Creepers, elevators- whatever you call them- platform shoes have been around forever; At least since 1951- the year this ad appeared in The Bend Bulletin. “5-soles-high” thanks to our man-on-the-street in Oregon, Mick from Red Fishing Boat for clipping this:
“Shine like a russel-red apple!” The copy in these old ads is poetic. Walter’s Buster Brown Shoe Store was/is not related to Walter’s Shoe Care from Canada, makers of accessories like these leather insoles:
Rick from Massachusetts and I have been talking about shoes and sneaks since the 90s. When he’s not battling blazes as a member of the Brockton Fire Department, he also does paintings with a sneaker theme; check the lobster Nike piece^
Rick’s daughter graduated from The Culinary Institute of America earlier this month and jumped right into working at one of the premier bakery/cake shops in southern New England. She copped a pair of the Vans Sk8 Hi KS to wear at work.
I haven’t seen a pair since I heard they dropped last year. The idea is the classic Sk8 Hi body is modified to meet the needs of professional chefs; Water repellent canvas uppers, more comfortable footbeds and the inside-out rubber waffle soles make these Sk8 His a stronger version of the originals.
I grew up in Sk8 His and from 1990 to 2010, could not have imagined wearing anything else. I could envision these Vans being wearable in many different workplaces where black shoes are required. They sell for 75$, but it looks like they’re almost all gone. Who knows if Vans will make more.
I’ll be following up to see how she likes them. The KS Vans seemed to get slammed in reviews on Vans.com, but a poster named Jim the Hiker wrote that they are the best hiking shoes ever and that in the woods he stunts on all the people wearing REI gear. I”m sure you can still skate in them too.
I had to know what Rick wears when he’s not in firefighting gear, and he sang the praises of these boots by Keen.
Thanks Rick and congratulations Brianna !
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In the quest for a perfect shoe lay many opportunities to take an already great pair to the next level. You can upgrade laces, get the stock insoles coated with leather, or get elements dyed to the color of your choice.
We loved these Mauri patent leather/ostrich-leg toe sneakers. The snow-white leather inners gives them a great orca look on the shelf, but like your favorite white tee neck- they’d be hard to keep clean for the long haul.
The white leather was supple and soft. My shoe doctor Boris at East Village Shoe Repair combined some black dye with a little thinning agent (to open the pores), and applied the mixture using a soft brush.
All visible white leather was turned just as black as the outers; The wearability and likability was Darth Vadered up something serious.
They were given a finishing rub with a horse hair brush then left to dry for a couple.
For the first few wears, we’d avoid light-colored socks as there will be naturally be a little rub-off from the dye job.
Like a great stylist for your hair, an experienced cobbler will know exactly what can be done to custom dye your kicks. Thanks to East Village Shoe Repair at 1083 Broadway in Brooklyn, New York for letting us snap shots. I’m sure your smartphone can help find a capable cobbler near you.
Hey ladies, The Rack Shack boutique on Central Avenue in Brooklyn NYC is calling out to you with crushworthy lingerie, sneakers and accessories in a comfy environment piloted by an owner happy to guide you to just the right bra, corset, legging or sneak.
Racks of flirty lingerie by specialty brands like Panache, Playful Promises, Love Claudette, and The Little Bra Company surround a pedestal topped with a thoughtfully handpicked footwear menu.
Bucketfeet slip-ons are here, and are each kind of limited-edition due to the brand’s artist powered model. A Vansy profile with plushy walker-friendly insoles (heel pillows!) are uppered with various designs by any one of 25,000 creators. Bucketfeet is out to make sure no one has the exact same kicks as you.
The conversation pieces here were these shiny golden trainers by Celestial Footwear featuring translucent outsoles that can illuminate red, green, blue, yellow, turquoise, purple, white or all seven in rotation via an internal light emitting diode (LED).
I remember L.A. Gears from the 90s, and I always thought of light-ups as a kid’s gimmick to wear running around Chuck-E-Cheese, but Celestial is offering something way more refined and well-constructed than some tossable cheapos. The build is solid, and the pliable body looks like C3PO gold- not sure how they do it, but these aren’t your little niece’s light-up sneakers.
