Month: July 2022

After spending nearly two years quarantined in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in New York City, all I want to do is be outside. While I've never been a hardcore athlete, I've spent the past 12 months learning to love running outdoors. The only problem? I hate my running shoes. Enter: Allbirds, a sustainable shoe brand with no shortage of celebrity fans — Hilary Duff, Jennifer Garner, and Mila Kunis have Oofos Shoes  all been spotted wearing them — so I was definitely on board when the brand offered to send me a few pairs to try out. My partner, a dedicated Allbirds fan, has four pairs and he swears they're the best shoes he's ever worn. Needless to say, the hype was real. I decided to test out Allbirds newest (and lightest) running shoe, the Tree Flyers in the color blizzar...

At one point during last year’s WNBA season, Storm star Breanna Stewart attended a meeting in Indianapolis in which her basketball journey was on a full display. Representatives from Puma had put together mood and inspiration boards from different junctures from Stewart’s past, “from where I grew up, to where I am now,” she says, eager to see what the two-time WNBA MVP connected with most. The meeting marked an early stage in a process that entered a new phase Friday, as Stewart’s first signature sneaker was officially announced. The Stewie 1 is not only Stewart’s debut signature sneaker, but the first publicly available signature shoe of a WNBA player in more than a decade. (Last week, The Washington Post’s Kareem Copeland documented that Mystics center Elena Delle Donne has been weari...

Given how much contact my shoes make with the streets of New York, I have a rule that I very rarely (perhaps only in the name of Prada) break: I never spend more than $150 on footwear. The only problem is that my tastes, especially when it comes to shoes, don't exactly align with my self-appointed budget. At least, they don't when I shop from anywhere other than Nordstrom. Despite what you might think about the department store, it houses just as many $1000 items as it does $150 ones. In fact, in the under-$100 bracket alone, Nordstrom carries more than 7000 shoe options, many of which look far more expensive than they are. Hoka Running Shoes And that's without the rest of my allotted shoe fund. So, really, my $150 budget isn't actually a problem at all. Or rather, it isn't when...

The Overwatch 2 narrative team has added 25,000 new voice lines to the game, some of which are described by writers as “reactive” — voice lines pulled from a complex system designed to reward players in rare or absurd moments. Overwatch 2 players on social media are starting to notice these voice lines spread throughout the game’s ongoing beta period. There are voice lines for even the most hyper-specific situations, down to recreating complex scenes from Overwatch cinematics. According to narrative designers Justin Groot and Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie, some voice lines even include reactions to details like specific Overwatch 2 heroes’ skins. Sigma is one of Overwatch’s most contentious heroes, for one specific reason: He doesn’t wear shoes in his default skin. When the hero was first rel...

EDMONDS — Bigfoot could do all his shoe shopping here. What’s up with that? Wide Shoes Only owner Dominic Ahn could fit Sasquatch with a hiking boot that’s comfortable and functional. And a dress shoe, and maybe some sandals and dancing shoes. Mostly though, Ahn fits people with wide feet seeking comfort and fashion. The store has over 600 styles for men and women. Bigfoot aside, this is serious business. The medium-footed masses have shoe stores galore for shopping. Most retailers that carry wide only go so wide. At this Edmonds store, shoes are not only wide, they are extra wide. And extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra wide. Or 6E for short. “I have access to 8Es,” Ahn said. The store has sizes 7 to 18 for men and 5 to 13 for women. For women, Kizik Sneakers  sing...

Even on TikTok, an app that has millions of users, you can spot a product or brand over and over again on completely different videos. That's just the power of its algorithm. It starts off with one influential person, and then the next thing you know, what they're wearing is viral. While Steve Madden has been around for years, its impact on TikTok and Gen Z is big. According to Poshmark's April trend report, Gen Z's search for "Steve Madden sandals" was up by 73%. While most of Gen Z can't afford high-end designers, they're resorting to more affordable brands like Steve Madden to tap into the latest shoe trends. I'm deep on fashion TikTok and sometimes scroll for hours, so I, too, get influenced by what I see on my For You Page. While I tend to be a simple-shoe lover, I found myself sif...