Peacocks Belfast - new store opening

Clothing retailer Peacocks has just opened a new store in Belfast, the doors finally opening for the much anticipated store a couple of days ago, with none other than Miss Ireland herself, Lori Moore, doing the honours.

Lori Moore was of course wearing a dress from Peacocks new Christmas 2010 range by Pearl Lowe for the day. The shop is the first for the chain in Belfast, and it looks sure to be a success as a lot of media attention has resulted from the opening.

So if you're in Belfast this winter and looking for womens shoes, or a party outfit - check out Peacocks and see for yourself how great their range is.

retro shoes and future shoes

When you think about it, shoe design hasn't changed all that much in the last hundred or so years. They still have soles, heels, buckles, laces. Industrial processes and the materials used, however have changed a lot, some beyond recognition. A modern pair of budget shoes can be produced at a fraction of the cost of a 19th century pair.

Most work shoes of today would at least be recognisable to someone from yesteryear, but a pair of velcro fasten trainers would look odd to say the least if you stepped out of a time machine and into, for instance, the late nineteenth century.

What will shoes look like in the future? Nanotechnology will probably ensure that sports shoes will no longer get a bit smelly after a few months' use. Advances in molecular technology might also mean that in not too far off, there could be a tolerable leather substitute - maybe even a biodegradable one.

But the big one we're all waiting for, of course, is the footwear that will have some kind of off-the ground air cushion so that we can walk twice as fast with half the effort, maybe even stand still but keep moving like on one of those walkways at the airport. These shoes will also have built in GPS so that we never get lost, and an optional tracking device so that we can see what ground we've covered.

Antique shoes link here.

Google images for future shoes here. Lots of aerodynamics, ergonomics and flashing LEDs here.

Winter boots, scarf hat, coat, etc

Wondering how to dress for winter? Well the always excellent Jess Cartner Morley has some suggestions in a Guardian article posted at the weekend. Have a read and see what you think. I don't know what it is, but it's good to read stuff about winter clothes - makes you feel that bit warmer I suppose!

Peacocks suits the mood - Drapers article heaps praise

The clothing industry's trade periodical carries an article praising clothes retailer Peacocks this week, featuring in its highly informative "Case Study" series.

Concentrating on Peacocks' enviable position as a leader in on-trenmd fashion retailing, Drapers looks at the company’s strength in reacting quickly to all the latest trend developments and how they can have a lot (up to fifty) new womenswear lines in store each week, such as the Sedgewick boot (pictured).

Using a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system means that Peacocks can retain more control over their supply-chain and production management, according to the Drapers article. This means that “a huge amount of duplicated effort has been eliminated”.

Peacocks’ lifecycle management systems ensure that their reaction to the often fast changing plethora of trends is fast. By spotting trends and gearing their product offering to suit what’s on trend, their fast fashion approach is massively successful.

Star Wars Shoes

Just noticed that the mighty German sports clothing company Adidas (who else?) have made a brilliant range of Star wars-themed gear.

Sadly most of these garments and pairs of cosmic footwear will sadly end up in collectors' archive boxes, mint condition and untouched. Boo to that. If you have Jabba The Hut "Attitude" basketball shoes, wear 'em, I say!

Also available - Stormtrooper "Conductor" hi-tops, a Death Star baseball jacket - and loads more. Go take a peek atthe Adidas online store - but make sure you've a) got plenty time to gawp and drool, and b) you've encased your credit card in plutonium at a seabed location on another continent. Because otherwise you may well be in danger of doing yourself an early Xmas. Be warned!

And may the Force be with you ;-)

Winter boots for your feet!

We've been having a look round the blogs and the websites to see what's available in terms of winter boots. We'd heard that another 'white winter' has been predicted for the UK, so this ain't gonna be no year for canvas baseball boots :( It's time to look for what's going to keep the toes warm for this winter...

The Dr. Martens range is looking pretty darn good this year. With some mad colorways and some really cool classic designs (like a classic 60s biker boot - available in women's and men's sizes) - these are good if you want to spend in the mid-to-high bracket.

These ladies boots from Peacocks are low in price but high on style:

Cobblers!

If you've ever thought you love shoes so much you'd like to be a shoemaker, then this video is for you. It looks like pretty hard work though, and highly skilled. An art, in fact.

Boots for the new New Romantic

The world of women's shoes moves at a fair old pace - probably because on average a woman owns 76 times as many pairs of shoes as a man does (I made that up, actually).

These Ladies Wanstead lace up boots are pretty cool. There seems to be a wider trend at the moment that has a kind of new romantic look to it. These boots wouldn't look out of place in a Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran or Simple Minds video remake.

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Daft shoes

Okay, a little break from seriousness today. I want to talk about daft shoes. And ask ... what are the daftest shoes you ever owned? I'm not really talking about fads for daft stuff like trainers that light up at the back - I'm more talking about shoes or boots that seemed fashionable/ stylish at the time, but now make you chortle at the very idea of wearing them.

So, did you rock a a particularly egregious cuban heel? Did you sport a laughable cowboy boot? Or did you ever wear platforms so high that you got a touch of vertigo...?

Ok before y'all email me with your funny stories here's my fess-up. Winklepickers. When I was in my mid teens. It was a pair of these, black skintight jeans and a Meteors t-shirt, thank you very much.

Evening wear - dress for leisure success

Evening wear is on a different level from other apparel - practicality isn't the watchword here, it's all about looking your best in the evening light, individuality mixed with mystique, and a timeless look, the one that shines in photographs and films of great events over the years. The red carpets, restaurants and exclusive gatherings are a catwalk for the evening look. It's a celebration of life, of style and of the evening itself, a magical time of dreams and hopefully a glass of champagne or two.

