Going green

I've posted one picture of these shoes in my previous post but the picture wasn't so good as it was taken by my mobile. So here are better pictures of the Nike SB Dunk High Premium. It was a 2008 release but I was lucky enough to still be able to get it online. 

I chose these pair of soles as my first pair of Nike SB Dunk due to it's unique green colorway matched up with crocodile texture. There's a big contrast between red and green, so the royal red swoosh, laces, soles and in-sole really caught my eyes.

The material type used on these shoes are suede leather mixed with patented croco style leather. The inside of the shoes is made of comfortable smooth padded polyester. Its soles is made of red colored grip rubber soles.

Figure 1: B&W version.

Figure 2: Stony Green.

Figure 3: Mossy Green.

Figure 4: Green Highlight.

Figure 5: Royal Red & Green Texture.

 The photos I've taken are in  random places, some of the places are not so clean with green mosses. Will be going to a few places the end of next month in search of more collectibles. Hopefully there will be something which will complement my collectibles. 

Back from the Pearl

Been sometime away from work and home due to business deal regarding my work equipment. The deal is to be made at the Pearl of the South China Sea, I guess I'm going to enjoy these few days of free time so I bring my sister to tag along.

Since I'm with my sister, there will not be anyone of the opposite sex disturbing me and she'll learn how is it like to be in a real meeting with potential vendor and also how to deal with them. This is also a bit of an introductory travel course to her about engineering work.

After the meeting is done, we decide to go to the beach which we used to play since we're small, and reminiscing the old times we still manage to find some seashells to add to my sister's shell collection. This island's beach is very special as it is full of crustacean shells which consists of different shapes, sizes and unique designs.

These are the few pictures of the sea shells taken using the Nikon D90 with kit lenses. The camera is great and easy for me to use but not so good if it is handed to a point and shoot usual user. So I'll hand over my Sony NEX-5 to my sister and hold on to the Nikon.

Figure 1: Her shell collections.

Figure 2: Her shell collections.

Figure 3: More of her shell collections.

Just like me, besides being left-handed and have similar interest, we love to collect. She loves things which are colourful, rare and also abstract art. Memories are also collectibles which are  treasured for life. So being able to spend time together will be rarer as she is going off to study at a renowned university soon.

Monday Blues

Work once again, after just a few days of freedom and peacefulness of the mind. Since it is Monday, and I'm feeling so blue I'll just blog about something blue from my collectibles.

Recently, I manage to try out a new pair of kicks which I opened up from the box and immediately tested out hiking. Fresh out of the box the sneakers is made up of blue dyed suede leather and meshes for breath-ability. 

Figure 1: Back-side.

This is a pair of Adidas x James Bond ZX8000 for David Beckham. David Beckham is cool but the only thing I dig in for these sneakers is that it is designed by James Bond of Undefeated and it is a ZX8000 model. That makes a shoe worth going in to my collection.

Figure 2: Front-side.

These shoes also features 3M accents on the toe-box, side 3 stripes and the hind part of the shoes. The 3M material used will illuminate itself when exposed to light, so when running or walking on the side of the road, it makes you more noticeable when its already dark. 

Figure 3: Out-soles.

These shoes as in all ZX8000 features a torsion bar which stabilizes the runner while evenly distributing the load torque generated by the runner to the out-soles providing ample control. The out-sole of the shoe is excellent for running on the asphalt road  as well as hiking and jungle trekking on stony-muddy hilly trails.

Figure 4: Insides.

The insides of the sole features a very comfortable inner lining and padding specially designed by James Bond. This is standard in all of his Adidas collaborations. It is made of leather and the feel is luxurious to the foot.

I normally don't do justice to my collectibles but just for the sake of testing the capabilities of the Adidas ZX8000 with torsion technology on the trail, this is about how far I go. So this pair of shoes is worthy as an athletic as well as casual wear.

Hopefully more collectibles to come in the future.

Converse Chuck Taylor Hi Nylon

My pair of hi-cut nylon grey Converse Chuck Taylor's shoes just arrived from Crossover Concept Store and took the time to get some first out of the box photos. Got really stuck with these CT's after my first trial with the low cut grey pair. They really fit my dress-up style and are amazingly comfortable for such simple shoes. 

Plus they're cheaper than the regular Adidases or Nikes.  

Figure 1: Top view.

Figure 2: Side View.

Figure 3: Close up and Logo.

Figure 4: Soles.

