Welcome back to Weird Shoe Wednesday. It should be no secret that I’m a pretty big computer nerd. Between all the time at work at my desk and my extracurricular blogging and media scavenging at home, I’d estimate that I spend close to 14 hours a day on a computer. So imagine my elation when I discovered these pairs of shoes made from computer boards.

Photo: Funky Downtown

First, we have a pair of women’s heels made by artist Steven Rodrig. The shoes are part of a larger collection of sculptures made out of PCB (printed computer board) materials. He also crafted a cactus, a variety of bugs, flowers, and books. Check out the rest of the neat sculptures by clicking on the photo above.

Photo: Funky Downtown

Next, we have a pair of sneakers that our resident sneaker expert believes is modeled after Nike Blazers (see for yourself by clicking here). Neither the heels or the Nikes can actually be worn but if my computer ever crashes, I might just have to look into getting one of these as a replacement. =D

These photos of a very handsome homeless man/beggar in China have been circulating for awhile now. The man looks good, with the disheveled hair, intense eyes, and vagabond/traveling samurai look straight out of the movies.

Photo: Funky Downtown

And yet, I can’t help feeling at least a little guilty. Here’s this guy, living dirt poor, probably homeless, likely struggling to scrounge up enough money to survive day-to-day. And here I am, halfway around the world, admiring his street-chic look through the comfort of my computer desk, a “look” that’s not street-chic, not a style choice at all but just the reality of his situation. It feels exploitative, no?

Photo: Funky Downtown

What do you think? Does he look good? And do we even have a right to be looking and judging?

Photo: People's District

There’s this great blog called People’s District that collects stories from locals all over Washington, D.C., the sort of locals who you’d usually only know about if you were born and raised in D.C. Just looking at the stories posted in March, there are interviews with people like the head of the D.C. Metro Area Ghost Watchers, a dominatrix, national sportscaster James Brown on D.C. sports history, and also, this interview with Dr. Shoe, a shoe shine street vendor. He discusses his Ph.D in Shoeology. Here’s a grab:

“After 5:30 p.m., I go by the Palm Restaurant and then head out by the bars until midnight. I get most of my shoe shines at night because, after happy hour, everyone is happy and wants to get a shoe shine. I put that glow on their toe. They call me Dr. Shoe because I have my Ph.D. in shoeology. See, I went to Shoe U. to make those shoes look new. My motto is that if you don’t like your shine, you don’t pay a dime. I want to make everyone look shiny and bright because, when I finish, everything’s going to be alright.”

Check out the rest of the interview here. And while you’re at it, you should read some of the other interviews too.

We have a special Friday edition of Weird Shoes today because I just found out about these and they’re kinda crazy like that. I couldn’t send you off into the weekend without checking out these shoes first.

Photo: Core77

This was an art project called “Level”  by Berlin-based artist Hans Hemmert dating back to 1997. Basically, he threw a party wherein anyone entering the room had to wear blue foam “shoe extenders”–like attachable platforms for your shoes. Guests chose the correct size shoe extenders that would bring them to a height of around 2 meters (about 6’9″). The idea is to bring everyone to the same eye level and help eliminate awkward talking positions at parties.

On the one hand, this seems like a really dangerous idea in that it seems to take away from people’s individuality. On the other, I’m short myself and I can feel sometimes how my short stature affects the way that people talk to me or even approach me. At the very least, I’d be interested to see how differently it would be to talk to someone at the same eye level.

What do you think? Is this yet another way to conform the masses or is this an experiment in empowerment for the short people of the world? Don’t be afraid to leave a comment!

Today on Weird Shoe Wednesday, we’ll be looking at teeth-inspired shoes. I’ve very recently gotten braces installed and so all I can think about is how much my teeth hurt when I attempt to eat my favorite foods (I can’t believe I can’t eat Peanut M&M’s anymore!) or even when I brush. My obsession has driven my search for any sort of combination of teeth and shoes.

And, wow …… I found these. This is a sculpture by artist Robin McCauley. Thankfully, he used fake teeth and a pair of women’s shoes he found at a thrift store. But still, how scary are these? I know the teeth are on the outside but I still can’t help imagining the heels chewing and feasting on any feet that dare slip into them. *chills* Continue Reading…

Cork Platforms: Maybe not possible if not for WWII?

And speaking of shoe collectors, I came across this great interview with a vintage shoe collector named Jonathan Walford over at The Collectors Weekly. Walford actually works at the Bata Shoe Museum that displayed the On A Pedestal exhibit we featured some months ago. Here, he speaks on the history of shoes and shoe design in the 20th century. He had a lot of great stuff to say, like how the advent of the mini-skirt in the 1960s resurrected the boot or how Mary Janes might’ve been invented by a cartoonist. What I thought was really interesting was the effect of wars on shoe design and how it led to the creation of cork platforms. Check out a quick grab below:

“Walford: A few homegrown American design talents began to show up, but American retailers were leery of taking American designs. They always wanted to sell the latest fashions from Paris or London. They never wanted to say ‘buy the latest fashions by so and so from Ohio’. World War II changed that because U.S. retailers were cut off from Europe’s fashion leaders. Suddenly they had to look to the local talent, and there was a lot out there. They would even promote the names of U.S. shoe companies like Herman Delman in advertisements.