Evening dresses online and evening shoes may change their styles over time, but the common thread is understated glamour. Choosing well doesn't mean spending a lot of money - most catwalk superstar items have an equally eye-catching but affordable equivalent available to buy from retail stores that cater for your pocket as well as your look.

Fitting room - virtual space

Now that buying clothes is much more common online, how has your balance of purchases changed from buying at bricks'n' mortar stores v online stores?

The one difference is of course that with online you can't try it on before you buy. You can of course try it on and return it for another size if it doesn't fit, but it's still a significant difference. Many moons ago and in a different internet era, there was of course boo.com and their pseudo 3d online display thingy. Not the future.

I've been lucky buying online so far - only once did I buy shoes not knowing they were a different width fitting from my usual, but they were fine. And despite my reservations when i found out about the width fitting, they don't look like boats.

All in all I'd say internet shoe retailing has been a massive success, and even if you don't end up clicking and buying at your laptop, internet window shopping means that you've got an entire world's shoe offerings to browse for inspiration.

Online clothes stores also do shoes as well as specialist retailers, and many a bargain can be found. And with Amazon now selling food, could the day arrive when we never leave the house?

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Air Wair

Let's hear it for Docs.

I haven't actually worn a pair since I was about 12, but I think the time has returned for wearing this iconic Germany-originated classic.

Don't think there'll be many wearing these boots with tie-dyed Levi jeans and MA-1 bomber jackets this time round though. Could be time for a return of the snorkel jacket and maybe Levi's brown cords though? ... watch this space!

The only thing that's kind of holding me back a little bit is the price. £110 seems a bit steep, but then in my experience these boots do last a long time. And they are classics, so it's case of buy them anyway, I think ;-)

Trainers

It's best to have more than one pair of trainers. In fact the optimum number of pairs is probably about five or six. But it's not as TrainerTrainspotter as it sounds. If you break down your, ahem, trainer estate into these handy categories, it all makes sense.

Your RETRO TRAINIES
This category is for the real cool stuff. It might be a prized antique pair of Nike Air "Strike" II hi-tops. It might be a brand new pair of retrostyled Adidas Chile 62s (above). This is probably the category you've spent the most money on...





Next it's the WACKY TRAINIES
These are the sports shoes that you bought because you loved the offbeam design, the mad colours, or the fact that they're designed for a sport you've no chance of ever taking part in. We're talking Formula One racing boots, or trainers with an inflatable insole or just some mad graffiti logo. The wacky trainies are pictured below: the appalingly named but brilliantly designed Soap Shoes' Scab.Then of course we have the SENSIBLE TRAINIES. No need for a pic. These are the ones you wear day to day. The shoes you put on when you get home from the office, the shoes you walk the dog in. Category four is reserved for your CANVAS TRAINIES - you know the ones, your Converse or equivalent. Depending on your indie factor, number of extant pairs could be high.

& the fifth and final category, this one's for your running shoes, squash shoes, your actual bought-for-purpose training shoes. The Hi-Tec squash is the classic of this category. A shoe so squash-dedicated that few folk, if any, ever wore a pair down the pub!

Bargain vibe

Now that it's mid-season, it's definitely a good time to be getting online and seeing what's available in the world of sale shoes.

Type into Google the name of any high street shoe retailer and you'll be bound to find a bargain or two. Or three. Or four. Or, well... you get the idea!

There are some tasty deals available at Clarks, (the half-price Wallabees have sadly already done the hot-cake routine and flown clean off the shelves, sadly, but still plenty other lines to peruse...)

For those of you with some summer money to spend on the more upmarket end of the shoe sales, Kurt Geiger has an excellent selection online.

And then there's plenty on offer from online clothes stores that aren't just dedicated to your foot fashion, means you can fill your basket with a few extra clothes at great sale prices!

Mens Shoes Showcase - Shofolk, Grenson, Trickers, Sperry

There comes in a point in the life of a man of a certain age - you want to graduate from wearing trainers all the time into something perhaps a little smarter. There is always one crucial caveat - you do not want to look like your dad! Luckily, there are a few shoe brands out there that will enable you to complete this transition in style.

SHOFOLK

This is the shoe range from Folk clothing - the London label set up in 2001. You can read all about the genisis of the brand on their website. What i love about Shofolk shoes are the classic, clean lines, relaxed fits and classy colour schemes. Prices start at around £120.

Shofolk Alaric

Folk Clothing SS10 from Folk Clothing on Vimeo.

GRENSON

Grenson Shoes have a history stretching back to the early 1800s when they were set up by one William Green. The company survived and grew through the years and generations and fascinatingly Grenson became the first brand name ever to register in the UK. Interesting history aside, Grenson ultimately continue produce an excellent range of shoes, the most famous of which are their brogues which are available in a wide range of fabrics and colours.

TRICKERS

Like Grenson, Trickers are a long established brand whose quality continues to shine through. They are now a firmly established fashion favourite for a new generation.

SPERRY

In 1935 Paul Sperry took inspiration from his dogs athletic abilites (his dimpled paws, if you don't believe me read the PDF below) to create what would become the original deck shoes, the Sperry Topsider.

So, for all the men out there there is no reason to be alarmed. As you can see there are plenty of options for 'maturing' your footwear collection without turning into your old man. If anyone has any other brands that they feel could match this criteria let us know.