Sunday, May 24, 2009
Kanye West Black Outfit
This all black outfit from Kanye West is very appropriate because he’s just killing it right now. The black Jesus piece, the black Flat Top sunglasses by RETROSUPERFUTURE, and the black collaboration sneaker, Jasper’s (appropriately named after Ibn Jasper), he did with Louis Vuitton. This proves one’s outfit can significantly be comprised of a monotonic color and still fail to deter attention.
FAKE Kanye X LV Shoes Start to Hit the Net
The Air Yeezy's were bootlegged months before they hit retail stores and now variants of the Kanye West X Louis Vuitton collaboration have begun to hit the net.
How do I know they're fake? Because the seller wouldn't list an $850 shoe for $400 and the seller's lack of clarity on if the shoe is real or not is hella suspect.
http://cgi.ebay.com/louis-vuitton-don-kanye-west-air-yeezy_W0QQitemZ250430378141QQihZ015QQcategoryZ63850QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Below is the actual collection that will be released exclusively at LV stores...I think in June.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Identifying and Avoiding Fake Sneakers and Fraudulent Web sites
Identifying and Avoiding Fake Sneakers and Fraudulent Web sites
Introduction
One of the most important questions you can ask is “Are my sneakers the real deal? Are they authentic?” Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast ways to tell the fakes from the real, but here are a few tips to help keep you from getting fooled even if you don't know a lot about the shoes. First, here are a few definitions to help you understand the lingo that websites will use.
Variants
These are fake. Variant is just another way to say that shoes were not made or authorized by Nike and never have been.
Samples
"Samples" come in Size 9 with no box, and are used to road test different looks for a shoe. You can come across some unusual samples, some of which are valuable, but these can be very rare. Anything else is fake.
Lookalikes
Lookalikes can be found in department stores, are made by an anonymous brand and are very cheap replicas.
Customs
Any shoe in a non-original colorway, it is a sample, a fake or a ‘custom.’ Customs are shoes that have been hand detailed in some way usually by one of the few well-known custom designers. These individuals take a legitimate pair of shoes and custom detail them for you, in which you case, you know what's happening and fakes are not a worry. Some websites call their shoes ‘customs’ but they are fakes. Anything that has been structurally altered is fake, including the Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry Air Force Ones.
Always buy from a reputable merchant. Reputable doesn’t mean a huge corporation, but it does mean that they provide a mailing address, an email address and a phone number to contact them. Their business hours should be clearly posted and when you call, a trained, professional customer service representative should be available to help you. Here is our advice for buying sneakers on the Internet.
Webpage Appearance
Webpages for reputable, reliable merchants should look clean, professional, and be functional. Product images should look like they were taken in a professional studio instead of someone's living room or a warehouse. The company should have its own domain name instead of a website hosted on a free service like Geocities (e.g. www.sneakerhead.com versus www.free-website-service.com/~sneakerhead/index.html). Registering a domain and creating a business website with an original design takes both time and money.
Note: The appearance of a website is not always the best way to judge the authenticity of a merchant. There is powerful software available that will create very professional webpages, and sometimes, website selling fakes or websites pretending to sell products to steal your money will simply steal the design and images of a more famous (and usually legitimate) website. This tactic is to deceive customers into believing their website is legitimate and related to the legitimate company.
Search Engine Ranking
When you go to Google, Yahoo, or another webpage to search for something, the results you get are ranked by order of importance. This ranking is determined by variables set in place by the companies that own the search engine. The rank or where it appears on the results is tells you how well that website is doing. Legitimate merchants will usually be located within the first three pages for specific words like "Nike Shox Lethal" and within the first four or five pages for more general searches like "running shoes".
Note: One excellent way to know how a website ranks is to download the Google toolbar from Google.com. Next to the search features and Google news icon is a small icon labeled "PageRank". This feature ranks websites on a scale of 0 to 10 with zero meaning that the page isn't ranked by Google and 10 meaning that this is one of the most important pages on the Web. Legitimate web merchants will usually rank between 3 and 5. Five is a very good ranking for Google because only household names like nike.com, msn.com, google.com etc. can score higher. Lesser known names like RunnersWorld.com and Menshealth.com may score a six or a seven, leaving most merchants ranking between 3 and 5. Sellers of fakes will generally, but not always have a low page rank score on the Google toolbar. There is at least one exception to this rule that we are aware of.
