VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

One, Two, Three Four: I Declare a Toe War

Last month, I was yammering about the unusual appearance of the Five Toed shoes. Actually, they are properly called the Vibram Five Fingers. It’s actually a misnomer because they don’t have any fingers. What is actually going on is separate toe compartments to simulate the experience of walking barefoot. Some of my readers scoffed a bit, wondering about toe injury, but I don’t blame them. Anything a bit out of the ordinary just computes as weird to the brain.

The real story behind the story is that the different toe-regions areas are intended for muscle movement. Being able to fully use your toes, such as a raccoon or ring-tailed lemur strengthens them. In other words, maybe I will be walking around with either the most shapely or muscular toes after wards. Maybe I could finally peel a banana with my feet like the monkeys at the zoo. As I recall, I don’t know if I have actually seen one peel one with just feet. Rather, they might hold it steady with a foot to actually strip the banana with their hands…or maybe they are called their “front feet.” Yeah, that’s what I probably will call my hands when my toes become just as dexterous.  The playground chants of the next generation will be: One…two..three…four…I declare a TOE war. Thumb wars would be “so last century.”

I guess these are my big questions about Vibram Shoes:

1) What if someone has big toes, or there “index toe” (?) is just a hair longer than their “big toe?” Is there something like a size “9 long” where the regular 9 and the long 9 are the same length but the longer toe one is a larger toe-to-sole ratio? I totally get the swim shoe style, the material flexes easy, but in the leather styles, I would imagine it would be an issue.

2) How do they address people who hate wearing flip flops because they don’t like things between the toes? Or are feet cushioned like a comfy sock?

3) What if you break your toe when you are not wearing a Vibram shoe. Will your toe fit or will you have to go barefoot?

I wonder if its something I will kick myself for not ferreting away every color so in 30 years from now when we are watching “I Love the 2010’s on VH1″ I will be prepared for the nostalgia purchases on them.  Maybe not. At any rate, depending on the style, they run in the $80-130 range (Free shipping and sales tax at Kayakshed.com, I do believe). In other words, pretty comparable to other non-tennis shoe sports shoes.

It remains to be seen if pretty soon we will be making sure we are buying Real Vibram Five Fingers or the ones people are knocking off on the street corner because they became so popular. I have a feeling either patents are in place, they are hard to duplicate or people, except hardcore extreme sports enthusiasts are still weirded out.

Be a Sole Man (or Woman): If the Shoe Fits…Buy It

There are a lot of micro auctioning sites out there. Some of them try the penny auction format, some try to compete with eBay but just don’t have the steam, and others are for niche areas like antiques. Even so, they often have something to be desired as sales rely solely on the advertising of the auctioner. One site that may catch on is If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit. It’s an auction site for just shoes. And boots. And clogs. You get the drift. Not only can you auction off shoes, but folks can buy them directly, or you can swap ‘em as well. In this case, it doesn’t really matter if there isn’t a bidding war because you are just cleaning out your closet, right? Also, after a brief scan, folks seem to be listing them at a price they’d be happy with them going for, like $10-25 rather than starting them off at $1 with a reserve.

Right now, it looks like there are some shoes from commercial clients, but if you search the criteria, you can find shoes from individuals. What, you think there is an ick factor here? Who would want old shoes? Well, its not really for that. If you have shoes you bought for a special occasion and wore them once, or just never got around to wearing your impulse purchase, this site is for you. It especially is economical for folks with rapidly growing mini-mes.

It is $1 to list a pair of shoes, but since the site is new, they are offering a special deal to VintageGent readers. Just put in the code SHOES as a coupon code when you register, and you will receive 5 free listings. If you look around, there is also a coupon on the actual site that will give you another 2 (Use code SOLES). This might just work for them to entice folks to list because there’s nothing to lose. Right now, I see a couple of men’s shoes among the ladies, but no vintage shoes yet. I guess I’ll just have to fix that.

There may be a few  Vintagent-ette shoes going on the site tonight, so we’ll see what they are. Check back here later and I’ll tell you what they are, or better yet, take your own treasure hunt to see if you can spot them tonight. As V-Gette says, “If the shoe fits, buy it. Oh wait a minute. I don’t need all those shoes. Okay, if they fit and if they’re comfortable and they’re bright green or patent leather and you don’t have anything like it….okay…go ahead. If you have the money.”

Friday Night Lights Makes My Friday Night

Guest post compliments of my friend Dong Wood

Direct tv has brought me many hours of great viewing. One of the finest is “Friday Night Lights,” which airs, appropriately enough, on Friday nights on NBC. Although this series has never garnered a huge audience, critics continue to appreciate its complex characters and realistic plot threads, and this year, both of its leads received long-deserved Emmy nominations for their work.

Kyle Chandler plays the tough but ethical high school football coach Eric Taylor, who molds students both on and off the field, making them into better players and people. His wife Tami, played by Connie Briton, also influences young people frequently in her job as first a high school counselor and then a principal. The two enjoy one of the warmest television marriages since The Cosby Show and struggle together with their teenage daughter Julie.

The Taylors anchor the show in familiar territory as starring students graduate from high school and move on to other ventures. Two teenage characters who have remained prominent from the beginning are the rugged Tim Riggins, a guy who is rough around the edges but wants to be a decent person deep down, and Matt Saracen, who starts out as a shy young man forced into the role of quarterback after the team’s star player is critically injured.

New characters emerge each season, winning our hearts and challenging our prejudices.