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Recent Clothing/Shoe Pickups for Spring/Summer


Transitioning from Seattle back to California, I wanted to pickup some shoes for the Spring/Summer seasons. But Andrew, you bought boots! Exactly. Boots always go on sale at the end of winter, which is a great time to pick them up, and being suede, I'll be able to wear them in the summer when an occasion calls for something nicer than sneakers (which is a lot of things). Even then, I can easily just dress these down with a pair of distressed denim and a t-shirt. These are my "Grails", which are shoes that you've always wanted but couldn't afford at the time. So after working doing some small shoots here and there and selling some other sneakers I never wore, I eventually was able to afford these, and they were at about 45% off the retail price. I opted for a crepe sole for comfort (crepe is this kind of squishy gummy rubber kind of substance) and so that I also wouldn't sound like a middle aged woman, 5'2-5'4, wearing high heels, perhaps a bit too firm for the afternoon (name that movie!). These particular boots are the Common Projects Chelsea Boots, which are known for their incredible silhouette, especially around the toe box area. I have yet to wear these for an entire day, but for the hour that I've worn them, they are incredibly comfortable thanks to the crepe sole and they fit true to size.

Obviously these aren't the cheapest boots, but they are made in Italy and the construction is incredible. For a cheaper alternative that looks extremely similar, check out the New Republic Chelsea Boots by Mark McNairy. These are $100 and they look REALLY similar, and from what I've heard from friends, are solid quality. Obviously you get what you pay for, so don't expect Common Projects level quality, but they are a extremely solid alternative to the Common Projects. Text my friend Ricky Cruz if you have any questions or want actual pictures of them (and give him a little tease for buying a male romper).

Here they are on feet, with my mnml.la M1 distressed stretch denim in black. These jeans are incredible!!! I can't sing enough praises about them. I have phat legs, especially in the calf area from walking on my toes my whole life, so finding a good pair of denim that is comfortable while slim AND at a good price is extremely tough for me. These are extremely Fear of God-esque distress placement wise and with the zipper at the ankles, adding a nice edgy touch. These particular jeans are mnml's stretch option, composed of 98% cotton and 2% spandex to allow for that nice stretch. I loved my first pair so much, I now have 3 pairs of these jeans in different washes: the black (pictured), indigo wash, and the paint splatter wash (definitely a cool piece!). The best part, these cost $57 SHIPPED (use discount code PAUL10 for 10% off your order!). That's not insanely cheap, but for the price they are incredible. I rotate between my 3 pairs pretty much everyday. Considering that Fear of God denim is $1000, this was definitely the way to go. If you are looking for a solid, comfortable pair of distressed denim, look no further than mmnl's stretch line. They will blow you away! They're an incredible alternative to the Fear of God denim, especially at the price point.

Here's my mnml paint splatter denim (shot by none other than the Drew Payne aka "Major Payne" himself). Here are the links to the above mentioned jeans in the stretch models. There are non-stretch versions if you prefer a more solid and heavy denim, but because I just have large legs, I find these to be a lot more comfortable and easy to wear everyday (I'm writing this in my black jeans). Don't forget to use discount code PAUL10 at checkout for 10% off!

Of course, I had to include the cream Yeezys in this post. White shoes are ESSENTIAL for any wardrobe, especially for the spring/summer. These were the most widely available colorway as of yet, and I'm not gonna lie, I think these might be my favorite so far (I have the Pirate Blacks, Oxford Tans, and the Breds). Little disclaimer: I never pay resell for any of my sneakers. I get them all for retail or below retail because if I take an L, I usually just take it and move on. Anyways, these are my first pair of V2s, and they are way more comfortable than the original Yeezy Boost 350 design. The Primeknit upper is a little tighter around the foot, so if you aren't quite sure or have wide feet, I'd go a half size up for a solid fit. Comfort wise, these are incredible. Not on the level of my Ultraboost, but definitely edging in over the V1s. I have yet to wear these outside (it rains too much in Seattle and I'm honestly afraid to wear them), but given the good amount of wear I've given to my Breds and the extensive wear on both my V1s, I'd definitely have to say these are a lot easier to wear all day over the V1s and I wouldn't mind doing so. How do I protect my shoes you might ask?