Method of Payment
Authentic websites should accept credit cards either directly through their website or with Paypal. Paypal should only be for very small companies. Merchants should follow all credit card processing regulations including having the cardholder name and address. In order to accept credit cards directly, you must apply for a merchant account which often requires a company to file as a corporation. These two methods are the most generally accepted methods of processing credit cards over the Internet. Other payment processors may be available. If any company only accept money orders, don't bother. More than likely, you'll never see your money again and quite possibly, you may never even see the products you paid for. Always pay with a credit card. At least with a credit card, you have the protection of knowing that your card issuer can reverse the charge. With a money order, you may as well hand over your wallet with all its cash. The money is gone and you can count on never seeing it again. But even with credit cards, we recommend that you use with care. Anyone can set up a legitimate looking shop for the purpose of stealing your credit card information. Use with care. For more information on shopping online with your credit card, please visit Important Things You Should Know about your Credit Card & Shopping on the Internet.
Introduction
One of the most important questions you can ask is “Are my sneakers the real deal? Are they authentic?” Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast ways to tell the fakes from the real, but here are a few tips to help keep you from getting fooled even if you don't know a lot about the shoes. First, here are a few definitions to help you understand the lingo that websites will use.
Variants
These are fake. Variant is just another way to say that shoes were not made or authorized by Nike and never have been.
Samples
"Samples" come in Size 9 with no box, and are used to road test different looks for a shoe. You can come across some unusual samples, some of which are valuable, but these can be very rare. Anything else is fake.
Lookalikes
Lookalikes can be found in department stores, are made by an anonymous brand and are very cheap replicas.
Customs
Any shoe in a non-original colorway, it is a sample, a fake or a ‘custom.’ Customs are shoes that have been hand detailed in some way usually by one of the few well-known custom designers. These individuals take a legitimate pair of shoes and custom detail them for you, in which you case, you know what's happening and fakes are not a worry. Some websites call their shoes ‘customs’ but they are fakes. Anything that has been structurally altered is fake, including the Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Burberry Air Force Ones.
Always buy from a reputable merchant. Reputable doesn’t mean a huge corporation, but it does mean that they provide a mailing address, an email address and a phone number to contact them. Their business hours should be clearly posted and when you call, a trained, professional customer service representative should be available to help you. Here is our advice for buying sneakers on the Internet.
Webpage Appearance
Webpages for reputable, reliable merchants should look clean, professional, and be functional. Product images should look like they were taken in a professional studio instead of someone's living room or a warehouse. The company should have its own domain name instead of a website hosted on a free service like Geocities (e.g. www.sneakerhead.com versus www.free-website-service.com/~sneakerhead/index.html). Registering a domain and creating a business website with an original design takes both time and money.
Note: The appearance of a website is not always the best way to judge the authenticity of a merchant. There is powerful software available that will create very professional webpages, and sometimes, website selling fakes or websites pretending to sell products to steal your money will simply steal the design and images of a more famous (and usually legitimate) website. This tactic is to deceive customers into believing their website is legitimate and related to the legitimate company.
Search Engine Ranking
When you go to Google, Yahoo, or another webpage to search for something, the results you get are ranked by order of importance. This ranking is determined by variables set in place by the companies that own the search engine. The rank or where it appears on the results is tells you how well that website is doing. Legitimate merchants will usually be located within the first three pages for specific words like "Nike Shox Lethal" and within the first four or five pages for more general searches like "running shoes".
Note: One excellent way to know how a website ranks is to download the Google toolbar from Google.com. Next to the search features and Google news icon is a small icon labeled "PageRank". This feature ranks websites on a scale of 0 to 10 with zero meaning that the page isn't ranked by Google and 10 meaning that this is one of the most important pages on the Web. Legitimate web merchants will usually rank between 3 and 5. Five is a very good ranking for Google because only household names like nike.com, msn.com, google.com etc. can score higher. Lesser known names like RunnersWorld.com and Menshealth.com may score a six or a seven, leaving most merchants ranking between 3 and 5. Sellers of fakes will generally, but not always have a low page rank score on the Google toolbar. There is at least one exception to this rule that we are aware of.
