Drool-worthy sports shoes are here!

There’s been a sudden surge of sports shoes at home recently. Between S and me, we have five pairs of various brands. Throughout my 13 years of schooling, I only had one sports pair: white canvas with laces, which had to be polished with thick and gooey white polish. We called them “tennis shoes”.

The few times I did go shopping for sports shoes, we’d fix a budget in mind and make a trip to Vama at Peddar Road. I’d try on a few pairs and then the most comfortable and “sensible” white pair was selected.

And then, for many years, I didn’t really need to buy sports shoes (I’ve never been a sporty or running or jogging or walking person). The sports shoes came out of the cupboard for holidays, vacations, picnics etc. And the shoes remained white and nice (and boring) for a long time. And then last year my white Nike pair (with a blue sswoosh) gave in, after several years of faithful service and support, and it was time to go sports shoe shopping again. I had started walking and jogging a bit and wanted good, no, great shoes. But when I went to the mall to take a look, I was blown away. I saw a mind-boggling range of sports shoes- different colours, textures, designs, some with fancy names, some with cool technology… and with several different uses. Shoes to wear with jeans, shoes for running, for walking, for tennis, for football, for fancy clothes… I was spoilt for choice. I finally settled for Reebook’s ZPump shoes in pink. Yes, PINK. And they look great, fit wonderfully, and have been holding me up for very long walks and runs.

Meanwhile, S needed to replace his old Puma pair. Again, white shoes, red logo. He’d decided to take up running (completed his first half marathon last week, yay!). S has bought three pairs since last year, two black and one blue, and he’s already looking for the next pair.

The transformation of our shoe rack (and our fitness level) has been incredible. We now own a colourful shoe rack filled with awesome-looking sports shoes.

Here are some awesome sports shoes lining up the stores these days, each with something “new” to offer, guaranteed to make you stand out in a crowd.

Colour crazy: Boys, make a statement with these black and gold MetaRun shoes from ASICS.

Asics MetaRun

Texture play: The two-toned mesh of the Skechers GORun Vortex shoes look super dynamic on the field.

Skechers GoRUN Vortex

Sporty but feminine: Ladies, here’s the purple sports shoe we’ve all been dreaming of! From Power Shoes (available at Bata).

Power by Bata Trail Zion (3) - INR 3499

Stars and stripes: When textures and colours abound, can prints be far behind? These patterned sneakers from Vans’ Americana collection will go great with jeans.

Vans Americana sneakers collection

High on tech: You just can’t go wrong with Reebok’s ZPump Fusion shoes (I own a pair!). The shoe molds itself to my foot and use the pump for cushioning and no-pain running.

Reebok ZPump Fusion - Rs 10,999

Which sports shoes are you planning to buy?

My shoe story and new season wishlist

I have only two pairs of shoes right now, not counting my sports shoes. I’ve been living with just these two pairs since four months now (no kidding). Besides, autumn/ winter collections have hit the stores, so it’s time to invest in a new pair. Or two. Or several.

But I’m a fussy shoe buyer and there’s good reason for that. I have tiny feet with a difficult size, and so when I buy shoes, I have to buy a pair that looks great, fits wonderfully, and lasts me a long long time.

Sigh… here in Yangon, like almost everywhere else, size is THE main problem, but that doesn’t stop me from checking out shoes like my life depended on them. As they say, if you can’t wear them, admire them. Okay, I just made that up.

Anyways here are some droolworthy shoes I’d like to own. You are welcome to drool too.

I can see these slip-ons from Accessorize jazzing up all my casual outfits.

Accessorize slip-ons

Sexy pumps from Aftershock. Now all I need is a party invite…

Aftershock London pumps

… And a lunch invite to tote these gold loafers from Tresmode.

Tresmode  gold loafers

Every girl needs sensible ballerinas, and I like this pair from Lavie.

Lavie blue BALLERINA

Now this is what I call comfy, edgy chic from the Vanilla Moon stable.

Vanilla Moon  TANIA

Just one word: prints! Clarks X Orla Kiely is killin’ it.

Clarks Orla Bella Blue Floral shoes

A red-hot pair from Metro that will knock him over.

Metro red heels

Oh-so-versatile classy block heels in black from Marie Claire (available at Bata).

Bata block heels

Chic Accessories: Essential picks for all budgets (Part 1)

Chic Accessories: Essential picks for all budgets (Part 1)

Task: Bag must-have accessories that women need for various occasions.

Budget: Up to Rs 1000 for each accessory.

Comfy flats:

I can never have enough of flat strappy sandals- they are perfect for our hot weather!

Try: N Strap from Bata (Rs 399).

Bata N Strap sandal

Versatile jewellery:

To pair with almost everything, from casual dresses to formal office wear.

Try: Alexender earrings (pearl studs) from Aldo Accessories (Rs 800).

Aldo earrings- Alexander

Cute hair accessory:

Every girl needs one. A girly rubber band or clip always brightens up my day. 🙂

Try: Rose rubber band from Toniq (Rs 169)

Toniq Rose- Rubber band in White

 

All-purpose belt:

Neutral colour, classic buckle, right for jeans!

Try: Baggit Xylo Taj Belt available on Myntra.com (Rs 575)

Baggit Women Brown Xylo Taj Belt

This post is the first in a series of that highlight essential accessories for all budgets.

Chic News: Junglee is here, brings limited fashion choices

Amazon.com’s Junglee is here! I was quite excited to know Amazon.com had finally made a foray into India so I’ve spent good amount of time over the past few days on the website.

junglee-logo

Junglee.com’s got over 1.2 crore products to choose from with over 14,000 brands selling books to electronics to clothes to garden furniture. But of course, I’m more interested in the fashion. 🙂

Brands, brands, brands

On the fashion front at Junglee, there’s not-so-good news- the fashion choices on the website are still limited.

Junglee-clothing

While there are quite a few big fashion and accessories brands on their seller list, Junglee still has a long way to go to make a mark. Especially if you compare it with amazon.com and amazon.co.uk’s brands- they’ve got some really cool brands like Mango, Desigual, Diesel, Gas and Esprit, among others.

Currently, the fashion (clothes and accessories) brands on Junglee.com include Label by Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul, Fab India, Hidesign, Gitanjali, Bata, Puma and a handful of others.

Facing the fashion competition

Junglee will have to face competition from the fashion and flash sales websites that have been around for a while (Fashion and You, 99 Labels, Myntra) along with the more recent launches (Freecultr, BeStylish.com).

I would love to see Junglee’s fashion section acquire a strong local flavour with focus on Indian brands and designers like Latin Quarters, Wills Lifestyle, Metro, AND, Seven East… you get the drift. Junglee could even seek to carve out a niche in this area as a supporter and an online store for several Indian brands.

Some cool international brands would be fun too! It would be good to see top brands on Amazon during the season throughout the year, instead of just seeing old maal on flash sales sites.

In terms of user experience, the website is easy to navigate, clutter-free and has a good range of filters—like price, colours, sellers and brand.

Junglee-clothing-filters

Waiting to grow

Of course, it’s still the early stages for the site and for Amazon in India (someone told me Amazon has big plans for India and Junglee is only a beachhead for them). I assume the folks at Junglee will be working hard to expand their fashion brand base… fingers crossed!

What do you think of Junglee.com?