NB 990 v3 - Unisex Customization

Originally, the plan was to customize for the the men but again, the colour choices I was left with would've made the shoes boring so I decided to take some risks.  I decided to add a splash of grape red to the mix.  That colour blended well with the army green and black.  Having said that, I still had to be very careful with the grape colour.  A lighter tone of that becomes pink and that made the shoe more feminine.  I did not want that.  I really had to tinker with the colour placement to avoid using that other colour because that pink was the only colour in NB's palette that went with the colour scheme.  In the end things worked out for the better.  I ended up with a colour scheme that would suit either gender, albeit, the customization was done so with the men colour scheme in mind.

What make this pair of shoes appealing the way that the grape red colour was applied and still held just enough masculinity to be a unisex shoe.  To me, this grape red colour alone is more of a feminine colour.

NB 990 v3 - Customizing for the Men

You might remember an earlier customization I've posted of the NB 990 v3:

 

That is the female colour scheme.  Now have a look at this:

There weren't a whole lot of colour choices to choose from - at least not ones that yielded the colour combo I wanted.  It took me several tries to get the colour scheme I wanted.  I wanted the shoes to look masculine, not too dull, but not too flamboyant either.  I'd personally think these shoes would sell well as long as they are comfortable.  Here are the rest of the shoe's angles:

LeBron James XI

 

I like this customization by SneakerFairy the most.

Posted by SneakerFairy.com on Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Ankle Boots

Not an athletic pair of shoes but it was still fun to customize these ankle boots.  This post is for you women out there.  I think I nailed this one...unless of course, you don't like green.

Before:

 

After:

 

You can cutomize this and other styles on the Shoes of Prey website.  This particular customization will set you back a cool C$384!!  That's way more than a pair of Mizuno Wave Prophecy's at full blast.

Stephen Curry's Northern Lights

For those of you who don't know who Stephen Curry is, he's the 2nd best player in the NBA right now and arguably the most exciting one to watch in the league.  It's no wonder Under Armour gave him his own line of shoes.  I really like this model as shown below.

Take a look at the upcoming "Northern Lights" UA Curry 2 https://t.co/uyPcAPCeF0 pic.twitter.com/WmyiDaes2I

— SneakerNews.com (@SneakerNews) December 9, 2015

Evolution of the Nike Air Max Shoe

Someone suggested that I include postings on the history of the shoe. I wasn't sure how I was going to do so because I didn't want to be too technical. I wanted to focus more on the aesthetics of the shoes. This article on the other hand, does a good job illustrating the evolution of the Nike Air Max technology. You can browse through the illustrations with or w/o reading the blurb and still appreciate the growth of the shoe.

Here's our visual guide to the history of Air Max: https://t.co/VKSMx1IaDJ pic.twitter.com/2hBW3KHA7P

— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) December 4, 2015

Creative Shoe Use

Vous êtes fan de #Mizuno? Cette photo va vous plaire! @Mizuno_Running @MizunoRunning #WaveProphecy #Running #Tunning pic.twitter.com/cHJUpMNVRE

— Antoine De Wilde (@antoine2wilde) January 29, 2014

I want to see what my "girl" Prophecy colours would look like on that car.

We <3 running shoes in all sizes! @MizunoRunningEU #runningfreaks #mizuno #funatwork pic.twitter.com/Oc6xAsJjYq

— runners' lab (@rslab) November 12, 2015

Now, that must a shoe built by a big-shoe fanatic - a fan who likes a big shoe.  Ha!

Giannis Antetokounmpo 34's

First of all, can you even pronounce is name? Secondly, what the heck are those? Personally, I think they're alright shoes but interesting, nonetheless.

@THEwincapaw What do you think about @G_ante34's kicks!?! pic.twitter.com/0l6NeelcUY"

— Mary White (@MWincapawWhite) February 14, 2015

LeBron 11's

What The LeBron 11's pic.twitter.com/tZNdPn85ow

— NBA_Mixes (@NBA_Mixes) December 4, 2015

Here's a break from running shoes all the time.

Brooks Ghost - Berlin Version

Primo mese di #runveg e un mese esatto alla #pisamarathon! #brooksrunning #buoncomplemese #Autunno #Training pic.twitter.com/zeqyGqxxY7

— run veg (@run_veg) November 21, 2015

 

Translation:  First month #runveg and exactly one month to #pisamarathon! #brooksrunning #buoncomplemese #Autunno #Training 

 

That's another example of good shoe posing but the shoes are so unique I would've posted these anyway.

