Diatribes by Joah

Footwear Obsession

It started with sneakers. [My maid came by so they were all lined up in the bathroom that day.]

Then came the socks!

Check me out in the UT-Austin student paper The Daily Texan

Sneaker enthusiasts share their love of shoes through blogs

By Anjli Mehta

Joah Spearman opens the door to Austin Java Cafe, brushes the late-afternoon drizzle off his leather jacket and wipes his limited edition Livestrong for Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop black and yellow Nike’s on the restaurant’s welcome mat. The back of the 28 year-old sneaker fan’s kicks proudly read “Austin” and “Texas” on the left and right shoe, respectively. Just minutes after he leaves the table with our photographer to shoot some photographs, complete with poses that scream confidence, a woman comes up to me and asks if he’s famous. He laughs.

A doppelganger for Outkast frontman Andre 3000, Spearman confesses that he’s gotten into nightclubs pretending to be his celebrity look-a-like. It’s a far stretch from who he was (or wasn’t) growing up.

“When I was in school, you know, girls didn’t really like me. I had big glasses, and I was four-foot-ten-inches,” Spearman said. “I knew I wasn’t going to play basketball or football, so for me this was never about being an athlete trying to identify with shoes.”

While puberty may have been a likely culprit for Spearman’s transcendence from nerd to fashion-forward cool guy, there’s another factor that played a major role: his love for sneakers.

Read on at the Daily Texan site here.

The #StyleX Team!

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Two of my Fav Things: StyleLikeU & Shoes

Addictions: Shoes from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.

As told by Grungy Gentleman via StyleLikeU.

Fashion Forward Has Become Fashion Follow; Here Are the New Leaders

[The following post originally appeared on Huffington Post.]

I've read biographies about great American leaders since my early childhood. I can still fondly recall things I learned about Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, MLK and other icons of leadership. The quality that stands out the most is that they all led by doing, and doing first more often than not.

Think about it: Ben Franklin wasn't called "The First American" because he was following in someone else's footsteps. At 42 years of age, Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest president in the nation's history back in 1901. He later became the first president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Another Peace Prize winner, MLK didn't recall anyone else's dream before sharing his own with the world in that famous speech.

So what does all this have to do with fashion?

Well, through my work in the past few years from launching a pop-up sneaker boutique and creating South by Southwest's fashion footprint with Style X to meeting hundreds of fashion insiders for stories and attending major events like New York Fashion Week, I've come to realize fashion is in a much-needed transition of leadership.

Technology and user-generated content is revolutionizing commerce. Global production capabilities are democratizing quality. Trends are changing more rapidly, but also gaining total reach through the Internet. These aren't the '90s anymore.

The old guard's first question -- whether it's mega-brand executives or esteemed fashion designers or prominent magazine editors -- is always, and I do mean always, "Who else is doing it?"

This is not the mentality of a leader. Instead, it's always about worrying about the competition, gaming the industry, following the trend, and targeting the masses.

The new guard's first question is much different: "No one else is doing it, why shouldn't we?"

It's all about the start-up mentality of finding a gap, creating a niche market, establishing a new trend or behavior pattern and targeting super fans.

From Apple computers to Christopher Nolan's Inception to the Toyota Prius to Twitter to PBS's Austin City Limits to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election... the new guard and its start-up mentality has deeply impacted and, in most cases, trumped the old guard's approach to established ways of thinking.

It's 2012, and I'm proud to say that I know a handful of people in the fashion business that are a part of a new guard of leaders paving the way for groundbreaking changes to an otherwise stagnant fashion industry hoping for a return to 1990s consumer behavior.

[Author Note: I've invited these leaders down to Austin for Style X and couldn't be happier.]

Here are a few of them and the major industry trends they represent:

Lyst -- For Realizing Social Curation is the Future
Because I fully agree with Macala Wright from FMM; the future of retail will be curated.

Lyst.com is a social commerce website revolutionizing the fashion industry by providing users with a personalized way to discover and shop for fashion online.

"Our curated commerce model surfaces more relevant content and product recommendations for users to shop," said Hilary Peterson, VP of business development at Lyst. "We've been thrilled by the growth which has been driven by connecting more people with products they love."

