Unusual footwear

This footwear sure is eye-catching!

This man was waiting to board the commuter train. Take a look at the lion paw flip-flops he's wearing. I suppose it's one way to prevent your toes from getting stepped on in a crowded carriage.

Insole

Many shoes come with removable insoles. Insoles are also known an sockliners. They are made of a variety of materials and serve as the platforms on which the feet rest when the shoes are worn. 

Insoles are usually made of foam and also have a textile layer as the top surface.

One such foam is OrthoLite. This foam is used to make the insoles of many athletic shoes. It is an open-cell foam and this allows air to circulate around the feet when the shoes are worn. This foam also does not "bottom out" (compress and flatten) too easily and retains its cushioning effect over the lifespan of the shoes. OrthoLite insoles are also machine-washable. 

The insole shown here is from the Adidas LK Trainer 5, a court sports shoe for toddlers. To find out what the black markings on the blue insole are for, view this other post.

New soccer boot wins design award

The Pele Sports Trinity 3E soccer boot by the Pele Sports Innovation Team has won a design award.

The shoes can be viewed at Changi City Point mall in Singapore where they are on display for a limited time at a design exhibition in the basement atrium.

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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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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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."