These Navid O Nadia shoes are my latest acquisition. I went to the Manhattan Urban Outfitters on 14th Street to try and find something like them, but ended up finding them in a shoe store a block or so east. I love the color most of all. Some people have a theme song, I have a theme color and it's name is turquoise.
Nelly is now doing press to promote his Reebok Derrty One sneakers. Here's a little clip from a recent People magazine interview with him, which, if you read closely, you'll realize that for most of his life he's basically been a Nike man--this is the dude that penned a song about Air Force Ones, after all! But Nelly's a very smart cat, note that he lands back on his feet when he big-ups Reebok Pumps later in the interview.
What kinds of shoes did you wear when you were a kid?
Chuck Taylors at that time were like $15, so those were like the best things that I could get. And then he came out--Michael Jordan--and it was a wrap from there. It was like you're buggin' your mom and she can't afford it. At that time I think the shoes were like 50 bucks and that was unheard of. Now you hope to get a pair for 55 bucks!
Any inspiration from the past?
I was definitely more of an athlete when I was a kid, but I think it's changed so much because those were the days when athletes set the trends. It's totally different now. The athletes look to the entertainers and what we're wearing, what we have on.
Any thoughts on the NBA’s ban of some hip-hop styles?
It's a business. You work for the NBA. The NBA says there's a dress code, there's a dress code. It's just that simple. If I own a business and I come in and say, "Yo, I want everybody to wear this," then that's what you have to do.
As a kid, anything exciting happen on the basketball court in shoes that you loved?
I remember when the pumps first came out, and I remember the first time I put those on, I grabbed the rim! I don't know if it was the shoes...I think I was a sophomore maybe in high school. I was like whoa!
What makes a great sneaker?
The toe. It's all in the toe.
And now here are the shoes themselves:
They're not bad at all. Like the Derrty "One" name implies, they're Air Force One knock-offs, but the bigger issue is that first, classics are on a downtrend right now and even Nike's Air Force One isn't selling it like it used to, and second, the Reebok brand is like poison right now. I chat with a lot of buyers and I can't tell you with confidence that I have no idea who is going to be buying this shoe. I imagine Reebok will finagle some deal with Foot Locker, but even Nelly with his winning personality and upbeat ways is going to have a hard time overcoming the brand's lack of credibility.
Shout out to Young, Black & Fabulous, where I first spotted the interview
It pains me to feature an image of MKO--she just aint my kind of chick, but I thought Perez's take on her outfit was funny. He points out all the hot trends she's sporting and offers "extra credit" if you can name all those trends, plus any he might have missed.
Seriously, while everything she's wearing is on the money, none are cutting edg or creative, thus she ends up looking fashionable enough, but basically like someone who has too much time and money.
The other day an urban buyer called and left me a message, saying, "Black kids are buying skate shoes. The world is changing!" I had to laugh. We'd been debating this reality for months. He just couldn't see it happening outside of a handful of Manhattan sneaker boutiques.
Here's more proof in the form of a very hot song by Lupe Fiasco
Note: tip of the hat to the most excellent hiphop blog NahRight for the heads up on the video.
I was walking down Prince Street in SoHo the other day, mostly I was looking for a new couch, and lo and behold, there in the Miu Miu window was one of prettiest pairs of shoes I have seen in my life. I'll admit that they teeter-totter on the precipice of five-year-old-girl dress-up shoes, but then again, the smart modish design pulls them back in and saves them from going over the edge.
This image is not the actual pair that I saw. These are gold and the ones in the window are silver. You can see them on the Miu Miu site, where they're featured in an ad. This pair is being sold at Neiman Marcus for $485, which means that they're about as likely to end up permanantly on my feet as either of Cinderella's wicked step sisters.
I noticed when I was shopping in Manhattan this past weekend that it's as if the fairy fashion queen waved her wand over the City and POOF! suddenly everyone is wearing skinny jeans. A lot of the starlettes are dressing them up with pumps, but most New York girls are wearing their--already old looking--straight-leggers with flats or Chuck Taylors. 
Note: these images are from Sky Celebrity. If you visit the link, you'll see these and many other celebs showing off their new punky profiles.
The following photos are from a Larry Clark film entitled "Wassup Rockers" that premiered at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival. The images are from a Paper Magazine story. I can't find any stylist credits, but even though this movie looks like a documentary it's actually not so I have to believe that at least some of the outfits here came out of wardrobe. Still, I think the overall look, which I love, is at the very least inspired by the kids, who are Latino "rocker" skateboarders based in Southern California. 
^^(l-r) Jonathan wears a T-shirt by Fuct, jeans by WE, bracelet by Diesel, wristband by Y-3, shoes by Etnies. Kico wears a T-shirt by RVCA, jeans by WE, hat by Dragon, watch by Nixon, belt by Y-3, shoes by DC Shoes.
^^Eddie wears a sweatshirt by Puma, shirt by Diesel, jeans by RVCA, belt and necklace by HERO, shoes by Vans. Jonathan wears a T-shirt and sweatshirt by RVCA, jeans by Morphine Generation, hat by WE, shoes by Etnies. 
^^(l-r): Kico wears a T-shirt by Fox, jeans by Kr3w, hat by Baker, shoes by DC Shoes. * Porky wears jeans by Evisu, hat by Flip, shoes by DVS. * Jonathan wears jeans by Kr3w, shoes by Emerica. * Eddie wears a shirt and jeans by Kr3w, shoes by Osiris. 
^^Kico wears a T-shirt by Fox, jeans by Diesel, hat by Baker, shoes by DC Shoes
^^Jonathan wears a T-shirt by Fuct, sweatshirt by RVCA.
Marvin Gaye was born on this day in 1939. He was killed the day before his birthday in 1984. Hearing work by rare gems like Marvin make me believe that hey, maybe there is a god.