Refinery29 -- For Understanding That It's Either Go Local or Go Home
Because we live in a global world, but we also live in cities.

"Refinery29's local point of view is a huge point of difference for us; so much of fashion and shopping is local these days from the latest street style bloggers to emerging designers and, of course, boutique owners," opined co-founder Philippe von Borries. "We are building the go-to platform to connect and mobilize consumers to the best in local style and shopping acting as a resource for our consumers and driving awareness and sales for local brands and fashion enthusiasts."

"We get social, and we get what it means to connect to our readers authentically. As a result, we put a lot of care and thought into brand integration and how that impacts the overall experience; ultimately, we prefer to integrate brands only in ways we feel positively add to/enhance our readers' lives," concluded von Borries.

Grungy Gentleman's Jace Lipstein -- For Having True 360-Degree Influence
Because in a sea of so-called fashion "influencers", there are only so many people whom really carry the cards.

"Content is my driving force. When producing thought provoking and substantial content is your complete focus, you will put yourself in a good place," said Jace Lipstein best known as Grungy Gentleman.

Lipstein added, "The most rewarding aspect of what I do is the talent that I am fortunate to constantly be surrounded by. My peers and their brilliance constantly rub off on me and my style."

NAMI's Sarah Nami Ahn -- For Following Her True Passions
Because if we've learned anything from the economic downturn, it's that following your true calling is better than sticking to what you know.

"Life is ephemeral, delicate, and beautiful... all things that were startlingly made aware to me with my brother's near-death (motorcycle) accident; I couldn't spend another moment not doing what I felt passionate about in life, to create art," said Sarah Nami Ahn, who left her Ph.D. in neurosciences behind to launch NAMI.

"My approach to fashion is unique having the background of science; design can be logical, a way of problem-solving to make the most beautiful garment you can with the given variables at hand," she added.

Tortoise & Blonde's Steven & Evan Weisfeld -- For Knowing Family, like Father, Knows Best
Because following in the footsteps of the Olsen Twins and Ari & David Goldberg who founded StyleCaster isn't a bad idea.

"With Tortoise & Blonde, I am able to set the same high standards in quality control by utilizing the years of experience I have in selling eyewear to my patients; the level of consumer confidence is increased knowing that a doctor is behind a company selling Rx eyeglasses, and when needed I can personally address any technical questions the customer may have," said CEO and optometrist Steven Weisfeld.

"I think of it as old meets new school; where my dad is the expert in optometry and fulfillment, I'm able to focus on marketing, strategy and social commerce -- it's a pretty good complement," added son Evan Weisfeld, who is driving the company's outreach to bands like Ra Ra Riot and Jukebox the Ghost.

PR Couture's Crosby Noricks -- For Creating a Network, Not Just a Distribution List
Because the PR industry still has its agency tentacles firmly wrapped around the fashion business, but the game has changed a bit.

"My approach is to strategically drive customer actions in support of business objectives by extend branding enthusiasm through interactive and engaging stories across multiple marketing channels," said Crosby Noricks who founded fashion and retail marketing hub PR Couture.

"Success today requires a commitment of time, resources and creativity to endear the social customer's brand loyalty for the long haul," she added. "We must capture her attention, delight her with information and provide her with shareable tools to demonstrate how her personality, lifestyle and values connect with those of the brand."

Way to go Ellen DeGeneres & JC Penney!

The World's Best Merchandisers & America's Close Second(s)

The following post first appeared here on Huffington Post. I spent the last week of 2011 and first week of 2012 in Japan traveling between Nagano, Kyoto and Tokyo employing roughly one-fifth of my college education, a minor in Japanese, as best I could.

In between snowboarding in Nagano, seeing temples and shrines in Kyoto and riding trains in Tokyo, I managed to check out some 150 boutiques. I even, somewhat, bypassed the online shopping craze during the holiday season in preparation for the trip. And let's just say my more financially prudent self did not make the trip.

In the midst of going over my self-imposed spending limit (us Americans aren't so good at spending limits, I guess), I was able to learn at least one thing worth sharing. No offense, but the Japanese could teach classes to American retailers and boutique owners about meticulous customer-centric merchandising and shop upkeep.

