snapshots and observations

Saturday 31 December 2011

nike footscape woven... brasil edition prototypes








one final pair of kicks for 2011.
i bought these from a friend of a friend of a friend a couple of weeks ago.

they are a deadstock pair of nike footscape wovens in a colourway which was
never released to the public... only a handful of prototypes were made in this colourway
before it was decided to make them with yellow soles and green woven parts on the upper.
they are brasil editions by the way.








i've no idea what the number 12 is all about. 
any ideas ?








i'm not exactly sure about these. 
as you know, my game is all about the air force 1
and i mainly bought these because of their rarity value
but there is definitely something good about them. i really like the use of
woven thread... but i'm not a fan of the big-ass white midsole








still, the green outsole is a nice touch, blending well with the black, yellow and blue.
but grrr ! that white mid is massive.








here's another look at them
oh... did i mention thet they are really comfortable by the way ?
they're a bit like wearing slippers but with an air sole.








the brasil football logo on the insole is a good effort
as you can see, there's no padding inside these bad boys.








the majority of the shoe is black suede by the way
with a swoosh stamped into the tongue and blue laces








the laces go off to one side rather than down the centre as with most shoes
hmmm....








here's the view i get when i look down at my plates
what do you think ?
i keep thinking i really like them, but i also think they might look
better worn with shorts rather than jeans.








they are really really comfortable, but definitely an odd looking shoe.
maybe i'll just leave them boxed or on display at whitfield towers.


anyway, that's it... no more kicks for 2011. 

obrigado




Friday 30 December 2011

at the chinese take-away








while i was sitting in the chinese take-away last night,
waiting for my chicken fried rice, chips and curry sauce
to be cooked... i took 25 shots with my iphone.

and here they are... cheaply cobbled together.


whistle whistle, click click.



mince pies







i like mince pies... that's a well established fact.

this festive season i've been wading in to heston blumenthal's efforts.
here they are presented on one of my favourite plates...
lightly dusted with pine tree sugar or some such nonsense.




four photos from xmas day in regents park







1
a solitary rose looking pretty healthy while everything else nearby seemed
a bit on the dead side







2
some sort of puppy that kept coming over to the bench i was sitting on.








3
i won't lie... i was really concerned that the little thing was going to pee on my kicks.








4
a kindly squirrel feeder, who discovered that squirrels don't like ordinary bread,
but that they lose their minds for a bit of shortbread biscuit.
( then again so do i ) 



a few xmas presents







there were a few presents kicking around on xmas day
see the grey box at the top with the red ribbon ?








it was delivered to whitfield towers in this bag on xmas eve
i like the labelling... no address, just "mark whitfield n7"
perfect... nice one michael !








this little gem was part of my haul
a mousemat featuring my favourites








i like this gift too
grrr ! i heart tokyo








did i ever mention that i'm a big fan of tintin and that i have all the books ?
well this is a corking addition to my collection
and is something i'd recommend to any other tintin fans out there.








ha ha ! this little present kept me occupied for a long time on xmas day
let's put it this way... i doubt i'll be appearing in the gb olympic lego team...
( if such a team existed )
it took me ages to put this together and during the process i did turn the air
blue with some very unseasonal language... sorry.



Thursday 29 December 2011

xmas decorations at whitfield towers







as i mentioned previously, whitfield towers is not the most christmassy
of places. there are a few key decorations though.


1
a pair of christmas bearbricks from maybe 2008.
here they stand guard over some chocolate coins.








2
one of a few home-made xmas angels.
god save the queen.








3
amy 








4
er... george michael








5
what the what ?!...  christiano ronaldo








6
the people's princess








7
and of course... the strokes !








8
oh... there is a small nativity scene set up on a chair








9
although the baby jesus is missing and his part has been taken by a pig.








10
and finally, a lego reindeer, courtesy of 'o' and 'o'




xmas hats








a few days before christmas my king kens were fitted up with
appropriate winter headgear.
don't they look smart ?








and here's a slightly wider view of them
good lads.


a closer look at orange king ken can be found on this old post:






i like birds best








oh, i forgot to mention... my eames house birds also have their winter hats on.


1
this fellow stands guard over my bapesta display








2
while his friend stands in the opposite corner, underneath my glow-in-the-dark pieces.




xmas dinner







xmas dinner for me
including greens !








a wider shot reveals the essential potatoes
a few spare stuffing balls and the world's most annoying crackers.



Wednesday 28 December 2011

nike air force 1 i.d. ( limited edition boot leather )







my final pair of air force 1's of 2011 turned up yesterday.
boom !








the tip, toe box, mid panel, foxing, heel tab, heel strip, tongue and eye stays
are all constructed from the limited edition boot leather that nike were 
offering for december 2011.
i ran with the olive green boot leather throughout, sitting on a grey midsole and gum out.








old gold laces and a white / olive tongue tab
pale grey sock liner ( as neither olive green and old gold were an option... grrr ! )








olive green stitching for the nike air and swoosh would have been handy
but it wasn't, so i figured black was the best option available.








the quality of these is incredible. it's a tough yet soft, waxed leather. perfect.
and i think going with a light grey midsole rather than white was a good call.
the gum outsole goes without saying.








all in all, these bad boys are just the thing for winter in n7
i'd better start wearing them now though, because pretty soon i'm going to 
be somewhere hot, hot, hot... sitting in the sun like a boss !


oh i'm sorry... did i not mention my forthcoming holiday ?



my tartan







i got a belting app for my iphone the other day.
it's called "my tartan"

it allows you to design your own tartan and i'd say the possibilities are
almost endless. if you've got an iphone i'd recommend downloading it.

there's something quite therapeutic about designing your own tartan
and also if you want to throw some money at it, there's a link to a famous 
shop in scotland who can make up your design into cloth.

they can then make you a kilt or trousers... or just give you the cloth.

here's one of the many efforts i've been working on over the past couple of days.

xmas day walk in regents park







it's been a sort of tradition over the years to go for a stroll in regents park on xmas day
if the we are in the country that is... oh and if it's not raining.


here's one of myself and la niña from way back
way back when i thought it acceptable to wear a tartan stussy cap
a pair of timberlands and everything else by chipie








a few years later...
going through a mambo phase. mambo top, jacket and trousers.
keeping faith with timberland for footwear though.








after a fair few christmas days out of the country... in either san francisco
or new york, it was time to stay home again a few years later...
hmmm... i've gone for xmas headgear again. this time it's a cashmere bape beanie.
that's a reversible bape jacket, paul smith gloves, maharishi combats
and adidas superstars with gold stripes.








in 2008... or maybe 2009
maharishi jacket, colette x penfield gillet, levis and madfoot kicks








2010 and braving the cold weather
same jacket and gillet, stüssy mittens, evisu jeans and eddie cruz west edition af-1's








then just a few days ago...
teaming my trademark pose with my nike destroyer jacket,
a new pair of evisu jeans and the boot leather af-1's i designed
earlier in the month.


( it's strange to think isn't it, that 25 days previously those kicks didn't exist...
then i gave it some thought, went on the i.d. website and designed a pair of air force 1's  to my personal specifications from all the different materials and options.
 i clicked the 'buy' button and somebody in china made them
to my requirements, posted them to n7 and on xmas day i'm wearing them )

nice one nike.