The vibe in The Rack Shack is warm and the natural light is great- a picture couldn’t capture the shoe’s light activation so well so you’ll have to check ’em out for yourself. As of this writing, The Rack Shack is the only brick-and-mortar retailer stocking Celestial products in the United States, so again with the “no one else has these” effect.
Alongside the Celestials and Bucketfeets were some athletic offerings by Supra. On the walls hung stockings and hosiery from Pretty Polly. On tables lay edible massage oils and intimate cosmetics by Luz De La Riva .
Thanks to Laura- leader of The Shack- for letting a fella snap some shots and blab about shoes. I would be shocked if any girl on Earth couldn’t find an item here to eroticize their wardrobe.
Mighty Wallets by Dynomighty are made of Tyvek, the hard-to-rip paperlike material spun from high-density polyethylene fibers and trademarked by DuPont.
Tyvek takes well to printing, and there are more Dynomighty designs than you can shake a dollar at. These wallets cost around ten bucks; They offer customs, but I’ve only ever gotten stock designs.
I’m fond of the ones that resemble other folded paper, like the postal envelope and the subway map. When you’re on the move, there’s no benefit to using an obviously expensive wallet. By the time you whip these out and do your business, a casual observer may have barely processed that you pulled cash from a map, or cards from an envelope. Save your ostrich leather for special occasions. Dynomighty’s a good traveler. A folded up MTA map does not scream “rob me”.
2 bill pockets, 2 card slots, and some other room to put flat things occupy the Mighty Wallet. My two cents: They’re the best wallets for people who hate wallets.
Popdiatry occasionally writes about apparel and accessories in this section “Off The Path”.
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Guys searching for that two-tone look might not do better than these Oak Street Bootmakers Trench boots featuring Horween Chromexcel leather/Peanut suede uppers, calfskin lining, and Vibram soles with stacked leather heels. Your only question will be “what belt do I match with them?”.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out in a few weeks and everybody’s celebrating. You can find just about any consumer product branded with the Star Wars character family, but UK’s Irregular Choice has fan girls and boys going extra nuts with highly imaginative offerings like lightsaber, R2D2 and Vader/Stormtrooper high-heels, and these Chewbacca boots (faux Wookie fur).
The great American Russell Moccasin Company has been hand-manufacturing top-quality outdoorsy footwear in Wisconsin for over 100 years, and I had to hide my credit card when I saw they released some of their models, like the traveling sportsman chukka, in bumpy Ostrich leather. Russells are made-to-order; They offer men’s and women’s fit and a “no-quills” option for the Ostriches.
You’ve got to respect L.L. Bean for continuing to manufacture their signature Duck Boots in Maine, USA despite a straining demand. The Maine factory is busier than a beaver and you may have to sit on a list for your size/style. Any shoe worth having is worth waiting for right? Cheap imitations featuring the “duck” toe are a dime-a-dozen, but to me it was always the chain patterned sole that made these boots original and wicked unique.
The leather/rubber combo ducks have been around for ages, but L.L. does offer a few variations on the original, like these waxed Canvas tops, which strike me as the perfect boot for All-Star partisans to wear in the rain. On the topic of sizing- the duck boot design dates back to before boots had insulation and thus leaves room for very heavy socks. Popdiatry normally recommends buying your correct Brannock size, but Ducks most definitely run big so for normal wear get a size down if you can get ’em at all.
This year Halloween fell on a weekend. Somewhere between the 90s and the 00s the spooky holiday went from a kid thing to an adult thing, and for the open-minded- we’re all wearing costumes all day every day anyway. So Ash Costello, the singer for New Years Day, has her own line of gear with Iron Fist including these superfly Bat Wing Boots made from vegan (synthetic) leather attached to a mega chunky sole. Platform lovers will be in ecstasy, and the wings are removable for use with other footwear in your collection all year ’round.
At quick glance, these are some black men’s boots. Closer research reveals that they are Viberg Service Boots with moosehide uppers attached to Dainite soles. The moosehide is referred to as Black Unicorn leather and is produced by one of England’s most respected tanneries. Viberg also flips these into a roughout scout version, and I’m putting my credit card into a frozen ice block right now..
