It’s Trash Day–Vans Sk8-Hi “Disco Pack”

It’s Friday, time to take out the trash. What happened to these shoes?  Somebody went a little crazy with the sequins.  I know that everyone is designing crazy shoes lately, but those shoes at least look good.  This shoe looks like someone’s bad attempt with customizing a shoe.  It’s not really just the sequins that I have a problem with; it’s how crappy the sequin pattern looks.  Read the rest of the story after the break, including more pics.

It’s Trash Day adidas Originals Jeremy Scott Jumpsuit

It’s Friday, time to take out the trash. Jeremy Scott is known in the sneaker world for creating some of the most amazing shoes ever.  Some say they might be outlandish and Scott makes shoes you can’t regularly wear. I defend that Jeremy Scott produces art disguised as footwear and that everything he makes is amazing.  Well that was until I looked at his 2011 Lookbook and saw the outfit with the “metal holes.” The rest of the story after the break.

Wednesday Rant Shape Up Shoes

America you’re getting fatter and instead of working out and eating right, we rely on a shoe to help us get trim. I understand that the shoe mimics balance ball technology, but why not just use a balance ball.  Also, why in the world is Joe Montana endorsing these shoes?  Does he really need the money that bad, because who would want to hock such any ugly shoe?  More after the break.

It’s Trash Day–K- Swiss Tubes Run 100

It’s Friday, time to take out the trash.  I blame Reebok for this travesty.  It seems like every shoes company is trying to find the latest running shoe fad. The Reebok Zig, New Balance Zip and now the K-Swiss Tube.  What do they have in common, besides horrible names, they tried using gimmick technology and failed miserably. Let’s take a look at the travesty that is the K-Swiss Tube. More after the break.

It’s Trash Day–Li Ning Brassmonkey Evan Turner

It’s Friday, time to take out the trash.  We’ve all seen the in flux of Chinese shoe brands Peak, Luyou and Li Ning being sold in the U.S. market. A lot of American players are jumping from the traditional shoe companies to the new brands. I was excited to see what the shoes would look like.  Would they be copies of existing shoes? What new technology would they add to the shoes? Well the shoes have all dropped and nothing has really changed.  One thing they did was make a basketball shoe much uglier. It should be no surprise to any of my readers that I am not a fan of current basketball shoe styles.  The new Chinese shoes have just added more horrible shoes to the market.  The worst so far has to be the brand new Li Ning Brassmonkey Evan Turner Allstar, a name so long I couldn’t even fit it in the title box. Just look at this shoe.  It basically is a basketball shoe, ankle support and moon boot all in one.  Were they trying to build the worlds tallest shoe? Is this shoe not ridiculously tall?

The shoe is called brassmonkey because it’s a tribute to the famous song, of the same name, by the Beastie Boys.  Now if I was going to make a shoe that is a tribute to a song or even the band, wouldn’t you want the shoe to have something on the shoe that mentions the band or the song.  A logo or word or something that has to do with either the Beastie Boys or the song.  Also why is the shoe silver; why not make the shoe the color of brass? The only part of the shoe I understand is the lace guard to keep your laces tied, but it’s also the ugliest part of the shoe.  It’s just a giant button flap. It kind of looks like an athletic cup, like the kind you wear in little league.  This shoe is a mess. It’s tall and wide and it looks like 5 different shoes jammed into one shoe.  This shoe makes all the hypermax, hyperdunks and hyperfuse shoes look fantastic compared to this towering inferno.  I am pretty sure Evan Turner had nothing to do with the making of this shoe. It was probably some guy who has never played basketball, but studied ever aspect of the game and knows the human body really well.  This guy also has no idea of what a great shoe should look like or if you making a tribute shoe put something on the shoe that has something to do with the song.  I know most of these shoe companies have just started making shoes and they haven’t quite nailed it yet.  I hope this is just a phase and we will start to see some classics coming out of China. (pics from Crooked Tongues)

