A woman I used to work with once told me that she “hates brand new runners”. When asked why, she explained her reasons: “they look too new”. She continued to say that she preferred her shoes to have some scuff or dirt on them, otherwise “it’s like having flashlights on your feet!”. I was amused by her comment as I looked at her very white and clean sneakers.
Recently, while doing some retail environment research at a shoe store in Toronto, I found this for sale:
Brand New Shoe. Order now and we'll add free dirt.
Close Up
Perhaps, I don’t visit footwear stores often enough, but it was quite interesting to see a brand new shoe with artificial dirt applied. Of course, I have seen intentionally distressed clothing (denim, jackets) accompanied with a tag informing that those rips, holes and noticeable imperfections are actually supposed to be there.
I think my former co-worker would be somewhat pleased that the designers get where she is coming from with her opinion on super clean shoes. I guess there are other people who feel that ultra white sneakers can be a little distracting, like having almost too-perfect, shiny and spotless teeth.
- rft3
haha thats an interesting point and I totally agree. IF i could count how many pieces of ripped clothing or “vintage” wear (hyped word for old) ..