Above images are all from respective manufacturer websites. This post contains no affiliate marketing (;
I occasionally live that backpack life, and this accessory organizer medium by Cocoon is my new friend.
It’s simply a hard rectangle of criss-crossed elasticized bands that you can fasten a bunch of stuff to for clutter-free carrying.
This one has a zipper pocket on the back, and slides easily in and out of any pack.
Popdiatry occasionally writes about non-shoe accessories in this section called “Off The Path”.
Coming from Boston Massachusetts, and living in New York City where there are no Walmarts, I had no idea what to expect when I accompanied a relative to WM store 2904 in Brockton Massachusetts on a quick mission to fill their levothyroxine prescription.
I lied in the previous paragraph. I remember places like Caldor, Bradlees, Ames, Jamesway and Zayre and expected Walmart to be a jumbo Voltron of those.
I was impressed by the shoelace endcap – two actually filled with a wide variety of colors, lengths, and styles (think: dress, round, flat, oval, workboot, etc..). I got me these Kiwi 72″ leather laces ($4):
These leather laces need no aglets could be cut to any size with a good pair of of scissors. At 72 inches, you could half them and end up with two pairs of short laces.
The trouble with ordering never-seen shoelaces online, is you might not be aware of the actual color, texture and stiffness. I find most of my favorite shoe-shops do not have a great selection of laces. I often scout the Duane Reade, CVS or Walgreens-type places for the randomly located shoelace endcaps; You know the ones. Walmart shoelace endcaps are Texas-size versions of those. I dug the big selection at Wal. I also bought some 45″ grey athletics ($3).
I’m a man who loves buying quality made-in-USA products, and the mart had enough basic styles to hold me. I ended up picking up a six-pack of white made-in-USA Starter no-show socks ($7). I was surprised at the amount of USA-made options there were- at least in the men’s sock section. They also had a wide selection of diabetic friendly soft cotton socks by brands like MediPeds.
Keeping in mind many socks are unisex; some even listed as such, the ladies have their own sock section that is bigger than the guys’- it’s like a whole street. There weren’t as many women’s socks made-in-USA here; Even the American flag stockings on the rack below were made in China. To be fair, elsewhere in the store Walmart had some tee-shirts with a “Made in the USA” graphic on the chest which were in fact made in the USA.
Far away from the other shoes and socks, this Walmart had a small section displaying all kinds of products that are “As Seen On TV” – stuff advertised on television in the form of commercials or infomercials. I spotted these Miracle Copper Socks that I do remember seeing the ad for. The descriptive language used on the packaging is abjectly far-fetched. Metal used in fabric construction is nothing new. Some astronaut underwear contains silver. Miracle Copper Socks hit you with line after line that make it seem like their product will heal injuries.
On the back of the box there was a random Caduceus– the snake-pole insignia that I suppose is meant to give the impression that these socks are endorsed by a professional medical organization which they are totally not.
Non-profit consumer watchdog group Truth In Advertising, Inc. says it best. “Miracle Copper offers no clinical data to back up the claims that their product reduces swelling, boosts circulation, or massages achy legs and feet”. The odor control claim has some validity, as copper may ward off bacteria, but Miracle couldn’t leave it at that. I’m sure they’re not the worst socks in the world, but the snake oily packaging kept me from copping a pair, although I’d happily accept a test pair from the company for a fair review.
Shoelaces, socks, TV miracles- what about Walmart’s shoe selection? I’d venture a guess that If you’re reading this blog and other online content about shoes, you’d probably be into footwear more substantial than what Walmart offers.
One theme is that most of the shoes at this Walmart are boxless and hanging on racks priced around what you’d pay for an appetizer at P.F. Changs. It’s as if shoeboxes are banned from the store.
I noticed a lot of the shoes were inexpensive versions of familiar name brands; like these (above) Faded Glory slip-ons which one could cynically call Canal Street Vans.