I am really selective about a specific shoes, firstly with the Converse Chuck Taylor, I don't really like too striking colors unless it is breath-taking to look at. Still I haven't seen a breath-taking pair of soles in such a long time. This pair will serve as my 2nd pair of soles from Converse.

Liked both soles in hi-cut and low cut. 

Brand Trial

Figure 1: The Logo.

I am really eager to try out something new yet not too extravagant nor too modern, yet selecting a pair of shoes different from my traditional brands is such a pain. I always choose a pair of shoes which has a slightly significant history through it, vintage and not too hype.

Knowing the history of the shoes makes me appreciate it's aesthetics as well as comfort. I eventually picked up a brand after a few days and Converse came into my mind, it is simple and also quite affordable. It comes in a lot of color ways and the soles looks promising.

The Converse brand symbol isn't a familiar one such as the swooshes in Nike or trefoils in Adidas, it is a star. I thought I've owned the oldest basketball shoes, the Adidas Superstar Vintage, yet I am wrong, the oldest basket ball shoes is the Converse All Star. The Converse All Star is then endorsed by basketball player Chuck Taylor.

I wouldn't bother writing much about the history here because just by typing "Converse History" on Google will direct you to your destination. I believe that all shoes in my collectibles should have at least a little hint of vintage history or I won't have them, this proves I'm not having Supra, Osiris, Macbeth or other newer brands.

So I ordered a pair from the net, a relatively cheap price of just $30 in my size. I wanted to try it out for a walk before venturing into the more expensive and limited editions of these shoes. Some pictures of the Converse CT spec OX just below. Grey colored textile and vulcanized soles. 

Figure 2: Side Look.

Figure 3: Front Look.

Figure 4: Hind look.

The color is so vintage and monochrome, that's one reason I took these pair so I would be more stealthy and less attention. I have a textile pair now instead of my buck-load pile of leather shoes. My first pair of Converse All Star, if this works out, I'll probably fish out those more expensive Converse pairs by John Varvatos for my collectibles. 

Soles Collection Focus

My soles collection or also known as soles addiction started with the Adidas Superstar, which I had the Superstar IIs as my daily walker which I passed on to my cousin, that is where I decided to collect the more vintage Superstar 80s and Superstar Vin - Vintage design. These shoes are basketball shoes of the olden days and they still rock as daily sneakers. To view it, -Adidas Superstar 80s,Adidas Vintage Drawn Pack,Superstar 80s OT-TECH.

Among the other retro basketball shoes that I've collected is the Adidas Forum which I currently have an Originals as well as a pair of Originals by Originals (ObyO). The ObyO version of the Forum is designed by James Bond of Undefeated which is serious footwear. It is so comfortable and made up of superb premium leather. To view it, -Adidas Forum Crafts Pack,Adidas ObyO James Bond.

Running shoes are my main and favorite collectibles, the list is endless, I especially like those vintage runners such as the ZX8000 which features the torsion bar and softcell technologies. ObyO here and there and the Mega Torsion. The ZXZ runner which I have  both ObyO version from KZK. The adidas Questar which is also a famed runner sporting Dellinger webbing. To view it, -Adidas ZX8000.

Enough about my current collectibles, I want to extend it, but unsure whether to explore other brands such as the enticing Nike SB Dunks which I have limited knowledge on or simply extend it within the Adidas family brand which is my current favorite. There is yet to be a conclusion. Still  these modernized running shoes from Adidas shown in figure 1 & 2 are epic. 

Pictures are taken from one of my favorite sneaker news, NiceKicks.com. Am so into runners and the three stripes brand.

Figure 1: Adidas H3LIUM ZXZ front.

Figure 2: Adidas H3LIUM ZXZ back.

Another sneaker worth collecting and wearing. Still haven't made up my mind yet for the upcoming year but maybe focusing on ObyO is a smart move towards more limited collectibles.

Vintage Electronics..

I love to collect vintage stuff especially those which has been on Earth for a considerable amount of time, made of premium materials, of quality build and lasts very long time with its own unique characteristics or design. Vintage designs are usually simple, doesn't need too much effort to push up attention unlike modern flashy design. 

With that said, I have to admit I'm not an electronic freak nor such a mobile-tech person, but I do like mobiles for some reason or the other. Firstly, the mobiles should last a long time, *I would immediately junk mobiles which lasts less than a year, never had that experience though*. I wouldn't spent too much money on the latest tech as price would drop significantly, unlike vintage collectibles.

