nike need to employ new designers. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t take a design guru to come up with a grey, black and white pair of Air Max 90 this week and then a navy, black and red shoe the following week.

Call me selfish, but I feel the discerning Nike customer [and yes I put myself in that bracket], who was there from day one making the aforementioned Air Max a classic, is being overlooked. Don’t get me wrong, different colourways sometimes titillate old heads, but when there are thousands of which most look alike, it becomes lazy overkill. This sort of brand extension akin to Nokia still bringing out new “faces” for the 3210, but in this day and age.

I remember Nike boasting about the new and improved cushioning on each Air Max. So the 1990 technology is as good as the 2011/12 technology? Is that what Nike are telling us? Because looking at the prices, it looks that way. There is a slight price difference between Air Max made in 1990 and Air Max made in 2012. The Air Max 90 is still being promoted as if it is Nike’s flagship shoe. You only need to subscribe to some of the sneaker lifestyle websites to see this.

I wonder when it’ll end. With the emergence of hybrids like the Neon Hyperfuse, Quickstrike and HUF collaborations, it looks like Nike plan to let this run on a bit longer.

Casual shoes Part 1

Fashion moves in cycles…yeah yeah, we’ve heard it all before and that is true, but sometimes its gotta move laterally, diagonally…like chess pieces. And like in chess, those with the more elaborate moves are generally the most powerful. Hidden message here: Don’t be a pawn.

Lots of people are rocking these dessert boots. Shout outs to my boy Aaron Harris who never stopped rocking them from back in 1994. They are a classic, but I do prefer the Wallabee. Less people rock Wallabees for a start. There seems to be more collabos and mad styles of Wallabees around as well. Lateral, diagonal thought processes behind the style. My hip hop love affair probably adds to my bias. But even the Wallabee can get tiresome. That’s where lateral thinking comes into play on another level.
2010/11 was the year for Pointer. They were killing it for casual shoes. Pointer Benson etc. A fresh take on the classic boat shoe, but brought right up to date for the modern man. This year, sadly in my opinion, Pointer seems to have fallen off a bit. I still respect the brand for bringing something different to the table, but the designs this year aren’t working – simple as that. Enter the Paul Smith Loomis boot. They come in three colours: black, grey and squadron red.

These remind me of the Bally/Ragga shoes rudeboys used to rock back in the early 90’s with roll-ups on their baggy jeans. Those who were there know what I’m talking about, they know that style :-)

Places I respect

Number Six

Street Casuals

Coggles

Oki Ni

Son of a Stag

Size?

Flight Club

Crooked Tongues

Hanon Shop

Bored of South Sea
....

Google them, visit them, bookmark them and buy from them! Those are jewels I've given you. Make sure you show your appreciation. Hmmm

*reluctant face*

Fight the winter warz

A part of me still wants to purchase a pair of Air Max Light. But the price is a bit of a bitch for a start and I guess more importantly, the colourways are boring. Chatting to a member of staff at Size?, I was told Nike and other brands don’t bring out colourful gear in winter. The preferred colours are black, grey, khaki green etc etc

Please follow me with this.

Winter here [in the UK] is renowned for being grey, dull, miserable and any other synonym that falls into that category. Therefore people’s moods tend to reflect this as well. Mood reflects fashion, or maybe it’s the other way around. My philosophy is…don’t be a victim of your environment. Don’t let the bad weather control your sense of style. I’m surprised big brands don’t adopt this mentality. Any expert reading this, please tell me why most clothing is as dull as the weather in Autumn/Winter? My philosophy is rock colour. Don’t be scared!

I’ll give you an example: you go ahead and rock your usual dull winter gear, grey or all black, but then add a splash colour at the bottom. The recent Air Max 90 Neon collection is perfect for this. Black hat, black jacket, black jeans and then…POW! Mad colour at the bottom. These!!

I stumbled across this excellent piece in Highsnobiety which demonstrates my point further. OK, the women aren’t rocking dull winter wear, but the strength of the shoe allows it to stand strong no matter what is worn above it.

My philosophy is rock colour. Don’t be scared!

Those hats everyone is wearing…

Yes the “bomber hats” or “deerstalker hats”… admittedly this was played out about 2 years ago. Everyone from fashionistas, market stall holders to shop keepers are wearing them. As nice as they looked, I was so reluctant to get one. Those who know me know I have a severe hate [almost allergy] for rocking what everyone is rocking.  So don’t get one!! Avoid at all costs.  Even if you got one 2 years ago, stop wearing it. Go back to the original woolly hat. This way you look less like a fashion victim and you look like you are making less of an unnecessary statement.

*tumble weed blows*

But, but…wait…in my frequent nomadic browse of the net, God guided me to this baby. I know what I said before should be taken as gospel, but I kid you not, this is divine intervention and a divine creation – the Norse Wool Hunter Earflap Cap.  Might be a bit pricey for some, but judging by the amount some spend on New Era caps etc, this is value for money.

What makes this so different? The quilted lining for a start, you can’t go wrong with quilted lining. The check pattern is the main selling point for me - houndstooth fabric. This is the check pattern I’m feeling right now. If you’re gonna rock these checks on other clothing, it’s gotta be subtle. But this check pattern is what I’m looking to be rocking in months to come. The colourways are also on point. It would have been nice if they had made a dirty green/khaki version as well – perfect colour for winter. Go and Google bomber hats, deerstalker hats. In fact print out pics of them and compare to this baby , then come back and tell me I’m right. I haven’t seen anyone rocking this or anything like this. Trust me, heads of so called fashionistas will turn when you cop this.

The problem with all this is…

As conceited as it sounds, these are my “secrets”. It’s hard work conjuring up these “secrets”. Thus in turn, when you work hard for something, it’s difficult to just give it away. But those who know me, know I’m a man who shares. If you trace the footprints of my life, you will see this clearly. So my character will not allow me to be selfish and keep these ideas and thoughts to myself.

The other problem with this sort of thing is that I could get so far up my own @r$e that I think this is the alpha and omega of all style and that you should hang onto my every word, or that my word carries so much weight. This couldn’t be further from the truth, but…just kidding.

I am open to dialogue, it makes things much more interesting that way. I call it fellowship and in fellowship, iron sharpens iron.

So as I said, let’s take this journey and see what we find in all this…

Let it be…

The Genesis

I'm soliloquising at the moment as this is my first ever post. Those who know me, know I'm not one to be lost for words, but when the spotlight is unexpectedly thrust upon me it can happen. 

A lot of friends and associates have suggested I should start one of these. According those same people I've got a good eye for fashion and style, so here it is, the maiden voyage: taking in lots of different sights and flavours along the way...the good, the bad and the interesting. Let's see where it takes us.

These will be thoughts and ideas on fashion - my take on fashion, my gospel.