Although designer footwear for kids is now a thing, I can see not wanting to overly spend on children’s shoes which they’ll likely outgrow or ruin before even grasping the abstract concept of fashion. Not for nothing, you could walk out with the whole cart pictured below with mostly Starter and Avia for under 200 bucks.
W-mart also had a decent insole and accessory collection, including plenty of Shoe-Goo, which I have fond memories of seeing my skater friends using to repair ollie damage back in the day.
Based on my visit to this one store; Sneakerheads and shoe-freaks may not find any kicks to fall in love with at Walmart, but it may be worth a visit if you’re hunting down your dream laces, and want to stock up on some trooping socks.
I think I overhear much “debate” about Walmart in the papers and on the web. I can say walking around this particular store, I noticed nothing out-of-the-ordinary or outrageous. I was probably the weirdest cat in the building taking pictures of socks with my camera phone. To comment on socio-political aspects of Walmart is way beyond the scope of this blog. I spent 14 bucks and my relative got their script filled.
As a nod to baseball great Yogi Berra who died last night at age 90, allow me to offer my own version of a Yogi Berra-ism to end this piece:
Nobody likes Walmart because everyone shops there.
Once upon a time Dr. Scholl might had well been my podiatrist. I’ve tried everything from the gel heels to the thin, perforated cushiony things. No knock on Scholl’s and the like, because they all offer many useful products within and beyond the insole category. There are sole options sold at grocery and pharmacy stores, usually grouped with everything foot related- sometimes they were a quick fix, but left me largely disappointed for the following reasons:
Gluing these consumer products into your shoe is never recommended, for if the insole doesn’t work out, you’re stuck. Having to re-adjust cheap insoles every time you put on or take off your shoes is not good. Just a glance and seeing that bunched-up perforated piece of chintzy medical looking stuff won’t get you excited to put on your kicks and face the day. I tried the Superfeet product because I wanted something to stay solidly inside my footwear like it belonged there. I was loving the rounded heal shape as well.
Superfeet (no affiliation) come in different colors, each tone a different thickness and design. The Black and the Carbon (gray) are thinnest when it comes to maxing toe-room. You can pop these in and out of your shoes, stealthily adding ergonomic arch without neutralizing wiggle room. It’s what SF calls biomechanical support. The heel is rounded to better seat our round calcaneus (heel bone); Unless your feet are flat, the arch on a Superfeet can add great underfoot feel where before was fatigue.
Superfeet Black insoles were an excellent solution for my Frye Arkansas boots, which have no insole and were downright uncomfortable to walk a lot in before I found this solution.
Toe room, like leg-room on a plane is so key. I wondered if the Superfeet Carbon were even thinner than the Black.
Above pics from company site. Straight off the cell pics below:
The Carbons are; Their overall construction uses less substance than the Black. The heel material feels the same, but the foam used for the cushion body is honeycombed and squishier than that of the Black. The foamed/cushion part of both are approximately 1/16th of an inch thick in the all-important toe area. The Carbon are less dense and with the perforation, can be pressed thinner than the Black, making Carbon the thinnest in the Superfeet family.
One weird thing: The Carbons made a squeaking sound when I used them in my workboots (Chippewa and Frye). It seemed like the cupped shape of the heel interacted with the stiff inners of these kinds of boots in such a way that an audible sound happened as I stepped and they flexed. The occurrence was intermittent, but I imagined how it could even become embarrassing in a public setting where silence was required. The Black heel design features stilt-like stability construction which seem to keep the calcaneus part from flexing, and I experienced no such squeaking when I wore them in the same boots. The Carbons did not squeak when worn in the soft fabric inners of my New Balance sneakers. I tried them in two different pairs. Feet are shaped all manner of types, and different shoes are built in different ways so your mileage will vary. I’m curious to know others’ experiences in other kinds of shoes, so feel free to post in the comment section ladies and gentlemen.
To my naked eye and hand, I could discern no difference between the plastic-like material used in booth of these products’ heel.
I don’t blame Superfeet for calling the Carbons “Carbon” instead of “Gray”, and the loud light green color of the underside could have been any color, but they looked HD enough for me (Mr. consumer) to spend $50 for a pair online. Superfeet Black run around $30.
