Tagged: Trainers

Shoes and Trainers by Ralph Lauren

I’m starting to see a lot of Ralph Lauren footwear about on my various travels and trips. Businessmen are adopting the ‘Ralph Lauren’ range, while the older gents are picking up the slightly more casual ‘Polo Ralph Lauren’ collection and enjoying the loafers, deck shoes and smart canvas shoes or plimsolls that come with the signature Ralph Lauren polo player on horse logo. Ralph footwear wasn’t really something that I had seen in any great numbers, with the occasional American or brand loving guy sporting the shoes, but in recent times there has definitely been an uplift in the amount of men around the UK wearing the brand usually well known for its cotton mesh polo shirts. If you’re looking to get into the footwear for the brand then I would wholeheartedly recommend starting with the Polo range, as the standard Ralph starts at £265 and ranges up to a whopping £620 for brogues and loafers. The price bracket may be high, but the quality of the leather, craftmanship and the global appeal of the brand really covers this.

The Polo Ralph Lauren shoes range has some beautiful shoes and colours with leather loafers, deck shoes, military style boots, high tops and a variety of styles of canvas sneakers have really caught the imagination of the public in the UK, and when priced between £55 and £165 you can see why. You compare these to other gents brand such as Paul Smith or Ted Baker and you can see that the price is much more competitive for a superb pair of shoes from a top designer name. There is plenty of styles available to see out the rest of the summer, but equally the Ralph Lauren boots are a must have for the winter rain and snow. Perfect for poor weather conditions these boots can be matched with multiple outfits, but the best fit are dark jeans or chinos rolled up and tucked into thick knitted socks with the tan leather boots. The rest of the range is pretty self explanatory and perfect for a blustery autumn, so if you’re looking for a new fashion footwear brand to follow then Ralph Lauren should be your choice this year.

Share

Superga – The Peoples Shoes of Italy

Superga is one of the great unknown brands that are currently doing the rounds in the fashion world. Much like Toms a couple of years ago the Superga brand name is on the verge of breaking into the UK and can currently boast Alexa Chung as an official Superga shoe wearer. The brand is HUGE in Italy and they are dubbed the ‘Peoples Shoes of Italy’ as they cater for men and women of all ages and offer some comfortable, hardwearing, quality canvas and leather shoes that are always on trend in one of the most fashion conscious countries in the world. The signature ‘S’ logo will surely soon become a common sight in England with the fashion world enjoying an 80s vintage revivial that has seen canvas shoes rocket to the top of bestselling charts everywhere. A little bit more pricey than some of the competition from Lyle and Scott, Luke 1977, Fred Perry, Original Penguin, Adidas Originals, Nicholas Deakins and Toms but for the little jump in price you are investing in quality and comfort. The large rubber sole is barely even noticeable when wearing the plimolls and they look amazing with shorts, chinos or jeans so the versatile shoe for the summer just fitted with pretty much every outfit that you can muster from your wardrobe.

At some point the Superga footwear range is going to hit the big time outside of Italy, and i’m hoping that the UK will be one of the main places that the trainers are found as they look and feel great. Well worth sniffing a pair or two out now and being the first to say that you owned a pair of Superga trainers for the summer of 2011, as if a new brand doesn’t hit the streets in a big way soon everyone will be wearing Lacoste, Toms, Lyle and Scott and some of the other big footwear names, and we really all want some diversity in the brands on show! So get shopping now!

Share

Are Mid Tops the New Hi Tops?

Over the course of the last few weeks I have seen a growing trend in the limited number of high top trainers, but an increase in what the brands are now calling ‘mid tops’ which you can only assume are half way between a normal shoe and an 80s inspired hi top. The most common brand appearing with these newly styled mid tops are American sportswear giants Nike that offer an amazing range of sleeker converse style ankle high shoes, but also a range of quite chunky retro styled colourful and bright trainers. Also getting in on the act are the German footwear giants and rival companies Puma Archive and Adidas Originals. Their styles are again bright and colourful sticking with their retro styling, but also are available at a slightly cheaper price than Nike. The high top or mid top is coming back alongside the 80s fashion revivial that appears to be happening, and can be mixed with a variety of styles or looks. They can be worn with two styles of jeans, either loose or tapered, with the hem of the jeans tucking into the mid tops or the loose jeans sitting over the mid tops and appearing as regular trainers. They can be worn with shorts, but make sure that they’re tonal in colour and not too smart, this is a really casual look so you want something sporty to match with the retro shoes. The other option is another sporty one, and a younger mans sort of style, in jogging bottoms. Now generally elasticated at the bottom of the leg these can sit over or inside the mid top depending on whether you want to show them off or not.

Other than the above mentioned Puma Archive, Adidas Originals and Nike you can also find some amazing mid tops from Lyle and Scott, Fred Perry, Italian brand Superga, Supra and Vans, each with its own price range and signature design. With the fashion dictating that mid tops are becoming a key part of the clothing and footwear collections there is a massive gap in your wardrobe for you to grab yourself some mid top trainers, some tapered jeans and carry off a sporty casual look this summer. Why not give it a go?

Share

Tennis Inspired Footwear Fashion

With Wimbledon on the horizon what better way to look at some of the best footwear around than to relate it to the game of Tennis? Sportswear giants such as Nike and Adidas now accomodate the leading tennis players in the world with various pieces of kit including rackets, polo shirts, shorts, track suits and trainers. These sponsorship deals are worth millions to the players due to the size of the global companies however the original tennis equipment brands started out in much more modest surroundings. Top designer brands such as Lacoste, Fred Perry, Fila, K Swiss and Sergio Tacchini were among the first brands to sponsor and ‘kit out’ players with the Lacoste 1212 polo shirt and the Fred Perry tennis shirt both early developments of the courtwear that is commonplace today.

After establishing a variety of polo shirts, shirts and t shirts onto the courts Fred Perry and Rene Lacoste (seperately obviously) set about making tennis shoes and training shoes that would add performance on the court. The Lacoste camden and carnaby styles are based on early designs that were made for the tennis courts and withstood grass, clay and later the indoor surfaces. Fred Perry focused on the weight of the shoe and developed the slightly lighter canvas tennis shoe, similar to the ‘vintage tennis shoe’ available this season in a variety of colours. Both were used regularly by the then top ranking players until technology took over from the 80s onwards. Now the fashion ranges simply use vintage designs and styles as a basis for their current ranges and the specialist designers make the futuristic tennis shoes that can cope with just about anything.

If during Wimbledon you’re wanting to hit the courts or just want to adopt the tennis players style for the duration then chances are your wardrobe will already accomodate this, with there being no need to splash out on specific tennis footwear, that is unless you want to be playing at Wimbledon in a few years! Dig out your Lacoste and Fred Perry and enjoy the sunshine, pimms, strawberries and watching another British collapse.

Share