3 posts tagged "New Balance"
Get The Look: Back On Track
Thanksgiving has come and gone and after days of excess, the other shoe is about to drop—the running shoe. But heading to the gym or the park doesn’t have to mean ditching style. Runway newbie Elise, a hot newcomer at Ford, knows how to balance fashion with fitness. Snapped by Vanessa Jackman during Paris Fashion Week—she had just come from a workout—Elise paired on-trend track pants with blue sneakers and a chic leather jacket. Recreate her look and get in shape with the essentials below.
From top left, below:
1. Jay Ahr silk track pant, $1,061.48, available at www.farfetch.com
2. Helmut Lang leather jacket, $1,230, available at www.stylebop.com
3. Y-3 Wing sweatshirt, $315.34, available at www.farfetch.com
4. New Balance 501 sneaker, $59.95, available at www.dsw.com
Running Shoes Get The High Fashion Treatment
In the 1988 film Working Girl, Melanie Griffith’s character famously wore sneakers for her daily commute, swapping them out for heels at the last possible minute outside the office. These days, both designers and street-style notables are leaving their dressy footwear at home and making fashion statements with athletic shoes. And no, we’re not talking about those ubiquitous Isabel Marant wedges. We’re referring to a specific subgenre of sneaker, i.e. competitive trainers made for running sprints (whether they be around the track or on the city sidewalks).
The trend really kicked into gear last month, when Tommy Ton snapped dapper guys wearing Nike and New Balance in Milan and Paris. Similar styles showed up on the runways at the Salvatore Ferragamo, Raf Simons, and Valentino menswear shows. Girls are embracing the look, too. At the opening of Yayoi Kusama’s Whitney retrospective, the artist Kara Walker dressed down her Zero + Maria Cornejo dress with sporty sneaks, while Vika Gazinskaya was among those who wore them during Couture.
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of stylish kicks.
A New Way To Run—Your Way
Spring is in the air! Just kidding—actually, here in New York, it’s snowing. That’s April Fool’s writ large.
But warmer weather is (allegedly) on the way, and with it, the return of my annual resolution to get in shape in advance of the less-dressed season (and to actually do it this time). This year’s retail incentive to hit the gym comes courtesy of New Balance, which is introducing a new custom sneaker program next week, a first for the label. Its classic US574 running shoe will be fully customizable, from toe to top to tongue. Even the New Balance “N” can be color-coded. Better still, the custom kicks will be made at the company’s Norridgewock, Maine, factory, which not only burnishes your made-in-the-U.S.A. credentials, it also means you’ll get your pair a lot quicker—within a week or two of ordering. The customization microsite, which launches this Tuesday exclusively on Shopnewbalance.com, even shows you what your sneaker will look like. I tested it out at the brand’s invitation earlier this week, and was impressed how detailed you can get. (NB representatives assure me I was the only editor to go for a forest green/chalk pink mix—I’ll choose to take that as a compliment.) Instant motivation to get the blood pumping, delivered to your door for about $100. Not too shabby. Maybe this year’s the year I stick with it.