Brooks Berlín marathon ghost 8 limited edition!#runhappy @Media_Hook @AirRobi @valemarchei14 @berlinmarathonE pic.twitter.com/kOmrMLDj8a

— Brooks Running IT (@BrooksRunningIT) September 27, 2015

 This is very similar to the pose I get some of my shoe modelists to do.

Stinky Nike Shox

Usually I don't pass up on the opportunity to buy Nike Shox but they smelt almost like athlete's foot.  They were on the bottom shelf.  I squatted down like a back catcher would and I thought a rat must've died.  When I began to grab the shoes, that's when I KNEW what smelt so bad.

The shoes were in decent shape otherwise.  They certainly weren't brand new visually but they were structurally sound with no rips in the sockliner, and seemed to have decent tread.  These were gone and reappeared after a few days.  I wonder if they were returned or just deordorized.  Whatever the case I wasn't even going touch them, let alone smell them.  Someone bought them later that day though.

Had the Shoes Looked Like This...

Gym night + foam rolling. I've lost my right calf! #nomorefootpain #MizunoRunCanada #MizunoWaveEnigma5 pic.twitter.com/qToSufI4Sr

— Elise Yanover (@eliseyanover) November 27, 2015

Here are a pair of shoes with the same sky blue trim colour but are accompanied with a lighter shade of purple.  This tone of purple alone can be worn by men but these are definitely women's shoes.  Looks pretty good on HER.

Look @MizunoBarb no holes! Men's shoes were great on #arctrainer. Now can we make em in pink? Ha ha. #WaveRider19 pic.twitter.com/I7rOz0r6Uu

— Elise Yanover (@eliseyanover) November 27, 2015

Now these on the other hand, look good on either gender.  Even though this lady preferred these to be pink, if she hadn't said anything, I would've accepted the fact these are women's shoes.

Acknowledging My 100th Post and Reaching 2500 Views

It didn't help that I finally needed to set aside some time for myself other than to work on this blog all the time.  Black Friday weekend didn't help either as I wanted to cash in on some of the deals that were out there.  I found some colourful athletic outfit, which I can wait to wear with any future matching-coloured shoes I might find.

 

We're way past this number now as we speak.

 

 

Thanks for visiting my blog.  As long as you all keep coming, you're going to keep me on my toes to keep posting!!

Wtf? Arthur Wears Girl Shoes??

Shhh!!  I don't want anyone to hear my girl footsteps.  My masculine image is at stake.  Just kidding.  I'm posting this article to demonstrate what shoes we are "allowed" to wear is all a matter of perspective.

In acknowledgement of another milestone (two actually), I wanted to save this quirky article for my 100th post.  I'm proud to say this blog has reached and surpassed the 2500 view mark just before the Black Friday weekend.

Women's Mizuno Wave Propehcy 3 (Purple)

I really hesitated buying these at first b/c I couldn't justify paying so much to not wear them.  I'm a shoe collector for those of you who don't know.  Somehow, I took at chance and I'm glad I did.  Although the light blue on the purple would still hint that these were design with the women in mind, they don't not look as feminine through the naked eye as it does on the company's website.

I can understand why these shoes are slow movers compared to other colourways.  The shoes aren't feminine enough and men don't usually like wearing purple, especially shoes using light blue as the trim colour.  However, I had a solution in mind.

If I were to wear these alone with my casual clothing, the girl part of the shoe would stand out more.  When worn with matching colour apparel, I think the shoes look pretty sharp on me.

I think I passed my masculinity test with the first collage so I took the ultimate challenge when I accidently stumbled upon this template.  Nothing short of being curious, I just wanted to see what a heart-shaped collage would look like, esp. with me wearing "girl" shoes.  The key was the border colour.  I knew if I messed this one up, this collage wouldn't work.  Light blue would blend in but doesn't properly respresent how I feel about these shoes.  I lighter shade of purple didn't work b/c it would only add to the feminine vibe.  Finally, I decided on a darker shade of purple.  To me, this was the only colour that wouldn't feminize me and yet, marries into the colour scheme of my dress up.

Matching Purple Jacket??

Couple of week later, I stumbled upon this jacket.  It was a really nice jacket and it was purple for sure, but hey.  Arthur has his limits too.  I'm not impervious to self-consciousness.  I would consider this tone of purple to be solely worn by women.  I had to pass.

