Shoes for the Gangnam Style dance

The world has a new universal dance! It's all because of this South Korean entertainer, Psy. He has simply captivated people the world over with his dance hit "Gangnam Style". Look for the hit video on Youtube. Psy has plenty of style. Check out his two-toned lace-up shoes in the photo. Meanwhile, everyone's doing the "Gangnam Style"!

Shoelace Cover

Now this is really neat!  It's a shoe accessory for barbers (and hairdressers).  There are plastic screen guards that go over the shoelaces of the barber's shoes and these screen guards prevent cut hair from falling onto the shoelaces. 

Cut hair trapped by the shoelaces would be a pain to clear away. With these shoelace screen guards, the barber could cut away without having to worry about cleaning his shoes at closing time.

 

 

What did the Duchess of Cambridge wear?

Just a few days ago, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Britain, visited the sunny island of Singapore. The Duke is Prince William and his wife is better known as Kate Middleton. Their royal visit was part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour. 

While in Singapore, Prince William and Kate visited the new Gardens By The Bay to plant a tree. At the Gardens, Kate wore a pair of Stuart Weitzman Corkswoon wedges to match with her white designer suit. It seems these are her current favourite pair of shoes since she also wore them at the London Olympics and Paraolympics earlier this year.

Source: http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/news/kate-wears-alexander-mcqueen-for-her-second-day-in-singapore.html

My take? Well, she does get points for sartorial style and people love what she wears. However, those wedges lift her heels a good 3.5 inches. Surely that's not healthy for the Achilles tendons. There's plenty of information in the public domain on how high-heeled shoes can cause unseen damage to the feet (and bodies) of those who wear them.

Check Your Shoes Before It's Too Late

Every now and then, I come across the following situation on any given sidewalk - a lone rubber outsole lying on the sidewalk or in the grass by the sidewalk. I took the following photos this morning as I was walking on a sidewalk by a large field. Can you see the rubber outsole on the grass?

The outsole is still in one whole piece! It must have come loose from the shoe while the wearer was walking on this very sidewalk.

I can imagine that the wearer might have suddenly noticed a change in his walking gait; then, he might have stopped walking to inspect his shoes and discover that the outsole was flapping loosely at the bottom of his shoe. Then, realising that he couldn't walk comfortably any further with the shoes in that condition, he might have peeled off the loose outsole away from the midsole and then toss the outsole onto the grass. I wonder whether he might have continued walking with the shoes still on his feet.

You can see that this outsole once belonged to a Nike sports shoe. It would have been a cross-trainer; the outsole is familiar to me. Judging from the thread pattern of the outsole, this particular cross-trainer was not worn very often. It probably lay unused for much of the time.

I suppose the humidity and temperature of the tropics contributed to the deterioration of the glued bond between the outsole and midsole. I reckon that sports shoes should be kept in an air-conditioned climate if the shoes are to be left unworn for a substantial length of time.

In any case, it's always a good idea to inspect one's collection of shoes every now and them to make sure that the shoes are still suitable for their intended use. It's really awkward and possibly downright embarrassing to have one's shoes fall apart like the one shown here.

Shoes for driving

I first came across special shoes for driving while waiting in a doctor's clinic. There were some car magazines in the waiting room and I came across an article about such shoes.

Here's a blog post about Porsche Design driving shoes and it's a detailed review by Noah Joseph for Autoblog.

 

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/05/sniff-and-shift-porsche-design-completes-the-package-with-new-sce/

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Toddler shoes by Combi

These are the shoes that my son used to wear on a daily basis. These toddler shoes are by Combi, a Japanese company. These are excellent shoes except for one thing (more on this in a later part of this post).

Currently, my son wears a pair of Adidas toddler trainers which I will feature in this blog at a later time.

Now, I really like these Combi shoes because of the thoughtful design features.

The toe box is roomy and has a round shape so little toes don't get squeezed as they grow. Just think about how quickly kids' feet grow!

The shoe upper has lots of mesh so ventilation is good. It's also neat to have one fat velcro strap to fasten the shoe. Most toddler shoes have at least two velcro straps on the upper.

At the bottom of the shoe, you can find a couple of flex grooves so that the shoe flexes (bends) at where the foot naturally flexes during walking or running. This is a very important feature. Without these flex grooves, the shoe would either be too rigid or bend at the "wrong" place.

The traction provided by the outsole is reasonable. It's nice to see that the toe area has deep circular grooves to provide additional traction.

On the right is a photo of the instep (medial or inner part) of the left shoe. I like how the outsole rubber wraps around the foot, especially at the heel and arch area. It's as though the foot was cupped by the outsole. This feature is helpful since toddlers move about in all directions.

 

The design of the shoe is really quite robust, and these shoes can be worn for just about any kids' activity that doesn't involve water.

The insole is made with compression-moulded EVA foam; the foam is of a substantial density based on my touch. Notice that the insole has flex grooves similar to those on the outsole.

This pair of Combi shoes came with two pairs of insoles. One pair was thick, and the other pair thin. 

This is to accommodate the rapid growth of the child's feet. This is done by starting the usage of the shoes with the thick pair of insoles in the shoes. As the child's feet grow, replace the thick insoles with the thin ones. Used in this way, the shoes can be used for a slightly longer period before having to replace the shoes entirely.

Look at the final photo below. My only gripe about these Combi shoes is that the rubber outsole could be more durable. The heel is a high-wear area for most shoe designs, so I wish that these Combi shoes had come with a longer-wearing rubber in the heel.

