MY ADIDAS (are too tight…and why are they pink?)

Sup everyone!  I’m back for a second week in a row to wax poetic about a book I recently found out about:

GIRLS GOT KICKS by Lori Lobenstine

Basically, it’s a photo-documentary about ladies and their love for footwear - with no high heels in sight (love em, but this is NOT that kinda book).

http://www.girlsgotkicks.com/

This book is basically written for any female who has at one point in her life sworn by Nike or Adidas, has ever scrubbed her shoes with a toothbrush, cares about how they are laced (tied or untied?), preferred sneaks over heels at a jam and thought she looked better than everyone else, or has ever worn a pair of running shoes (which probably weren’t actually for running).

I love sneakers - though I’m not as much of a sneaker champ as I once was - and I can tell you that in my years of buying kicks, I have never been happy with the selection for women, and the presentation in most of the publications or advertisements aimed at the female market (ok, the Source or XXL might not be the best sources for anything female, but STILL).  After doing very little research I found out I was not alone.  Props to www.highsnobette.com for holding us down with Chicks With Kicks.

I got a chance to speak with author Lori Lobenstine recently about the book - and this woman rocks.  Read the interview - then buy the book direct from here:

https://store.collectivecopies.com/store/show/324

B:  HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE BOOK COME ABOUT? 

LL:  “The idea for the book came about around the same time as the idea for the site…there seemed to be a lack of a real community for female sneaker heads.  The sites I came across were very male-dominated, with pics of naked girls surrounded by shoes or a hot girl holding a pair of Jordans in her teeth.  That is not us! I felt there needed to be a site dedicated to real female sneaker fiends, a space for us to come together and see each other and be recognized. What writing the book and creating the site did was connect and bring out 1000’s of women around the world who love kicks.

I also met many dudes who had good intentions and were good allies, but said they wanted to reach out to the female community and didn’t know where to look… The guys actually told me that they didn’t feel there were that many female sneaker heads out there!  Now with Female Sneaker Fiend (and more sites everyday), everyone knows where to find female sneaker fiends.”

B:  MY INTRO TO SNEAKER CULTURE WAS WHAT EVENTUALLY BECAME PART OF HIP HOP CULTURE FOR ME (AND PEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD WHO ALWAYS HAD FLY KICKS)…WHAT BROUGHT YOU INTO THIS?

LL:  “I’ve always loved kicks but as a youth worker on the basketball courts and in community centers, I started to realize that young people use them as a way to connect, both the boys and the girls.  And for the girls even though it might not be as apparent, there are always those girls who have a fresh pair of kicks and a toothbrush on hand!

I just want to touch on sneakers in hip hop and the basketball community:  for a lot of girls it’s a way into an arena that we “don’t belong in” or that traditionally has been the stomping grounds for mostly guys.  It’s cultural.  It’s like non-verbal communication: “I belong on this court, this dance floor, this cypher. And you will see me. ”

B:  How do you feel shoe companies handle the female market?  For example, I rarely buy women’s sneakers for myself because the colour schemes are sometimes pretty bad and the toe can be unnecessarily narrow.  Do you think they are doing a good job covering us? 

LL:  “Well, I am definitely amazed at the overuse of pink.  It’s really puzzling to me how much they DON’T know about the female market.  Nike actually told me once that they are trying to get at women who don’t wear sneakers.  What about all the women who do buy sneakers?  Who are stuck still buying the smallest men’s sizes or boys 4.5?

I do talk a lot about Nike because out of all the manufacturers they have done the most for the female market, but that doesn’t say a lot.  What Nike does best is advertising, which is why they are able to sell a pretty badly designed shoe based on hype alone.  When Nike wanted the skater market they went after it hard, and they got it.  So why is this so difficult for women’s shoes?  They cannot look at us and say they are going after it hard. I want Nike to invest the millions in advertising a Diana Taurasi shoe that they invest in a Lebron or Kobe, and then come back to me and see how the women’s market is responding.”  

B:  DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PAIR?

LL:  “That’s really hard to answer.  It varies depending on my mood, the season, or the shoes I just copped on eBay!  On the court right now I’m wearing my adidas Crazy Lights, which I stand behind as my most comfortable performance pair.  In terms of recent releases, I gotta tip my hat to the Jordan Concords as a beautiful classic brought back.  One of my faves for 2011 was the New Balance / Concepts “Kennedy” collab – just clean and gorgeous.”

**I WAS GOING TO ASK ABOUT HER FAVE NEW RELEASES OR UPCOMING RELEASES, BUT SHE ADDED THIS BEFORE I COULD: 

LL:  “People right now are asking me about new releases but I’m not up on the new new!  I’ve been too busy with the book!  That’s crazy, right? I guess you can say I’m more up on the fiends than the footwear. Madness.

With shoe manufacturers turning females’ heads, I still feeling Vans.  Not because they’re necessarily my style, but they are the only brand to be challenging Nike / Jordan for women’s feet.  I’m a competitor, so I like to see a good game!”

www.girlsgotkicks.com

www.femalesneakerfiend.com

Selah,

Bess