Shoe Pose Example - Jennie

The following pics are accredited to Jennie in her twitter posts.  It's a compliment if I'm posting these here so I hope you don't mind.  You are a natural so if you read this post, I hope you will submit some pics of different shoe poses so my fan base and myself can admire & enjoy.  If you're up to helping us out, just be Jennie.  Don't over try b/c you are a natural.

Here's just one of many examples of what I'm looking for:

Non-running Shoe Pics:

Jennie, how come your best poses are when you're not wearing your cool kicks?  Damn!  What a waste!  You need to replicate these poses in your athletic shoes.  Maybe point the toe of your left shoe outward just a little more to add to the showmanship of your shoes and your femininity.

 

This pose is perhaps your finest.

Running Shoe Poses: 

Your legs are long and nicely toned and they're flexible, allowing you to turn your foot at a wider angle, which maximizes the shoes' femininity.  I'd buy the shoes for the artistry.  However, if I were a gal, and the shoe fits me right, I'd have to say, your poses sold me on the shoes.  VERY nicely done!!

Throw-in Pics:

This is a shoe blog after all so I didn't want to waste any of your flashy shoe pics.  They're still post worthy, even though you didn't pose in these.

NYC Version of Asics GEL-Nimbus 17

Deals #889 : https://t.co/NMGfHlHK0a ASICS Women's GEL-Nimbus 17 NYC Running Shoes T5M8N pic.twitter.com/0gkwil9H44

— WordyOfferz (@WordyOfferz) November 15, 2015

Criteria for My Shoe Modelists

Not everyone looks "great" in shoes.  Here's my criteria:

1. You have a good personality/friendly/approachable
2. You have nice shoes
3. You have good posture that makes even ordinary shoes worthy of collages  (ex:  like this one)
4. Your shoe can't be excessively narrow for your feet
5. You are open-minded and have some patience
6. You are transparent (not saying yes when you really mean no)

Men's Nike Air Pegasus '83:

Even though these shoes lack flare and the fact these are actually men's shoes, this gal has enough of a feminine posture to warrant a photo shoot.  Her posture makes the shoes.  The shoes can only speak so much for themselves.

Btw, the style itself isn't bad at all.  The shoes just lack colour and has minimal artistry.

Salmon Pink Nike Zoom Pegasus 31:

Here's an example of a lady with very ordinary posture with very cool shoes.  Had these shoes been more muted in colour and layering been less busy, her dress up would've been very boring.  What I'm saying is if she was wearing the black shoes in the picture above, those shoes would be well hidden.

And of course, if you get the best of both worlds, you get this, as illustrated in one of my earlier posts.

My Biggest Supporters (Recently) aren't from My Country

If no comments are left, then I can only go by viewership.  Since my ranting of the framing/death threat incident, my country people's viewership have seriously lagged behind.  It's people outside my country who have been reading my posts.  The one country that likes like a lot of drama is the country that is the most interested it seems.  Yes, my blog does involve a lot of drama.  That's what happens with a unique hobby.  That's what happens when you do something different.

I know it could be a coincidence but there's no way that everyone could view my ranting as ME being the troublemaker here.  Of the people in my town who I've given my blog info to, I predicted a 50/50 belief system.  It's still too early to tell but of the 3-4 posts I've made so far, only 1 or 2 or maybe 3  views are from my country.  For me, that's got to be worrysome...but Canadians are known to be pretty laid back so they'll read when they feel like it.  I'm hoping that's the case.

What Made Me Snap!!

I mentioned that it was 6 months after that framing/slander incident that I found out my helper was a fake.  Four months passed by before I was "forced" to start this blog.  Finally, just about 2 weeks ago I posted this collage that I was finally ready to voice what I've been bottling up for a year.

Not only did this legitimized my hobby to myself, it infuriated me that people would doubt me and take something as simple as shoe pics and "legislating" my actions as a crime.  People would complain behind my back even after they said "yes".  Some people doubt my actions but C.K. blew the majority of those complaints out of proportion.  I don't have 100% proof but that's the overall vibe I get from dealing with the overall sample size of people shoe modeling for me.

