Since high school, my sprightly youth has deteriorated, and has been replaced with grumpiness and laziness that rivals that of Carl. I am of course referring to Carl from Up (between the time you cried…thank god tears can be obscured by 3d glasses…and when he meets the annoying boy scout). I was reminded of the lost of my limited athletic prowess recently when I found myself heaving through a 12km mountainous hike. Given my established dissociation from physical activity, I was surprised that it is possible to purchase omniscient running shoes:
Nike LunarGlide+ 3 iD Running Shoe (customized!), $145
Woah , technology. There is a little pocket in the back of the shoe that holds something that communicates with your iPod/iPhone, which then can communicate with the Nike+ website. Bananas! Things like this make me consider whether cylons could be real!
I didn’t come across this whole world of shoe technology from wanting to run in Hanoi. Hanoi is far from pedestrian friendly, and with the thriving market for imitation goods here, I would probably not be exposed to such technological novelties. I was browsing Visual Complexity (a very aesthetically pleasing network visualization site), and read about the Nike+ City Runs project by YesYesNo LLC. The above map of NYC represents a composite of a year’s worth of runs that were uploaded to the Nike+ website. As Visual Complexity describes:
The software visualizes and follows individual runs, as well as showing the collective energy of all the runners, defining the city by the constantly changing paths of the people running in it.
This visualization was an installation for Nike retail stores, and I think it would be intriguing to see it in person. As the video below suggests, there seems to be a Nike store in Soho, so I might have to stop by when I return to the US. My conjecture that there is a Soho Nike store is solely based on the fact that there is Uniqlo bag in the video. I can spot those suckers so easily.
Nike+ City Runs from yesyesno on Vimeo.
I just discovered the wonder of wedges. They are like high heels, but you can walk in them! I love having a painless little two-inch boost. There are so many styles, from classy to whore-y. They can function as high heels for a nice dinner, or sandals for dress-down days. And they come in so many colors! There is basically an entire aisle of them at Target for $20-30.
Here are some I found on the internets:
, Amazon.com, $60 (also comes in hot pink) (PS Ed Hardy is a retired tattoo artist)Also, I want to remark on the brown and sandaly wedges… these are good for summer. Also, the gladiator sandal trend looks TERRIBLE on me and my thick runner legs. They sort of make your feet look all bound up and cut off at the ankles, so you kind of end up looking shorter. These kinds of sandals look much better on me in wedge form because of the added inches. Another hint: if you get the shoe in a color similar to your skin, it makes your leg look really loooong instead of looking cut off.
(Left to Right, then Top to Bottom)
by nicole, amazon.com, $45-105 (looks like the coral version (not pictured here) is much cheaper)
I say, the holidays should be full of shine – especially New Year’s Eve. Here is some of my favorite SHINE, links & detail pictures below.
Knock Your Socks Off Heel (Modcloth.com, $135) – Because simply sparkling is not enough. One must sparkle in a multitude of colors.
TOMS glitter shoes (TOMS, $59) - Also in silver, pink, & black glitter varieties! If you buy a pair, another pair goes to a child who needs shoes. Good deed for self, good deed for another.
Happy Birthday Deborah Lippmann Nail Color
American Apparel Shiny Ruched Front Tube Bra
Tinsel Town Dress (Modcloth.com, $90) — Too much? Or too perfect?
First off, Happy Mother’s Day!
Okay, I just had to do this quick post. I was surfing over at the the TOMS shoes website web-site (remember the vegan wrap boots? and that when you buy a TOMS shoe they give one to a kid who needs shoes?), and they had this crazy special where the creator of TOMS shoes has his mom INDIVIDUALLY doodling over plain shoes for Mother’s Day (yes, at first I thought they were designed by children — but either way I think they’re awesome)! They were $68, and you couldn’t specify the design, but they are all SOLD OUT now (maybe she is tired of doodling!).
ANYWAYYYY, that got me inspired. All you need to do is get some White Canvas TOMS, and you can doodle-em yourself! DIY TOMS! It’s over $20 cheaper and you can coordinate them with your own style. Then when you are out-and-about you can be like, yeah, I designed these myself.
I’ve been excited about TOMS shoes since I learned about them from Tricia. They’re cute, rumor has it they’re comfy, and they are pretty unique — ie you aren’t going to find them at JC Penny. They’ve been featured in Vogue and Elle, and on the likes of Scarlet Johansen and Toby Maquire. So, obviously they’re hip. (And I personally think they’re going to take-off like-whoa, but maybe that’s because I just finished reading The Tipping Point this week, and think every other hip-side-line fashion accessory is going to turn into an epidemic. Obviously you should not hire me for business advice.)
But they’re extra-special because of their “One for One” concept — for every shoe you buy, they donate a pair to a child in need. So far, they have given 10,000 to kids in Argentina, and 50,000 to kids in Africa. Most of the shoes are shaped liked these, but they come in all different colors and designs and levels of sparklyness (some have sparkle!).
And, although I love the original TOMS shoes (which run from about $50-70, always have free shipping, and always donate a pair to a child in need) I am even more excited about their new Vegan Wrap Boot, these are $98 and come with all the same benefits), which is one reason why I thought Stickers & Donuts should partner with them (hence the occasional sidebar ad and this post!).
Although TOMS seems to make the selling point that they’re Vegan (yum, vegan shoes!), I think the selling point is the WRAP (something I didn’t understand the first seven times I saw them!!!). You don’t pull these boots on, you WRAP them on like an ACE bandage (they were inspired by horse leg wraps, which is apparently a Argentinean polo thing). (My only concern: do you think they still look good on someone who has a bit… heftier calf than those models?).
They remind me a little of American Apparel’s dresses that can turn into a ton of different outfits. You can wrap these high or low, thick or thin, right over your calves or over your skinny jeans or over your tights. Though they do come in the regular colors (light brown, dark brown, black) they also come in Olive Green and Bright Red. They’re flexible (no kidding!), creative, and original. So, pretty much just my style.
Yasmine, illustrator & owner of the blog A Print a Day (see previous post for more info), has, thus far, had an incredibly interesting life. Here’s the short version. (more…)