Method of Payment
Authentic websites should accept credit cards either directly through their website or with Paypal. Paypal should only be for very small companies. Merchants should follow all credit card processing regulations including having the cardholder name and address. In order to accept credit cards directly, you must apply for a merchant account which often requires a company to file as a corporation. These two methods are the most generally accepted methods of processing credit cards over the Internet. Other payment processors may be available. If any company only accept money orders, don't bother. More than likely, you'll never see your money again and quite possibly, you may never even see the products you paid for. Always pay with a credit card. At least with a credit card, you have the protection of knowing that your card issuer can reverse the charge. With a money order, you may as well hand over your wallet with all its cash. The money is gone and you can count on never seeing it again. But even with credit cards, we recommend that you use with care. Anyone can set up a legitimate looking shop for the purpose of stealing your credit card information. Use with care. For more information on shopping online with your credit card, please visit Important Things You Should Know about your Credit Card & Shopping on the Internet.
Alife Everybody Mid Parachute Polka Dots
The Alife Everybody silhouette has seen a number of unique colorways and materials applied to the simple silhouette. Alife is set to drop a new colorway of the Everybody Mid, this time with a more discerning market in mind.
The Alife Everybody Mid Parachute Polka Dots version features uppers made up of parachute nylon. The midsole, insole and laces have been hit up with polka dot flavoring in a salt and pepper like white and black coloring. A couple of yellow accents find their way onto the heel logo and tongue logo on this otherwise black and white colored makeup.
Look for these to land Stateside soon.
I ALREADY GOT THESEEEE !(Kevin)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Sneakers: DC Life Summer 2009 "High Life On The Riviera" | Volcano "Stripes"
From the DC Life Summer 2009 “High Life On The Riviera” Collection comes this new Volcano. A fresh white upper with multicolor stripes. A classic design re-interpreted, giving the Volcano from DC a summer feel.
Take another look at the DC Life Volcano “Stripes” bellow.
Wayne's "Rock" Album Pushed Back... Once Again
Weezy F. Baby’s foray into rock has been pushed back one month from June 23 to July 21. The album has had numerous delays since its original April 7 release date.
Rebirth is scheduled to feature Fall Out Boy, Kevin Rudolf, and the collaboration we’re most excited to hear, Avril Lavigne.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Kanye West Pleads Not Guilty to Breaking Cameras
Kanye West denies causing this bit of turbulence.
The hip-hop star pleaded not guilty last week to charges of battery, grand theft and vandalism stemming from his arrest for tangling with a persistent paparazzo at Los Angeles International Airport last September.
West and his business manager, Don Crawley, are accused of smashing a shutterbug's $10,000 video camera when he and a colleague tried to get shots of the duo boarding a flight for Hawaii.
Because the 808s & Heartbreak rapper is facing misdemeanor charges, attorney Blair Berk was able to appear on his behalf Friday, a few days before the scheduled arraignment, to enter his plea. She had no comment on the matter.
The next hearing in the case is set for July 15.
"Maybe I just don't get how law works, but between T.I. only getting 2 months in prison, Chris Brown pleading not guilty to something that was clearly done and now Kanye pleading not guilty to something that was caught on camera...these guys clearly know something I don't."
Air Jordan Aqua 8
Kanye West is currently in Hawaii working on Mr. Hudson’s upcoming album and is photographed below wearing a pair of the Air Jordan Aqua 8 sneakers. Once again, reinforcing that the Aqua 8 might possibly be his favorite sneaker.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Air Jordan 60+
With all the attention that the Air Jordan 5 Toro Bravo Pack has received, it is safe to say that simple Retro Jordans are still most demanded by sneakerheads.
The Air Jordan 7 60+ Pack in this new makeup of Black/Charcoal-Team Red is very similar to the Raptor colorway, but with Charcoal panels similar to the Bourdeaux Jordan 7. This particular colorway will hit retailers August 22nd, alongside another Air Jordan 7, which will be done up in Orlando Magic colors.
Would you rather see Retro’s like this or hybrids like the 60+?
My Birthday ^_^
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The Air Jordan 5 pack is inspired by the Toro Bravo, a special bull bred for the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
The black Air Jordan 5 represents both the Toro Bravo, known for its aggressiveness, strength, vigor and intelligence, and Michael Jordan’s basketball career, which exemplified these qualities and more.
The red Air Jordan 5 represents the passion, inspired by MJ’s drive for the game and taking its color from the red bandannas runners in Pamplona wear.
The pack features the Air Jordan 5, which was the last Air Jordan MJ wore before he began on his unprecedented run of six championships in eight seasons. Like a Toro Bravo ready to escape from captivity, the Air Jordan 5 represents the energy building as MJ embarked on his storied career.
The two-pair pack comes in a customized package, inspired by the wooden gates that separate the bull from his escape. The Air Jordan 5 pack will be available in stores May 30th for $310.
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