The more I looked at this particular piece of work, the more I admired my creativity.  The more I admired my creativity the more agitated I became. Finally, I said to myself:  "And people were worried about this??  Was this the type of work C.K. was trying to embarass me from doing - b/c some people have a *blank* fetish??  F-U C.K.!!  Ha!!  Pun not even intended!!  LOL!!!  Was C.K. saying some people have a *blank* fetish or was she just indirectly saying that I have a *blank* fetish?  I really felt C.K. append her own assumptions the doubters' assumptions.

Anyone who's interacted with me and seen that collage should NOT think I have creepy intentions.  If I act out of sorts it's b/c I'm a little embarassed - yes, I still feel this way sometimes but I'm getting better at handling this.  If some of you still think I'm a creep you really need to dig deep to find the root of the problem.  Is it b/c of me you don't feel comfortable about or is it your past experiences that is resulting in your inability to trust?  Just food for thought.

Gonna Need Your Help

I gotta get some help here, and no, it's not about C.K..  The hell with her for now.  In order for me to post more creative content, including pics of your shoes you've modelled for me, I'm going to need some more time.  Even watermarking the photos take a fair bit of time.

What I need is for you guys to help me network my blog.  Let as many people who you think are interested in shoes know about my site.  People who like wearing shoes and people who have an appreciation for design, art, and creativity should enjoy my site.

Don't forget, I collect shoes as well so I've got a ton of used shoes I can let go of anytime so if you want to save some money from buying brand new pairs, I'm your guy.  I've got a pair listed already.

Listen, I have a life away from the computer and I also have to start allocating my time towards learning how to use my newly bought software.  I can't do this alone so I need your help.

Also, if you haven't subscribed to my blog already, please do so.  I can't guarantee a daily posting so I don't want you to have to check daily to no avail and not check when I do post.

Thanks for your continued support and keep on reading!!

Sometimes Simple is Cool Too

Despite all the flashy shoes out there, there is a pair of shoes that are well done.  The colours are right, look nice, and doesn't draw too much attention to the wearer.  Here are the women's Asics Gel-Fortitude 3.

This images are from Konzar.com

I think the reason this simple design works is because there's a lot of colour separation and the overall grey tones work in harmony with one another.  There's also a good usage of colour balance.  I think the black is a smart choice to provide that accent colour, but to also "neutralize" some of the femininity.  Don't get me wrong.  It would look good on a woman.  Oh, and I think the mint is THE trendy colour amongst women right now.  The one tweak I'd make is to make the laces mint green with the black strike through to match the colour scheme of the Asics logo.  That would make the shoe a little more elegant.

On the other hand, this particular design has some drawbacks.  Because the shoe relies heavily and the mint colour and the mint is the trim colour, the shoes' glam is taken away even if the shoe is a little dirty.

Check out the photos from eBayer:  Apparel Save:

As you can see, there's something about the grey that make the shoe more susceptible to dirtiness than others.  Had the mint green been a little more dominant and the grey meshing done a better job repelling dirt, I think this shoe wouldn't look more worn than it really is.  I think these should be worn indoors as gym shoes on the treadmill or on the bike.

Overall, I'd have to say, "yes", they're still worthy enough to add to my shoe collection, but only if they're fairly clean.  Apparel Save wants $35 for the dirty shoes b/c of the mint colour, I reckon.  I personally couldn't see myself paying more than C$10 for those.

Protecting Myself from Future Death Threats

For those who are newcomers to my blog read these posts to fully understand my situation.  The links will show in a seperate pop-up window so you won't lose your place.

I Got Framed - The Full Story 

Since My Suspension from Work - Part 1 

Since My Suspension from Work - Part 2

C.K. Make Women Look Bad

Revealing the ID of One Culprit 

C.K.'s Shoe Store 

Could've Gone to Court Too!!

Suspected "Spy"

Death-Threat Accomplice Hides Her Deficiencies

Regardless of the terrible experiences I've endured, I don't want to quit doing what I'm doing b/c of fear.  As I mentioned earlier, this blog was more forced than planned but I don't regret having it up now.  It's kind of fun to be honest with you.

It's been run across my mind that "calling out C.K." can be seen as provocation, which could lead to my actual death.  My take is if I put it out there publically, it is less likely to happen.

If I were C.K. and knowing what I know about her, how people view her is very imortant to her and she's also very self-conscious.  With people knowing my situation and the fact that I'm already highly suspicious of her acts, you know where I'm going with this.

If anything happens to me, the police would surely do an investigation on her first and who her accomplices could possibly be.  If C.K. knows that the public and I know we supect her, and if she's as self-concious as I think she is, she is not as likely to do it b/c it will harder for her to hide in the background.