Collectors Weekly: How else did World War II affect U.S. shoes?

Walford: Actually, both world wars had an impact. From 1915 to 1918, material shortages forced European designers to replace some of the leather in their shoes with gray felt or cotton. This was especially true for boots. In World War II, again because of a lack of leather, materials such as wood and cork were used in soles instead of leather. That created the platform, which became the fashion throughout the war and even into the early 1950s.”

It’s that time again! Yes, I realize it’s St. Patrick’s Day so you might be expecting some weird shoes with a green theme or a leprechaun theme. But this pair of shoes is just too crazy not to post. I actually came across them some days ago and it took everything I had in me to hold back until Weird Shoe Wednesday. So I bring you ……

"Anything comes when it comes to (s)hoes ..." by INSA. Photo: insaland.com

The “elephant dung” shoes! That’s right. A pair of neon bright pumps with beads running down the length of its 10-inch stiletto heel. And an approximately 7-inch platform made from elephant feces. Titled “Anything comes when it comes to (s)hoes…” the women’s heels are part of an art exhibit on display at the Tate Britain museum in London. They were created by UK street artist, INSA, as a response to Chris Ofili’s controversial The Holy Virgin Mary painting (below) from the late 1990s that depicted Mary as a black African woman and also utilized elephant dung. The dung that INSA used actually comes from the same elephant herd that Ofili used, and it may have even come from the same elephant!

Anyway, I think I’ve looked at this too much already. But what do you think? Is this “Art”? Or just plain gross? Check out the inspiration, Ofili’s Mary, below. Continue Reading…

One of the original reasons we started this blog was because we know that shopping online can be a highly impersonal experience. Even though you’re shopping with us, you never see our faces and often never hear our voices. You don’t get a sense that someone is there to help you. And that might discourage you from asking for help in the first place if you need it.

We want to let you know that yes, there are real people behind your computer screen waiting to serve you and fulfill your shopping needs. Our new Employee Spotlight series not only highlights some of our most hard-working employees. It also gives you a glimpse into who we are.

Vince, Shoe Metro's sneaker fiend. Photo by Chris.

We’ll kick it off today with Vince. Vince has been working with us for the past two years in our Listing Department. In his short time, he’s worked his way up to become the top Lister and the department’s Training Supervisor. However, when he’s not at Shoe Metro, Vince is an avid sneaker collector. We asked Vince some questions about his sneaker obsession:

So how many shoes do you have in your collection?
I stopped counting a few years ago. But I’d guess about 150 pairs now.

When did you start collecting sneakers?
I’ve always been into shoes since middle school but I never had the money to afford them. So I didn’t seriously get into collecting until high school when I got my first job—a “Sandwich Artist” at Togo’s. And that was actually one of the main reasons I got a job in the first place.

That’s awesome. But why sneakers? Why not rocks or stamps or something?
It’s just like any other hobby, but shoes have a sense of style. Some people get tattoos, some people get piercings, weird haircuts, and whatnot. Shoes are just my way of doing it. They don’t just sit in my room like a shrine. I wear them too. I sometimes buy two pairs of shoes: one to keep [in my collection], one to wear. I never buy anything that doesn’t look good, that I wouldn’t wear myself. Continue Reading…

Continuing with the “shoe car” theme of this week’s Weird Shoe Wednesdays, here’s an interesting video I found where two designers make a model car out of shoe boxes. Puma commissioned The Wilson Brothers, a design duo from Britain specializing in auto parts, to make a model Formula One race car out of Puma shoe boxes. This was done to kick-start the opening of a new Puma store in Chicago. See the team in action in the time-lapse video below.

Check out another video below where Puma had its Ferrari-branded shoes and clothing turned into an F1 car as well. Continue Reading…

I can’t say enough how much I’ve been impressed by our young students in these last couple of months. Students from the high school level and even on down to the elementary level have poured their support in for our Haiti relief campaign. And even though our promotion has ended, students are still showing their strength and ability to mobilize for good causes.

Student Alex Kyrillos dropping off the donations from Bishops School

That said, all of us at Shoe Metro would like to thank the students of Bishop’s School in San Diego and also those of Spreckles Elementary for their donations. Both schools made large contributions, with Bishop’s giving about 450 pairs of shoes alone. There are still victims in Haiti and now Chile has suffered its own devastating earthquakes. These gifts are sure to help both in these hard times. Thank you again!