April 26, 2018
#249
Gentle reader,
I first brought your attention to my unintentional collection (I've had a few of those!) of sneakers and driving shoes in this blog post: I was an elementary school trendsetter! ADIDAS and driving shoes collection.
Then, my wife surprised me by buying me a REAL shoe stand as opposed to the Chinese P.O.S. that I first had here: My wife shows once again how awesome she is: Sneaker collection rack!
That first article shows what shoes I then had in great detail and from many angles. I will not subject you to that this time. Frank Quitely, (that would be my name if ever interviewed for TV news. Or, Dick Hertz, Ben Dover, Pat McGroin, etc.) the only reason I decided to write about the collection again is that I have stopped some of the shoes from sliding off the rack. I will show you how at the bottom of the article.
Above and below, are just the sneakers portion of the collection. Since I had to clear them all off the rack, I decided to line them up and take photos of them.
Starting above, top row, left is an all-white pair of GOODYEAR Adidas Driving Sneakers. OK, there IS some color to them you will see below. Next a pair of PORSCHE DESIGN Adidas Driving Sneakers with silver stripes. Next are a pair of Adidas BOUNCE running sneakers my wife bought for me. Then a pair of my favorites: Adidas ROM white with grey stripes. Bottom row has, left to right another pair of ROM with red stripes. Next to them are a pair of Adidas SAMBA sneakers which are similar to ROMs but with different soles. Then a canvas pair (what I think of as KED sneakers) which are Adidas KIEL and were the first pair of white with blue stripes. Lastly, another pair my wife bought me for Christmas, Adidas GAZELLE which are close enough to ROMs to satisfy my itch to have white with blue stripes ROMs. She paid over $100.00 for them! What can I say, she really loves me!
Above, top row, left: Adidas SAMOA (I think) in red leather and suede with white stripes. Then a pair of red suede Adidas GREEN STAR sneakers with black stripes. My most colorful pair next are Ralph Lauren POLO driving sneakers. Last on top are what were listed as olive green, but are not with white stripes. Bottom row, left are the other pair of Adidas GOODYEAR driving sneakers, brown suede and leather with white stripes. Next, my second pair of GEOX, these in khaki! They too are driving sneakers. Then a pair of PUMA driving sneakers in khaki, orange and olive green. Lastly is a truly olive green Adidas, sadly with no stripes.
Above, top row, left are my other pair of PUMA driving sneakers in black suede with white stripes and cats. To the right of those are a pair of Adidas CLIMACOOL running sneakers. They are SO light and SO comfortable! Next, another pair of Adidas ROM in blue leather with red stripes. To the right and looking well worn are a pair in navy blue suede with lighter blue stripes. Bottom row, left is another pair my wife bought for me, blue with white stripes. Next another pair she bought for me that are also Adidas running sneakers (is she trying to tell me something?) that are also very light and comfortable. Then my only pair of REBOK sneakers. In blue suede (Elvis would be so proud of me!) and they qualify as having the thickest laces in the collection. Lastly another pair of Adidas running shoes, yes, my wife bought them for me. in grey with white stripes and funky dayglo green interiors.
Last of the floor show are two pairs of Sketchers. The black with dark brown accents on the left are leather and are driving sneakers with tiny bumps for soles. The ones on the right are fairly recent additions. I love the looks of them.
If you click on any photo, they will all open up in a window above this one. This is all the shoes from the rear. Can you tell what I did to the rack? Second row from the bottom has, from the left, a pair of brown leather loafers with tassels. Next to them, with shoe stretchers in them are a pair of Thom Mcan brown leather driving loafers. Next to them are another pair of Sketchers, also in brown leather that have become my yard-work shoes. You saw the blue Sketchers already, on the right end. Bottom row, left and my last (and first purchased) pair of Sketchers. They are driving deck (AKA: boat) shoes in several shades of brown. The color wears off easily. Then the black Sketchers, you can now see the nubby soles. My latest are next an all-black pair of leather driving loafers, also with stretchers inside. Lastly are plain black funeral shoes in leather. I literally bought them for my brother-in-law's funeral.
Closer looks at the back of them. I won't name them again.
One thing, below, top right are the GOODYEAR ones.
See, with rounded heels and the only color on them.
OK, this, really quickly: Driving shoes have ROUNDED heels (like our feet) so that doing "heel-and-toe" braking while racing is more easily achieved. Look that up, there are videos, if you want to know that that's all about.
So that is it, for the back of the shoes and the rack. When I looked back at my first article and that rickety rack I bought, sheesh!
LOOK at how white these sneakers are! I take good care when wearing them to avoid getting them scuffed or dirty.
Again, individual rows for your entertainment and edification.
See how scuffed the Sketchers deck shoes (bottom right) are? Really interesting design which I show you in the original article, but that dark brown wore off too easily.
The top two rows, contain my non-sneakers. Top row are boots. When I was the Battalion Adjutant with the Young Marines, I needed combat-style boots for the uniforms. The RUGGED boots on the right I've had for decades. Really. They are my snow boots. Next row down are from the left, Christmas present suede moccasin-style slippers. Then a pair I've had for along time, and it shows, and lastly a new pair of river shoes. Great for walking in creeks and rivers and excellent for washing the cars.
As promised, what I did to make the shoes stay in place. We have some really good double-sided sticky tape. I don't remember the brand. It is 1/2" wide, the tape if black, the covering is white. Do you know the scientific name for "sticky"? Pressure Sensitive. No joke.
Above is shown the process in progress. I cut rug anti-slip backing into strips abut 3/4" wide. I cut the tape into eight pieces per rod. And stuck them on as shown.
Peeling off the white backing is much easier using a utility knife. That pointy razor blade slips right beneath it to peel it off. Then, I pressed the rug backing onto the tape and cut the second pieces to length.
It took a while, but the results were worth it. And I enjoyed interfacing with my shoes and boots. It made me appreciate them all over again. Now that Spring is FINALLY here, I can start wearing sneakers again!
And here it is, in all it's glory. The entire collection. Oops! I forgot, there is one other pair a couple feet from me (pun unintended), the original pair of GEOX red and black driving sneakers. They have replaced the pair of PILOTI red driving shoes my wife bought for me. I actually wore a hole in the sole of the left one, by left-foot-braking, while racing!
I almost bought another pair of Adidas off of eBay yesterday, they are South African flag colors and I really liked the way they looked. But editing these photos and the symmetry I have achieved changed my mind. I have the exact number of shoes to fill this rack.
Thanks for looking!
Scott
April 26, 2018