I also think that as long as I do what I'm doing, C.K. will always be jealous of the attention I'm taking away from her, and thus, will always have  a grudge against me and thus, want to find a way to dissuade my hobby.  It's already been established that killing me is one way to stop me.  Even my employer supports the death threat.  That's why I'm so mad.  I don't think I should have to die just b/c I want to admire and share my hobby with other enthusiasts.  There's nothing wrong with having a shoe hobby.  It's one thing to disagree with one's likes.  It's another to kill b/c someone apppoints herself as an (attention) entitled goddess.  F-sakes!!

Orange Rendition of C.K.'s Shoes

Bought these a few days ago.  Though the style is the same, the colour makes a huge difference to the shoe.  Doesn't even look like the ones she used to wear.

Orange Nike Pegasus 29

I Bolted When I Saw C.K. Today

Having the experience I have reading people, I can now say without bias that C.K. is really not that friendly of a person.  I went into a store and shortly after, I heard a voice asking for assistance.  It was firm and commanding (in a dictative kind of way).  I walked towards that voice and I saw this shoe.

Serves as illustrative purposes only.  Didn't have time to snapshoot her shoes even had I wanted to.  Another sub-par shoe by her.  I'll pass.

It was the Brooks Glycerin 12's that I saw C.K. wear 6 months ago in another shop.  I was able to make a connection b/n this shoe and the voice.  All I had to do was look up to confirm it was C.K..  Before she could see me, I bolted.  Being near her makes me uncomfortable and angry at the same time.

I've already established that I was able to judge her character w/o any biases b/c I didn't know it was her at first.  Now let me further solidify my claims about her character.  I mentioned that I saw her wearing these shoes 6 months ago at another shop.  It took her 2 full minutes to realize that I was standing next to her.  She turned around and said:  "Hi Arthur."  I replied:  "Hey," like I didn't care who she was but I was broiling on the inside.

How can she do the things she did to me and still has the presence of mind to treat me like everything's okay b/n us??  Unless 6 months ago, she didn't know what I now know about what she did.  I'm sure she does now and you will agree with my assumpiton if you've already read my "Suspected Spy" posting.  Even then, if I had done something even a little bit wrong to someone, I'd do everything I can not to draw attention of that person to me, let alone say hi to that individual.

Ladies & gentlemen, I have very little doubt this woman will pull another stunt to hurt me again in the future and possibly others to fulfill her ulterior motives.  Stay clear of this woman.  She will slander you.  That's how I got kicked out of the gym.

Revealing the ID of One Culprit

I don't know if all of you have read:  this article, but if you really observant and have really good attention to detail, you would've known the gym I was referring to is the Nanaimo Athletic Club.  I've been a member of that gym since 1994 and had caused no problems.  How come this new owner and this relatively new spin instructor gets me kicked out?  Sorry but I'm not the problem.  C.K. and this Mexican owner is.

If you recall, not only do I highly doubt the spin members complained about me the way C.K. said they did, but when I was banned, they kept my money for the remaining unused month of my membership.  Jane (manager) said Dave (owner), was holding me responsible for scaring the women out of the gym.  B.S.!!  Even if I was responsible, he shouldn't keep my money.

My co-worker's cousin had the same issue with money.  They tried to charge her bank account when she was pregnant and had told them she couldn't attend during that time.

A current gym member came into my store said he had also been a member of that gym since 1994.  He said he's seen 6 different owners during that time and this most recent owner sucks.  He said that this owner, Dave, is driving people out.

Do you know what my dad said?  He said this Dave guy must be a sex maniac.  He was implying that he succumbed to C.K.'s claims b/c he tends to be type to give women the benefit of the doubt.

There you have it.  As you can see, I have to ramble about my situation...even if it means I risk more skepticism to my hobby.  In long run, it will all work out.  I believe framing and death threats should be publicized.  If it was just straight slander then I'd handle it a different way.

Believe in me people.  Believe in me.  I shall continue to bring you cool stuff.  Spread the word and increase the health of my blog.

Model Name of C.K.'s Shoes

If anyone is wondering, those are called the Nike Pegasus 29's.  I bought an orange rendition of those and they look waaaaay better.  Her lousy personality sure dictates her lousy taste.  She'd better not start wearing my shoes.  I'd have to retire them all.!!

 I went back to the store today and not surprisingly, they still have not sold.