Shoes of the summer; #4 - 106 Vulcanised

When I moved to Sydney in early 2008 it quickly became very obvious to me that Australia's fashion trends, and subsequently sneaker culture were very different to those that I had left in the UK.  

With such a rich skating and surfing scene here, skater styled shoes are a lot more common that what you find on the streets in London, and while I haven't undertaken any board related sports I thought I could at least get into the relevant sneakers and I picked these Vans up in the spring.  

Comfortable, classic and easy to wear with skinny jeans these kicks quickly became my everyday shoes and have been great for work or for going out.  

The build up to my #1 continues next weekend, and don't miss out on some great street finds/stories throughout the week.

Shoes of the summer; #5 - Adidas Nastase

The Australian summer came to an end this week which for us non-Aussies means that the amazing sunny weather continues, but it just won't be quite as hot.

With the season ending I thought it would be a good time to address the questions I've been receiving about my own personal footwear tastes and reflect on my favourite 5 kicks that I have been wearing over the past few months.

At #5 is the retro Adidas Ilie Nastase.  I purchased these in London from a store in Islington about 4 years ago.  

I don't wear the shoes too often, but I like their clean retro style and their neutral colouring.

Adidas Originals were a big part of my growing up, and while I've had Gazelles, Stan Smiths, Superstars, The Hills and more, this is the 2nd pair of Nastase's that I've had, and I definitely see this style as an under-rated classic.

Columbia; Sydney

It has become apparent to me that many of us sneaker fans are creatures of habit; we find a style that we like and we keep going back to it, and this sneaker lover is no exception.

Originally from Columbia he has been an avid Adidas Superstar wearer for the past 7-8 years, with pairs in countless colourways, and these white 2009 kicks are the latest addition to his collection.

One of the longest running and cult designs around, the Superstar has been in existence since 1969 and has remained at the forefront of street sneaker style.

All Stars of the Future; Sydney

After finding Freddy a couple of weeks ago, it seems that the next generation of sneaker lovers are out in force.
Coco and Lola are 10 and 6 respectively, and love nothing more than a good dress up.  And for them, no dressing up outfit can have a better starting point than some sparkly All Stars.
The girls are my next door neighbours and I can testify that on a conservative day they can wear 5+ outfits, so when they decided to break out their eye-catching All Stars I couldn't resist taking a few shots of them, and their beloved shoes.

Authentically Original; Sydney

Originally from Hong Kong, these 2 students now live in Sydney.  Both were avid Adidas fans, but both became Vans converts last year when they returned to Hong Kong for a holiday and visited the new Vans flagship store which opened in May.

What caught my eye is the fact that both have an interesting look that emanates from their Authentic Original Vans kicks.  

The left owner in the yellow Authentic Originals from the 2009 Vans Authentic Neon pack has a colorful urban chic outfit, while the owner of the multicolored shoes has a more grungey skater look.

Both have the same style of shoe, yet both have an original look that speaks volumes about who they are in a way that does the name of their shoe proud.

Superga; Sydney

Vans, All Stars, Spring Courts and Volleys are all popular shoes at the moment as the current trend of retro, lo-fi plimsolls continues.

However, having never seen 'Superga' shoes before I was very interested to meet this Italian sneaker fan in Sydney who introduced me to the brand.

Originating from Torino in the North of Italy, Superga are a very popular Italian shoe maker who started out in the early 1900's by making tennis shoes.  In the 1950s the brand merged with the Italian tyre manufacturers Pirelli, and have diversified to offer a interesting range of footwear that work well with contemporary fashion trends.

New Look; Sydney

This vivacious sneaker lover was wearing a pair of kicks less than a day old, and a dress less than 15 minutes old which she had just bought at the Surry Hills market as she rushed across town to get to work on time.

She is an avid sneaker fan, and usually wears All Stars but was trying a new style with these Zip Up Leather High Tops from the Australian clothing store Marcs.

Leading on from this recent post you can see that there is a current trend in Sydney of wearing feminine dresses with high top sneakers to create a fun and girly, yet edgy look.