It’s Trash Day–Air Jordan 2010

It’s trash day, time to take it out. We can all agree that the Air Jordan’s have a huge cult following and people will literally tear a store apart to get a new release.  We can also agree that Tinker Hatfield elevated shoe design from bland to legitimate art.  With all that said, what happened in 2010? The Air Jordan 2010 was debuted by Dwayne Wade in 2009 against the Golden State Warriors.  That’s when the first pics started hitting the blogs and sneakers sites.  There it was staring into my soul and I was staring right at his foot.  The Air Jordan 2010 has a window in the middle of the shoe.  I have seen clear shoes before and thought, wow what a ridiculous concept.  Those clear shoes are not around anymore and I don’t believe people were lining up to get a pair.  So why did Tinker and Michael think that we needed to see our foot when wearing the shoe?  The rest of the shoe is pretty much like all of the other basketball shoes on the market.  Some laser etching and some patent leather, but did we really need a circle window.  The internet didn’t think we did.  The blogs, forums and sneakerhead were all talking about the “window.”  Some sites even went a far as to post pictures of what the shoe would look like without the window.  It was the hot button issue all the way up to the release of the shoe in February.

Besides the window, the shoe is a step in the right direction.  What direction is that?  A direction away from some of the outrageous designs that came with the new millennium.  The shoes were starting to become more of an art design project than a functional basketball shoe.  We should have known things were taking a turn for the weird when they broke out the ankle strap on the Jordan 20.  Things are looking up for this years release.  The pictures are showing a normal, yet semi artsy shoe.  Dwayne also debuted these during the Christmas Day game and the Jordan 2011 are also releasing in February.  Let’s just be happy that Jordan Brand came to their senses and left the windows on the houses and off the shoes.  Don’ t they look so proud!

It’s Trash Day–Saucony Bullet

It’s trash day, time to take it out. I love classic shoes and I thought it would be hard to find a shoe to trash.  I searched and searched, but as soon as I can across this beauty I knew I had found my bag of garbage. Saucony makes some of the best running shoes and they have some of the nicest classics in the business.  The Bullet is the exception. This shoe looks like a track shoe mated with very uncomfortable bowling shoe.  It looks like Saucony was trying to cash in on the bowling shoe craze, just 4 years after that fad ended. I’m all for low rise shoes but these look like they are trying to hard to be cool.  I was surprised to see these when I was searching for classic Sauconys’ to write about, but I understand why these shoe were made.  They are totally different looking then the Jazz or Shadow, which happen to look great and are much more appealing to collectors.

The Bullet pulls off the look of a bullet very well. It’s slim and straight, but it doesn’t look like it has very much arch support.  This seems to be a reoccurring theme with low rise running shoes. all style no comfort and zero class. Take a look at my post on the Nike Waffle and the Cortez. Those shoes got it right when making a low rise running shoe.  They have comfort  and style; the Cortex looks more like a bullet then these shoes.  The rounded nose and bullet like design. I give Saucony credit for trying something old and trying to capitalize on the classic shoe revival, but no every shoe is supposed to be a classic and just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s awesome.  The Jazz and the Shadow were enough Saucony, you didn’t need to revive every shoe in your category.  I have a better idea take one of you 90’s new style running shoes and start reissuing them.  They at least have style and purpose.  Maybe I am wrong and this shoe looks amazing in person, but the pictures I have found online don’t paint a great picture. As an avid online shopper you need great pictures to sell your shoes.  Not every store carries these and most classics aren’t stocked in mall stores.  Saucony you need to hire a new photography, but something tells me that’s not the problem.  It’s the shoe! Someone help me with this stinky garbage.

As always email me at threadandsole@gmail.com, like my Facebook page Thread and Sole and follow me on twitter @threadandsole. Comments are welcome on the blog and make sure you follow to get updates on posts. If you want to donate any amount is gladly accepted and remember if you are shopping at Karmaloop.com, use “jcam1981” and receive 20% off.