One of my phones which has lasted me is my Nokia N93, a Symbian60 version 3 OS, it is a sponsorship present before I  entered university, circa 2006. This phone lasted me due to usage only on walks on weekends and in my room. This is due to its large size, weight, slightly sluggish and battery guzzling abilities. I preferred small phones with long battery juice for mobility.

Figure 1: Nokia N93 Black.

I still use this phone whenever I wanted to read an electronic book or just for the fun of it. Some simple games such as Raging Thunder, Sudoku and Chess are also some of the Symbian applications installed with usual university functions such as the scientific calculator.

The N93 is also part of my collectibles, which adds more diversity to my collectibles.

Uni days in Superstars

My university days are over, however reminiscing on the challenges faced, which are among them is attending lectures which is about 80% of it are totally boring and not helping. Studying by myself at my crib helps more as I can relax and take my time in digesting the knowledge. Still, university life is a very interesting part of me getting more matured as well as get to know myself more better.

Figure 1: Adidas Superstar - My daily wear.

It is during the university days that I finally ditched wearing boots as it is quite heavy and attracts more attention. Going to lectures using a boot is a total no-no as boots are really classy and I am not that superstar who aces at all the subjects. I'm just a normal students and I need sneakers as I have sweaty foot, so slippers are a total distraction to me and my surroundings.

Finally, I bought a pair of sneakers at the end of the year 2008, which are a pair of decent Adidas Superstar II. It wasn't a fancy pair, looks rather like white school shoes as it is almost all white except for the golden trefoils accents. However it is so comfy to wear whenever I walk to my lectures and studies at the library. I can stand wearing it the whole day.

I've been hooked to the Adidas Superstars ever since, even though I'm not a superstar, nor a basketball player, but I'm a transformed sneaker collector. My girlfriend doesn't really like the superstar nor does my sister but there's something about this sneaker that has grabbed my attention. These sneakers just simply fits in and never fails me. Beauty and collectibles are indeed in the eye of the beholder.

As for now I'm still wearing these Superstars, I gave the gold trefoil to my cousin as I do not have the leisure of space to bring all my things to Bintulu. Still I've enjoyed wearing them and I do hope he has a good experience wearing it too during his college days. Adidas certainly has given me the best impression on footwear quality which haven't deteriorate since the olden days.

Figure 2: Adidas Superstars - My favorite for any occasion.

I'm hoping for more and more Adidas Superstars coming in to my collectibles as well as other models which I see fit to be worn. I'm also wearing Adidas Superstar to jog and they give the perfect grip as well as comfort for me at every terrain I meet. I'm not pro Adidas and I certainly love other brands, still I haven't seen a pair which can fit perfectly into my imperfect foot. If there is, I'll definitely opt for one..

Extending my Collectibles

I am just thinking of any possibility to extend my vintage selvedge jeans collectibles horizons, time is so limited that I can't go around places much to search for collectibles, went recently to search for collectibles still didn't manage to search for those vintage Levi's Big E jeans that I've wanted to collect for so long.

My Levi's Big E collection consists of,
1) Levi's 702XX Big E, J22 Made in Japan, V-stitched.
2) Levi's 502XX Big E, J22,V-stitched.
3) Levi's 502XX Big E, J22, Bar-stitched
4) Levi's 503XX Big E, J22, Bar-stitched

I still have no USA Big E jeans which is quite disappointing for me as, wherever I went they either give me such a ridiculous price which I won't part my money with or it isn't my size. Still, I have a lot of more important tasks have hindered my attempts to obtain more collectibles.

An uncomfortable collectible

Figure 1: The infamous Timberland insignia.

Hello,

Day after day, I felt that I'm no longer eager to wear my Timberland boots, I've been wearing them like for 3 years straight, but I stopped for a while till I finally get to have a pair. After I finally get my hands on a 6inch timberland white leather boots, I get excited that I wear them the next day.

There is a strange feeling after two years not wearing those boots, maybe its because I've been using sneakers the whole time during university that I kind of felt light footed. The boots felt heavy and bulky that I can't even walk properly as I did the years back when I had my 1st pair.

I didn't wear it the next day, or the day after, I wore it to church but it got kind of too attractive and my girlfriend said that these boots looked like I'm going to the construction site to do some heavy duty work. She never liked the idea of me wearing it. So, I stopped using it for sometime, and it stayed un-utilized.

Finally, I decided to give it out, to someone willing to be its next owner, I realized that once a collectible is not utilized, appreciated and enjoyed to the fullest, it is best to finally let go to someone else. This is strictly only applicable to collectibles though.

Bye-bye boots.