There are a few sneakers that have a colorway that seems to define them. This isn’t always the first colorway that came out, but it’s the one that probably pops into your mind first. When you think of a New Balance 990, you think of the Grey colorway. The Jordan 1? The Chicago comes first (don’t even try Bred fans – check the resale). The Yeezy 350 V2 – (probably) the Zebra.
There are few places as synonymous with a shoe style as Lewiston, Maine is to the beefroll penny. It’s like Detroit and the car, or Washington D.C. and politics – being born there seems to make you an inherent expert. However, like the GM vs. Ford battle in Detroit or the Democrat vs. Republican battle in D.C., battle lines exist in this small community. Turf wars break out between kids whose dad works at Rancourt vs. their classmates at Quoddy. Slings made of Horween’s Chromexcel can be seen in every grocery store.
While Labor Day isn’t always the best deals in the world, it’s getting better and better every year. Sales have started to pick up, and
Did you know that the Dunk wasn’t the only cheaper alternative to the Jordan 1? Even though the 1 didn’t sell nearly as well as Nike would have hoped, there were a number of brands who did blatant rip-offs of the design to sell for less money.
The past five years has not been kind to Allen Edmond’s reputation. Especially around QC. In fact, when a recent sale was posted to Reddit, they were described as “great, as long as you’re OK returning 2 or 3 pairs until you get one that is made correctly.”
However, something happened over the past year or so. With inflation going crazy and demand for high quality footwear soaring, Allen Edmonds did something you might not expect. As competitors raised their price, Allen Edmonds started to run more sales. The actual transaction price of their shoes dropped.
Paying $400 for a pair of Allen Edmonds in 2019 when Carmina was $350 is foolish. But paying $180 for a pair of Allen Edmonds in 2022 when Carmina is $500? Well, let’s find out if it makes sense.
What really makes the 700 stand out is that it’s the only Yeezy silhouette where Adidas is willing to play with color. From the original’s greens and oranges, to the bright blues on this Hi-Res colorway, if you want colors like you’ll see in Jordans, the 700 is the one for you.
However, there is one major elephant in the room. They cost Two Hundred and Sixty Freaking Dollars. For a sneaker. That’s the sort of price people expect to pay for made-in-America fully leather boots
Can a sneaker possibly be worth it? Let’s find out.
Rancourt’s Beefroll loafer is often one of the top recommended choices for people looking to get into the made-in-Maine loafer world. Often mentioned alongside the Alden Leisure Hand Sewn. If you’re looking to get a new beefroll, is this the right one for you? Let’s find out.
The appeal of the collaboration is clear. Most of us don’t own a shoe factory, or a design team to tell us what is feasible. The only way we’ll be able to get what we really want is through a collaboration. The company then gets a chance to market a shoe and beat their competitors. But what drove two companies who have their own shoe factories and design teams to instead collaborate with their competitors? In this case, the environment.
Helm as a brand has been around since 2009. While that certainly doesn’t make them the oldest bootmaker out there, that’s older than you might think. Their first boot, built in a service boot style, beat Viberg’s service boot to the market by a year. The same is true of Oak Street Bootmakers, the current iteration of Rancourt, Truman, and many of the other well-known brands of today. All of these came after Helm. While far from ancient, they are certainly among the oldest of the new crop of bootmakers.
Nike’s latest and greatest in the comfort ream is ZoomX, and you don’t find any more of it than in this absolute beast of a sneaker – the Nike Invincible Run. While Nike positions this as a running sneaker, as you’ll see later in this review, this is all about comfort. If you want to run a marathon, get a Vaporfly. If you want to get around town in the nicest way possible, that’s where the Invincible shines.