Jason Markk! Repel is their spray-on product that creates an invisible barrier to all liquids and it actually works quite well. Being slightly "extra", I put 4 coats of it on my Yeezy Creams and 3 on my Common Projects (because any liquid and suede is a bad time). I've used this on my other shoes and it's honestly done an incredible job at keeping my sneakers clean. I can pour anything from water to ketchup and it'll slide right off the shoe with ease. And for when they inevitably get dirty, I have both the Essential Shoe Cleaning Kit as well as the Suede Cleaning Kit (for the Common Projects). I own the triple white Ultraboost 2.0's, and the Jason Markk cleaner has saved those shoes from looking dirty. With any Primeknit material, I'd recommend you pickup their Premium Brush as the normal brush is a bit harsh for the Primeknit and will cause it to fray. I have yet to use the suede cleaner.

Another tip that I have for maintaining your shoes is to try and rotate pairs if possible, meaning don't wear the same shoe everyday (or for consecutive days). If you can switch on and off between 3-5 pairs, it'll vastly increase the lifespan of your shoe and keep them lookin' fresh.

But of course, a post about sneakers for spring and summer would be pretty much garbage if it didn't mention this:

The timeless classic, the Adidas Stan Smith. Originally designed as a literal tennis shoe, the Stan Smith has been a staple for Adidas and even people who aren't sneakerheads. It's a classic shape and extremely easy to wear with anything, and I think the perfect alternative to the all mighty Common Projects Achilles Low Sneaker. I haven't bought this shoe yet, because I regularly rotate through Boost shoes everyday (Boost is Adidas' cushioning technology that I SWEAR by, I now own 5 Boost shoes) and the level of comfort they give for me and my bad shins is unmatched by anything else on the market. Crepe was comfortable enough for me that I gave it the green light on my Common Projects, but I wasn't about to buy a rubber soled Stan Smith to give up the comfort of my Ultraboost and Yeezys. So I've held off from buying a Stan Smith, until now. Adidas recently released the Stan Smith with a Boost sole, and its been pretty polarizing. Some people say they ruined a classic, some people love that they updated a timeless silhouette. I'm leaning towards the latter group, and I think I'll eventually pickup a Stan Smith with Boost for the summer. If I pick it up, I'll do a little more in-depth look at it!

Stan Smith Boost (currently 50% off!!!!)

5/30 UPDATE:

Went to LA/Hollywood for the day to watch the La La Land Live Concert thing something at the Hollywood Bowl, and decided we'd walk around Melrose for a bit. I walked into Round Two not really looking for anything, just wanted to check it out. After walking around for a bit and not seeing really anything interesting, I started to walk out when I noticed another display of shoes in the right corner of the store, and noticed the Y-3's sitting there. I've been looking for these in my size for awhile, and even had my parents, who were in Japan at the time, go to the Y-3 store in Tokyo and check if they had any in my size. Unfortunately, there weren't any. So I gave up on the idea of the Y-3 Pureboosts, not wanting to pay resell or buy any that were slightly used. So when I saw the Y-3's, I thought to myself, "there's no way that's my size but oh well I'll go check it out". Sure enough, it was exactly my size. With Y-3's you have to go a half size down, so I'm normally a 10 and have been looking for these in a 9.5 and sure enough they were a 9.5, brand new with tags. But Andrew, these look exactly like your triple white Ultraboosts!!! Yeahhhhhh kinda, but you can't have too many all white sneakers. Super stoked on this pickup!

A brand/store that I have found and come to deeply appreciate is Killion, especially for their basics. I found out about Killion from shopping at one of the thrift stores near my dorm, finding one of their shirts for $8 and realizing how much I loved the cut and the quality for the price. I decided to stop in and check out their store in Capitol Hill, and the prices for brand new shirts were INCREDIBLE! $19 for a boxy tee with drop shoulders, compared to FOG x Pacsun's $40, and $80 in resell. I now own 4-5 shirts from them, and most of them were either thrifted for $10 or less or bought new for $19, I couldn't believe it. H&M used to be my go to for basics (because Urban is a little expensive in my taste), but I got annoyed at how terrible the H&M quality was, but you get what you pay for. With Killion, I could get a much nicer shirt with an incredible cut and fit for just a little more. Killion is the new king of basics for me. No more need for Urban or FOG x Pacsun, Killion is here to stay

I have a couple other items that I have picked up but have yet to take solid photos of, and won't be picking much more up considering that I'll be moving back home for the summer. If you have any questions at all about any of the above mentioned products, feel free to contact me! I'll be more than willing to talk to you!

fin

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