They’re both essentially fabric-covered foam beds attached to plastic heel/arch pieces- in other words the Black may contain the same carbon as the Carbons. I did not take materials to a lab for analyzation.
Measure Twice, Cut Once
As you can see, I learned to cut more carefully when I copped the Carbons. Unless your size is just right, you’ll want to trim your premium insoles with large high-quality shears, snipping slowly and carefully. Think slivers, not chunks
Popdiatry recommends trying these or any of the other pro-sumer insoles out at REI and LL Bean-type places (running shops, etc..) to ensure you have the right starting size. It’s always a great idea to keep whatever stock insoles came with your shoes to use as a tracer for cutting the Supers. If you don’t have the original, you can also try using some 99-cent cheapos as a guinea pig before you start hacking the expensive ish.
Superfeet also makes the Black DMP insoles (not tested, but felt), which are just the Black with memory foam instead of the regular fabric. This adds girth making the DMP thicker than the Carbons or regular Blacks- I narrowed this article down to the thinnest.
Mix N’ Match + Overtime
You should use these suckas for multiple pairs of shoes. Carbons are currently working full time in my New Balance running shoes, and pulling a second shift in some NB walkers. Chance are, one of the shoe pairs will die before the Superfeet, so they’ll occupy another pair someday soon.
The fabric material that touches your foot on both B and C have a solid synthetic sensation and feel good with a wide variety of my favorite socks.
Allow me to comment on the photo above. Some thoughts about foot powder are below. In an attempt to cancel the squeaking sound described before, I even cut corners off the bottoms of these (it didn’t work).
Avoid dumping large amounts of foot powder into your shoes/socks. A light dusting once every few days is plenty. Most any body powder will be adequate for shoe use. Alternately, we would never use something designed as foot powder for the rest of the body.
These days I love me a good leather insole, or some coated cork like Naot, Finn Comfort, and BIrkenstock does. I feel like when you start spending more than $300 on shoes- they should include an adequate insole. One nice thing about removable insoles is that you can remove them for an air-out. There are times though when you’re going to want to add sole to footwear that doesn’t have any, or upgrade to something more biomechanically respectful of the shape of the feet and make you feel a little more super.
Shout out to Dr. Scholl’s and Spenco. We look forward to trying more insoles of all kinds!
Not far from the Brockton border in the Massachusetts south shore town of West Bridgewater lives a fantastic brick-and-mortar footwear store called Asacks.
The family run footwear shop has been providing a personal touch to shoe-selling since 1974.
Rather than the newest, hottest products from your favorite brands’ catalog, Asacks is filled with factory-seconds, slightly irregulars, and selections that just may have came out of a time capsule.
They have more workboots for sale at a decent price than you can shake a Brannock at, and also plenty of slippers, sandals, sneakers and dress-shoes.
You never know what you’ll find on their well-stocked racks.
Browse stacks and stacks of (mostly) Chippewa and Red Wing footwear wall to wall, including many of those brands’ made-in-USA offerings.
Along with multiple widths, Asacks also has a fine selection of sizes over 13.
Dear Bigfoot, they have your size.
The shop itself is industrially decorated with mostly handwritten, and hand-cut signage.
Sock and lace displays offer a unique selection unmatched by your average mall-style footwear shop.
You’ve got to love a place that uses a last as a paperweight.
No one manufacturer dominates Asacks. yet around the store you’ll see novelty/promotional items like Reebok chairs, Chippewa lights, this All-Star neon sign, and that supercool Asics clock.
I’ve been coming to Asacks since before cell-phones. I’ve scored various New Balances and even a pair of made-in-USA Sauconys there (many years ago).This time I walked out with a pair of American Handcrafted Chippewa 25262s in my favorite tan rodeo color for 99 bucks (reg. $150 at least). They’re labeled imperfect because of some scratches on the side, but boots are going to get scratched up anyway.
Thank YOU!
Asacks Footwear, 265 N Main St, W. Bridgewater, MA 02379
They also have a second Cape Cod location on Main Street in Buzzard’s Bay
Extra special thanks to Karolyn from Asacks
If you visit, tell ’em Popdiatry sent ya~
