Element’s Conscious by Nature Collection

Spotted these sweet Element sneakers in the latest issue of Antenna and thought they were pretty rad. But it wasn’t until I kept learned a little bit more about them that I really understood how cool they were. They’re a part of Element’s new Conscious by Nature line, which features shoes that are made eco-friendlier. The product description sums up the shoes nicely:

It’s made from sustainable materials, with chemical free shell textiles, bamboo collar, tongue and insole linings, ortholite insole foam in place of EVA, soy-based ink logo treatments, 100% water-based cement, and natural crepe outsole.

So not only are these rugged and manly looking, with their plaid bodies and heathered uppers, but they’re also a little bit better for the environment. At first I thought I liked the bottom pair, the Why-No CC, but I think I’m digging the top pair more, the Omahigh. Either way they’re quite a pair of beautiful shoes.

You can pick up the Omahighs by clicking here.
You can snag the Why-No CCs by clicking here.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

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December 11, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Zuriick’s Jack Jack Sneaker

As I’ve written about before, I’m pretty mild when it comes to shoes. Most of my shoes are white, black, or dark blue, with an occasional oddball pair mixed in, but I spotted this pair of Zuriick sneakers called Jack Jack on Blackbird the other day and something about them really struck me. I haven’t owned a high top since I was 8, but I really like the combination of pea green with the cream and black. That little stripe of pink around the sole is also a nice detail. But what really makes these awesome is that they’re only $92… awesome.

Also take a visit to Zuriick’s site for lots more pics and styles.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

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November 2, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Common Projects Fall/Winter 2008

I’ve had a total shoe-boner for Common Projects for over a year now, they’re the closest to perfection I think you can get in a shoe. Well Blackbird has a sweet preview of their Fall/Winter 2008 line-up and one shoe in particular has my heart, the Achilles Mid Top in dark gray, the shoe you see above. There’s something about the all gray that gives me chills. I’ve seen a couple other shoes that were similar to this, but it’s the fact that even the rubber sole is gray that excites me.

Sadly, these beauties are $516 $346, something I would personally never pay for a shoe, but if you have the cash just laying around happen to rob a bank, totally snag a pair of these perfect shoes.

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

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September 20, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

Nike Lab ‘Spider’ Advertisment

The folks over at Nike Labs have teamed up with W+K Tokyo and a52 to create this amazingly simple, but beautiful, commercial that I just can’t stop watching. The idea is simple, a spider crafts a web together that looks like a three dimensional shoe, but there’s just something about it that’s so crisp and fresh. There’s the way the camera shakes, although the footage was sped up and the quality of the light, like it’s a perfect spring day. Even the design of the spider is extremely beautiful, like it would mimic the colors of the shoe itself.

Just watch it and you’ll see what I mean.

Found through space invaders

Bobby

Bobby Solomon

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July 14, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby

My Drive Thru by Julian Casablancas, Santogold & N.E.R.D.

Mark this entry under clever, catchy, and well done. As a part of Converse’s newest campaign, they’ve teamed up with a rather large and eclectic group of musicians to further their cult status among youngins. The most exciting part being the collaboration between Julian Casablancas, Santogold and N.E.R.D. on a song called My Drive Thru, which to me sounds like something Mark Ronson would have put together, but it’s actually Pharrell’s handiwork. The video itself is reallllly fun, featuring animated photo cut-outs of the artists performing. My favorite parts are mostly when Santogold is dancing around, she looks damn adorable, but there’s also the part where Julian Casablancas is falling down through the sheets of paper, that’s really rad. Other then that, I have this song stuck in my head most of the day, it’s totally catchy and fun.

The campaign otherwise is pretty rad as well, someone picked a pretty random group of folks that are actually pretty “hip”. There’s Bradford Cox from Deerhunter, the guys from Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Eleanor from The Fiery Furnaces, the dudes from MGMT, Yacht… you get the picture. The stark black and white images, the cut out paper effect, everything is pretty spot on. Check out the site by clicking here, and be sure to download the song for free as well (that was a good call, Converse).

Bobby Solomon

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July 14, 2008 - See more posts by Bobby