The Vine: July 24, 2009
Hi there,
I thought you and the readers might be able to help me out with this.A few months ago, I saw a pair of great sneakers at DSW (the one in Union Square in NYC, if that helps), but I put off buying them.Now, they no longer have them and I’ve forgotten the name of the shoe.
I’ve asked at that DSW and at a few others in the tri-state area, and no one seems to remember this shoe.They were blue Converse-style sneakers with a rounded toe and a rubber sidewall, but I believe they were more expensive than Converse, maybe a European brand.I also remember them being quite a bit heaver than the usual for that style.
What made them unique was that they were over-dyed and colored in a way that made the rubber sidewall look like it had dye stains on it (as if you dyed the shoe and it got wet and the dye dripped down, or as if your dark jeans rubbed against them and stained them).
I’ve done searches for sneakers with stained sidewalls, garment-dyed sneakers (Converse does, in fact, make them, but not with the stained rubber), and over-dyed sneakers and come up with nothing.Have you or your readers seen them?
NCP
Dear NCP,
Hmmm.The only answer I can come up with is Supergas, but a quick spin through the site doesn’t show any over-dyed shoes — my old green pair bled down a little bit onto the sidewall, but they didn’t come that way.
The Rocawear Tiya is probably not what you’re talking about, because it’s not stained; I guess your best bet is to sit on Zappos.com for a while and ask the site to notify you when brands like Pro Keds, Report, Rocket Dog, Skechers, Triple 5 Soul, etc. add new styles, and see if —
Wait! Maybe it is a Superga after all.Do these look right — the men’s Bologna? This is the only thing I can find that’s even close.
Sorry this is late-ish going up; I got distracted by something shiny on Endless.com (read: “old-school Tretorns, which I lived in all summer as a kid”). Last day of Final Four voting in the N Cereal AA; get ready for the final showdown early next week.
Tags: Ask The Readers retail
Hmm. When I think Converse-not-Converse, I think Bensimon (a French brand); do these ring a bell? http://tinyurl.com/l2f9g6
A good site to check out is modista.com — it lets you look at lots of pictures of shoes at the same time and click to skew your images toward one type of shoe or another. (I’m not explaining it very well, but a couple of minutes on the site should show you how cool it is.) Good luck!
To Sars: Loved Tretorns, and have considered buying a pair for my daughter. I’m also the same person who wrote in looking for the Snoopy plush doll recommendations. Stuck in my own childhood much?
Let this be a lesson to all of you: if you see something awesome at an outlet store like DSW, nab it. Chances are they won’t be getting more in.
(I still dream of you, Beverly Feldman patchwork ballet flats…)
They might have been Converse, sadly. I had that exact experience with a different pair of converse at the Union Square DSW. I know they were Converse, and even saw them on the web before they were totally sold out, but after my size was gone. Now that both Converse and Zappos are sold out of them, they’re gone from the websites as if they’d never existed. Maybe try e-bay?
http://www.ed-hardyoutlet.com/
Could they be Ed Hardy? He makes converse type shoes w/ prints. I see them at DSW from time to time, but I live in MI. Good luck!
Were they kind of like this? If not, other shoes at 6pm.com might be worth browsing. They have a pretty huge selection, and seem to have stuff that zappos has stopped carrying.
There’s a pair of Supergas on eBay that kind of sound like what you’re describing w/the sidewall bleeding… (this is not my listing, I’m just a shoe junkie)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Superga-Womens-Bologna-Garment-Dyed-Sneaker-39-Navy_W0QQitemZ290313724673QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Women_s_Shoes?hash=item43980be301&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|293%3A1|294%3A50
Hope you find what you’re looking for!
NOT Shoe-Related:
Sars, I know you’re a-travelin’; is that why no one’s posted the new Simon’s Cat here?
I apologise for the tiny-url ineptitude, but below should link you to the latest Simon’s Cat: Fly Guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1qHVVbYG8Y&feature=channel_page
I do recommend looking on ebay; twice when I’ve gone back to DSW only to find the shoes I wanted were no longer the, I’ve been able to find them shortly after on Ebay. Half the price, to boot.
Are they these? http://tinyurl.com/n7wmju (that’s from DSW’s website…)
Thanks, LaBella. I just love you. I reeeeally needed that today!
I have been jonesing for some old tretorns – now I’M going to be on endless.com.
You guys nailed it! Obviously, now that I know the name I’m scouring the internet for the best price. Thanks!
Wow, Andrea! Modista.com is magical!! So easy and FUN to use! I have a sudden urge for some serious shoe reconnaissance….
Good luck in finding the shoe NCP!!
Going off of what Heather suggested:
http://www.zappos.com/product/7423621/color/154816
http://www.zappos.com/product/7487432/color/154817
They’re fun!
Christ, now I’M buying a pair of Tretorns. What have you wrought, Sars? They’re just so deliciously seventh grade! Please excuse me while I listen to “If You Leave” for the 8 millionth time and enjoy my new kicks.