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Interesting Concept

Not sure what to think about this one. While perusing the WSA (big Vegas shoe show) guide, I spotted this company: Skins. This is a really interesting concept. These shoes consist of a completely separate support structure that can be moved into any number of "Skins". The support structure or "bone" is not just an orthotic footbed, but actually includes many of a shoes integral parts such as the heel counter, toe cap and shank within it. The one thing that makes me a bit nervous about the company is that they are already public yet don't have any product for sale yet. Hmmmm? I love speculation! Bring it on, I love fresh new Ideas in footwear and if this concept takes of the possibilities are endless and could truly change the way we look at footwear today. How do you adapt this to sandals though? Be sure to check out the "press clippings" section at this LINK.
 

Yummy...

At first I was a little turned off by the influx of the hand made, rough looks in many lines this year. This "look" really is a great trend that I hope has been caused as much by manufacturers getting back to basics as it is by their trend setting. Eliminating many of the highly caustic processes that shoes go through to get to our shelves like the over use of solvents and other nasty chemicals. Upon further research and understanding of the trend, there are some clear winners for fall. I know I'll get some grief for this but I've just never much liked what Merrell has done, too generic and representative of the things I DON'T like about places such as REI and others (ooh, we're big environmentalists, and outdoor advocates...HERE BUY THIS!). Merrell definitely has some peaches for fall though. Here is one of my favorites:

One of the lines the 'bum wants to see at WSA this week is Dry-shoD. Gorgeous! Not sure if I could ever move them in my store, but these babies are incredible. The models pictured below are from their spring-summer 2006 line but if that is any indication, the fall stuff should be a knockout. Hand made, incredible leathers, textures and colors using traditional construction techniques, every pair is unique.

         

Dry-shoD is definitely one to watch, especially with their new line NoMass to debut in the fall. On the right is a quick scan of one of a fall NoMass (no mass production?).

          

The designers out there are certainly showing "Chuck" at Converse some honors. And rightfully so, how do you go wrong with wide randed, sometimes toe-capped blucher? Just ask Keen, who as well has a winner to the left above. There are winners and a lot of losers (anyone knocking off Crocs) at the big Vegas shoe show. It's gonna take days to get through that place!

Just do it, (sorry) for fun.

Nike, oh boy, what do you say? Well they are big, and big sometimes creates something good, good fun. It really doesn't matter how you feel about Nike shoes, the NikeID website is a lot of fun. You can completely personalize and customize a pile of different Nike items, shoes of course but some clothing and bags as well. This is my NikeID homage to Bob Marley in honor of Bob Marley week Feb. 6-12th. Enjoy, and feel free to email your designs to me at josh@shoebum.com.

A Sheep's Clothing

Don't get any weird ideas on this, my love of sheep isn't even skin deep, completely superficial. It's all about the wool, the long, soft fibered merino wool that can be found in better socks today. However, all wool, especially merino wool, is not created equally. There is no standard for what is considered true merino wool. It can mean anything from where the wool is from, from which type of sheep it is shorn or even can refer to an item simply made of 100% wool using specially worsted yarn.

Although I would take a wool sock over any other fiber year round, I do have my favorite sock manufacturers. Just as merino varies so do the socks made from said wool. Finding the best socks around has been a pet quest of mine for about 15 years now. In the beginning a good friend talked me into wearing this goofy little wool running sock from Wigwam. I was hooked, although the elastic wore out quick and the socks yellowed, I loved those things to death. A few years and a few dozen pair later, Wigwam dropped that sock from their lineup. I was crushed. Not long after I made my first buying trip to the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City and found this great little booth, outside in a tent, for a company that only made merino wool socks. At the time this company made maybe 6 different socks. They were different though, the socks were soft, resilient, and unique. No longer did one have to resort to crappy, itchy, poor fitting rag wool socks. Smartwool had arrived!

At first they were a hard sell, having to take socks out of the package turn them inside out and have people really feel the socks and then guarantee that they wouldn't itch. Nowadays it's merino for the masses. Heck, you can get "merino" wool socks at Costco.

Back to my earlier point. There are big differences in merino socks out there. While Smartwool remains our top seller, continuing to offer up an endless collection of great merino wool socks, there are a few others that bear mentioning.  Dahlgren socks add the ultra softness of Alpaca wool, although I have never been pleased with their durability, having pairs that have lasted as few as 3 wearings.

There are also many "me-toos" out there, that have simply knocked off Smartwool's original hiking design. I won't waste your time with those. My very favorite, on many levels, is Teko. Teko socks have the best wear, the best fit (although a few styles are a hair tight on my stumpy calves), and the best ethos of anyone in the business. Like many of it's competitors, Teko doesn't just go where the wool is priced best, they actually contract with one and one only fully sustainable organic farm in Tasmania to produce their top notch merino wool. In the growing world of premium wool socks, in my book Teko is tops.

There are, somewhere out there, true lanolin allergies which can prevent one from wearing wool. For the rest of us though, it's time to get our feet into a sheep's clothing, merino wool!

 

IS + VB = LOVE!

Hunting boots are a tough segment in my store. The last few years our selection has been tough to nail down. Danner, our mainstay has just not had any real winners lately. They're barking up the right tree though. Finally taking what they have known for years about making a decent hiking boot and putting that technology into their hunting line. Unfortunately for Danner, they have been a few years behind the times, possibly due to their large commitment to military footwear or too busy undercutting their dealers with free shipping but that's another post (although I have yet to see the new Danner fall 2007 product). Just yesterday I saw Irish Setter's latest collection for fall 2007. One shoe looked familiar, yet out of place. Upon further inspection I realized that this hunting boot from Irish Setter shares the same  solid! platform that Vasque uses in their Breeze hikers (the Gore-Tex XCR version which the most breathable membrane based waterproof boot I've worn). This isn't earth shattering news since Vasque and Irish Setter are owned by Red Wing but still a great collaboration that has spawned a fantastic new boot, light enough for the weight weenies, tough enough to use for work, the Aerotracker.