It’s Trash Day–Affliction Wrinkle Wash Indo Tee

It’s trash day, time to take it out.  It’s hard for me to trash tee shirts because you can pretty much put anything on a tee and it will look alright.  Once in a while, you come across some trash that defies all reason.  Affliction is just the kind of trash I hate.  The shirts lack creativity; the graphics are all the same and always follow the same pattern on every shirt.  Take this shirt for instance, it looks like a cross between Dog the Bounty Hunter and the Bad Guy from “Temple of Doom.” Affliction claims to be trendsetters, but the wrinkled shirt trend is about 5 years ago and skulls became played out last year. I can’t fault Affliction for sticking with the skull theme and the over masculine shirts, it seems to fit their target demographic.  The only problem is that most of the guys who wear Affliction aren’t the type to be dangerous or ruthless; this is the stigma the shirts display. Just look at most of the graphics: skulls, grim reapers and nothing says crazy guy like rhinestones. I have tried Affliction on and the shirts felt cheap and they fit terrible.  You would think $50 would buy a way nicer tee and one that fits amazing. Most of the guys who wear Affliction are dudes who workout way too much and need huge shirts for their 5 foot wide shoulders.  This shirt looks like a two-year-old got loose in the factory and cut the pattern.  The shirt dips up and down in certain places, and a shirt with open hems never looks good. It just looks like you have been wearing that shirt for far too long. Also, for $50 you would think the print wouldn’t  look ironed on (like I did it with my Canon printer and an iron). I don’t know, maybe add some stitching or just take sometime and do a better job silk screening the graphic.  I compare these to drinking Bud Light and saying it doesn’t get any better; what I mean is there are amazing craft beers, but people still devour Bud Light like it’s gold.  Affliction is to Bud Light, as Creep Street is to Sam Adams.  Is the message this tee is trying to get across, I am a dead Aztec king so I should be feared or I am a testosterone fueled asshole so get out of my way?  Let’s be honest most of the guys who wear this brand are trying to convey that message, but won’t ever admit it. So if you want to channel your inner Aztec king who rips out people’s hearts and drops them into a pit of fire, while arresting “ice heads” with you crazy sons.  Then this is the shirt for you, but if you enjoy Sam Adams and craft tee shirts, than take out the trash with me, because it smells like a rotting corpse.

As always email me at threadandsole@gmail.com, like my Facebook page Thread and Sole and follow me on twitter @threadandsole. Comments are welcome on the blog and make sure you follow to get updates on posts. If you want to donate any amount is gladly accepted and remember if you are shopping at Karmaloop.com, use “jcam1981” and receive 20% off.

It’s Trash Day–Big Star Jeans

I have been waiting to trash this brand for a while.  I have to admit first and foremost that I have worn these jeans before and I am not proud.  Hey we all make mistakes in life, I just beg you all for redemption. It was hard to pick just one pair to trash and after looking through the catalog I found the perfect pair.  Let’s start with the obvious, these jeans are the poor mans True Religion jeans.  The back pockets resemble a fake version of TR jeans and the large colored stitching is just like the Big T and Super T styles.  While we are still on the back pockets, what’s with the studded embellishments on the pocket; you’re just asking asking to tear up your car seats or couch.  I am a big fan of pocket stitching; from the classic look of Levi’s or the creative stitching of Diesel Jeans.  Diesel may have crazy back pockets, but at least they make sense and are artistic. The stitching looks cheap and so much like a shrunken TR “horseshoe.” The front is just as bad as the back; it’s overly faded and the whiskers are way too visible.  The whiskering should be slightly visible; it looks like somebody got a little to happy with a bottle of bleach, down the front of your pants.  The whiskers draw the eye right to your crotch area, maybe that’s what the plan was the whole time; subliminal designs by Big Star. If you thought the look was bad wait until you try on the jeans.  Make sure to buy two size smaller because these jeans will stretch out like your favorite pair of sweatpants and these are the Orion fit which is supposed to be the slim straight model.  The straight part is the only right part of the name, these jeans are in no way slim.  I have straight jeans that are slimmer than these jeans and fit way better.  They don’t hang well on your body and make people look like they have flat butt.  This would be expected with jeans that cost a quarter of the price but when you are paying $130 plus for jeans, you expect a certain amount of quality and craftsmanship; well apparently Big Star didn’t get that memo.  Big Star jeans are for people who have to be noticed at the club,  no one will miss you in these jeans; just make sure to pair these with an Affliction t-shirt to complete your douche bag outfit.  I should know about that look, because for 4 miserable months I had to hock these types of clothes and you talk yourself into liking these, making these seem like the greatest thing going.  We all go through these periods in our life, it’s just about if you come out the other side well dressed.

As always email me at threadandsole@gmail.com, like my Facebook page Thread and Sole and follow me on twitter @threadandsole. Comments are welcome on the blog and make sure you follow to get updates on posts. If you want to donate any amount is gladly accepted and remember if you are shopping at Karmaloop.com, use “jcam1981” and receive 20% off.