During the mornings, you'd see shop owners and employees doing everything from scrubbing the floors while on all fours to double-counting how many items were folded on each table. When the stores opened, the focus was solely on the products the customer touched and seemed to desire. The decorations, fixtures and racks were set up in such a way that you couldn't help but touch a few things in every store. Words just cannot do justice to places like the Isetan men's department store in Shinjuku, designer Tsumori Chisato's shop in Aoyama (where they refused to allow photos), any of the United Arrows shops around Tokyo, and even the small, locally-owned shops in Kyoto or Nagano.

Major fashion retail companies like J. Crew, Forever 21 and Target should send all of their merchants and store managers to Japan to check out the setup and service at places like Beams, Loveless and Tokyu Hands. If not all of their merchants and managers, at least the ones in fashion-forward cities like New York, LA, Chicago and San Francisco. Cities where European and Asian retailers appear to be targeting for hand-to-hand consumer combat.

Upstart boutique owners and shoppers may not be able to afford the trek to the Far East, so I'll meet you halfway by suggesting some U.S.-based shops that meet the type of merchandising acumen I'm referring to having seen throughout Japan. Some of these shops were mentioned on my previous go-to shopping list here.

I'm not sure when I'll next be visiting Japan, but I know the next time I visit these cities and shops, I'll think back to the merchandising prowess displayed by our friends on the other side of the Pacific.

1. Bodega -- There were plenty of awesome sneaker shops in Harajuku. Similarly, there are several well-designed sneaker boutiques here in the U.S. Undefeated is a behemoth and Alife Rivington Club is always worth a visit. But this Boston shop is second to none when it comes to merchandising. You have to experience the entrance and mahogany heaven for yourself.

2. Canopy Blue -- You'll see and hear words like "unassuming" and "nestled" describe this boutique when someone describes the experience of stumbling upon this shop in the Madison neighborhood of Seattle. This dreamland doesn't feel like Seattle, which is not to say that it's not right at home, but to say that its design truly stands out. The airy space feels like falling into a retail day bed. Canopied dressing rooms, blue walls and chandeliers and seashells may have you thinking you've landed in Greece or, at least, Southern California by mistake.

3. Confederacy -- The shop's owners -- That 70's Show actor Danny Masterson being one of them -- are wonks for customer service and have laid the store out primarily to enhance the shopping experience. Vintage-inspired phone booth-turned-dressing rooms, '50s-themed Tea Room and 16-foot ceilings make it easy to spend more time looking at the shop than the collections they sell. Also, the employees are dressed in uniforms by the likes of Rag & Bone and Shipley and Halmos.

4. Mellow Johnny's -- Does a more interesting place to buy a bike exist than this Lance Armstrong-owned one? Probably not. Sure, they're missing fixed-gear options for the hipster bunch, and the Nike imprint in the shop is a bit overbearing (along with Lance's other brand affiliations), but you can't not be impressed in here. The sad part is that the shop probably makes more money online selling yellow gear to people who've never had the privilege of walking into the shop.

5. Opening Ceremony -- It's not the most accessible shop, from a price standpoint, but the brands -- Rodarte, Topshop, Rachel Comey -- represent a great mix of what's now and what's next, what's "in" now and what never goes out of style. The Olympics-inspired design is both concentrated and evolving reminding me of what Japan's best stores had to offer.

6. Saturdays Surf NYC -- A surf shop in SoHo. Last year, I had coffee here with a friend in the midst of Manhattan's record snowstorm. The shop's coffee offerings, surfside collection of clothing, books and boards, and hip staff made this place a cocoon of cool and a warm retreat from the weather outside.

7. Self Edge -- You won't find a more interesting place to buy a pair of designer jeans than this San Francisco style stalwart. Its owner Kiya Babzani has built a following through educating the rest of us on high-quality denim, with an obvious passion for emerging Japanese brands.

8. Sir & Madame -- This black-owned Chicago gem is located in the Ukrainian Village, not far from the popular Wicker Park area. The shop may be the smallest on this list, but they've packed it with stellar brands, salvaged furniture and a comforting, soulful personality that could only come from a husband-and-wife team.