I like these Combi shoes enough to want to buy a bigger pair for my son, who enjoys outdoor activity. But I believe this particular design of Combi shoes might no longer be available for sale in retail stores in Singapore.

Keep it safe(r)

See the man standing on the roof of this coffee shop in the Siglap neighbourhood of Singapore.  He's up there to paint the upper wall.

He's wearing shoes, OK!  Well, that's better than wearing casual slippers or fit-flops.

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Coach Sarah Flats

Coach Sarah Flats

Here's what you can find at eBay!  My wife purchased this pair of Coach Sarah Flats recently and it arrived at our doorstep last week.

I like the black and tan colour combination. The black upper comprises both leather and patterned canvas. The light-coloured stitching on the black upper is fairly subtle. A nice soft touch is the black bow at the front of each shoe. The insole is leather and has a cushioned feel.

On the left you can see the arch support of the insole. Good to see this in a moccasin flat. My wife intends to wear this whenever we go out on weekends; the leather insole with the arch support makes this shoe a suitable choice.

And here is shot of the outsole. It's rubber at the heel and at the forefoot area. That should hold up fairly well on concrete pavements and tiled floors.

The forefoot part of the outsole is patterned to give a little traction. However, the rubber heel is smooth. So I would advise caution when wearing these shoes during wet weather.

This pair of shoes is a medium width (that's a size B).  Women who need shoes with wider toe-boxes will not find this comfortable.

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Sandals with arch support

The Scholl Biomechanics Men's Sandal is one of the best sandals I've ever owned. 

The footbed is contoured to provide support that one would normally get from orthotics.

What makes the Biomechanics footbed distinctive is that it provides both longitudinal and lateral arch support. The lateral arch support is missing in so many other sandals and insoles. It makes a difference in delaying or minimising foot fatigue.

 

The midsole is a lightweight compression moulded EVA foam so it's comfortable, flexible and fairly durable.

 
The trouble is that these sandals are very hard to find in retail stores.

A deep heel cup and great arch support from the midsole! 

Review of New Balance MR1225

Currently, I go running in this pair of shoes. It's the New Balance MR1225.  It's a wonderful pair of running shoes and I'll tell you why.

As someone who has flat feet (absolutely no arches in my feet!), I'm fussy about the shoes I wear, regardless of whether the shoes are for running or just plain walking around the city.  So it really is a noteworthy event when I come across a pair of shoes that fits.  As the cliche goes, "If the shoe fits, buy it."  I found this pair at the New Balance Factory Outlet at The Comtech building, 60 Alexandra Terrace, in Singapore.

So here's why the MR1225 is great.


Let's start at the bottom. The outsole is mostly carbon rubber so it's durable. Weight is minimised with exposed portions of the midsole. The outsole seems to provide a stable feel while running.

The midsole has lots of the Abzorb cushioning material that many New Balance shoes have. This results in a delightful cushioning feel even when running over concrete pavements. I do feel as though there's a nice large cushioning pad under the forefoot area. The midsole is a multi-density one, and contains a Stabilicore device to control medial pronation. This midsole design is so good that I don't have to wear any orthotics when running in these shoes. Of course, this works for me since I don't run long distances; I run for general fitness and not for competition.  My aim is to stay injury-free and enjoy running as a way to stay fit.

The shape of the shoe last seems to be able to accommodate a wide variety of foot shapes. The toe box is not narrow and that's a plus. That, to me, helps to provide a stable toe-off during running.

The upper of the MR1225 is supportive with overlays in the right places, and the laces and lace loops enable one to employ all kinds of lacing techniques for a secure fit. I don't think sore spots or chafing on the tops and sides of the feet would occur. I also like the breathable mesh of the upper.

Finally, the insoles are made with Ortholite, so that's another plus. These insoles feel soft and airy when wearing these running shoes.


Overall evaluation: A very good blend of support, stability, overpronation control, and cushioning.

When this pair wears out, I'd like to get a similar pair.

When is a shoe not a shoe?

That's a question that we should be asking whenever we go shopping for shoes.

Just take a careful look at the merchandise available in shoe stores, department stores, and online shopping portals. There are many types of shoes offered for a wide range of purposes. To start with, there are three main categories: Women's, Men's, and Children's. Some typical functional categories of shoe types are: Fashion, Casual, Walking, Running, Training, Fitness, Tennis, Basketball, Junior, and so on.

There are sub-categories too. For example, the sub-categories of Running shoes range from Motion-control, to Cushioned, to Track. 

The variety of shoes for children is also wide! There are shoes for infants, shoes for toddlers, and shoes for children. The footwear for infants could be booties or soft shoes for "pre-walkers" or tiny sandals for tiny feet.

Interestingly, there seem to be almost as many types of toddler shoes as there are types of shoes for adults. There are shoes for toddlers that could could easily be categorised as: Fashion, Casual, Running, Training, Tennis, and so on.

Would you think all the shoes available are a result of clever marketing strategies? Or are these shoes available because they can satisfy our actual footwear needs?

My view is that our feet (which support the weight of our bodies) should be shod in suitable shoes. For instance, shoes meant for a stroll in the city shouldn't be used for a game of badminton, even if it's just a casually-played game. You might end up with a foot-related injury.

Children's shoes need to be carefully chosen too. Toddlers should wear shoes with good lateral stability and good traction over all kinds of surfaces. For instance, some toddler shoes are better off for walking on a park trail than for running about in a mall (malls have tiled floors).

So when is a shoe not a shoe?

Well my answer is, "When the shoe doesn't fit my foot, the shoe might as well be a doorstop."