You love your leather shoes and you wear them everyday but after a while, your love of how they look and feel is challenged by the funky smell coming from the inside of the shoes. If you had enough money, you could just buy two or three pairs and rotate them to prevent the odor from building up so fast but for most people that is not an option. You can wash the inside of your leather shoes without damaging the leather and this will help keep the funk out of your love.
Remove the laces and any inserts from the shoe (if any). If your shoe is an oxford style, pull the tongue of the shoe up and forward so you can reach inside easily.
Vacuum the inside of your shoe. This will help remove some of the dried perspiration and any old skin that is present.
Open the tea tree oil and soak a few cotton balls with it. Wipe the inside of your shoe, do not drench the leather with the tea tree oil, just a quick wipe with this natural disinfectant is all that you need.
Place the shoes in the sun to dry. Read more....
Whether you ride competitively, for fun or for transportation, using cycling shoes is a good move. Generally, cycling shoes accept cleats that clip into specific bicycle pedals, offering a whole host of benefits.
Cycling shoes have a stiff sole and cleats that lock into what are known as clipless bicycle pedals. When pedaling,you are fixed to the pedal. When you want to clip out, you simply pivot your foot and release.
There are two primary styles of cycling shoes: road and mountain. Road shoes are generally lighter, less bulky and more aerodynamic than their mountain counterparts.
According to Jennifer Sherry, a writer for Bicycling Magazine, cycling shoes bring the rider more power and efficiency. With your foot fixed to the pedal, you can pull on the upstroke-your foot does not leave the pedal-and drive drown full throttle on the downstroke.
If you commute by bike or are a casual rider, consider buying mountain bike-style cycling shoes with a recessed space for your cleat. This will prevent your cleat from clanking on the ground and wearing down when you walk around.
Cycling shoes vary widely in cost, ranging from $50 to over $500 at regular price. As cycling shoes get more expensive, they get lighter, have better ventilation and offer features such as carbon soles. Most cyclists can get away with a pair between $50 and $150, depending on your needs and budget.
Lance Armstrongs Nike cycling shoes are a one-off version with custom-made, carbon soles. His road cleats are a special version of Shimanos already high-end Dura Ace line. Read more....
Buying white shoes is always a gamble. They get dirty quickly, and anything will stain them, including the dirt on the road, food dropped on them by accident, scuff marks from the shoes rubbing together, and blue stains from wearing jeans. If you find your white shoes covered in blue stains, try one of these effective ways to clean them.
Rinse the shoes with water to dislodge any dirt or dust from the shoes. Dry the shoes thoroughly with a paper towel.
Rub the shoes vigorously, concentrating on the stained areas, with a white erasing sponge. You can purchase erasing sponges at your local drugstore or online (see Resources). If the stain has still not disappeared, move on to Step 3.
Apply nail polish containing acetone to a cotton ball. Rub the cotton ball against the stain for several minutes. If this does not cause the stain to disappear completely, move on to Step 4.
Saturate a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol, then apply the cotton ball to the shoe. Focus on the area of the stain, rubbing vigorously for several minutes.
Rinse the shoe with a wet paper towel, then dry completely with a dry paper towel. Read more....
When playing basketball it is important to protect your feet. Injuries often occur to knees as well as ankles and arches when playing basketball. Because basketball is a game that includes a lot of running, jumping and quickly changing of direction, it is easy to injure your foot. One of the best ways to guard against injuries to the feet is to have good basketball shoes that protect the feet. While a player with typical feet should lace his or her basketball shoes the same way he or she laces any other shoes, the same is not true for players who have injury-prone feet that are slightly abnormal.
Begin by lacing the shoes in a crisscross pattern as they would normally be laced. Crisscross the laces at the bottom set of holes and stop.
Lace the left shoe lace and the right shoe lace directly up both sides of the shoe. This helps provide more stability for a foot that has a high arch.
Crisscross the shoelaces one more time when reaching the last set of holes at the top of the shoe. Tie the shoes at the top and they should be ready to wear for basketball.
Take the laces and put them through the first couple of eyelets on the bottom of the shoe.
Lace the shoestrings straight up the shoe for the next few sets of holes. Do not crisscross the laces at this point. Continue to lace in this manner until the shoelace reaches the upper part of the foot and the shoe can be tightened without squeezing the foot.
Crisscross the shoes again for the remainder of the eyelets. Tie the shoe as normal. Read more....
White shoes, especially sneakers, have a tendency to yellow over time. There are many myths as to why they yellow, but the basic theory is that direct sunlight breaks down the chemicals that are used to create a bright white sneaker. There are a few ways to remove the yellowing, but the most you can really do is camouflage the color change. Luckily it can be done cheaply and easily at home.
Take your yellowed sneakers and remove the laces. You can either set them aside or throw them away in favor of new laces, that is your decision completely. Stuff the shoes with newspaper to hold their shape. It makes it easier to work with them as well.
Start with one shoe at a time. Take the magic eraser and dip it in water. It should be damp, but not soaking wet. Rub the areas where yellowing has occured with the magic eraser. It will lift some of the stains, but not all of them. You will be left with a slightly less noticeable yellow stain.
Wipe the sneakers dry. Run your hand over the area to make sure it is absolutely dry.
Take the white shoe polish and cover the sneaker in smooth even strokes. For large areas, use the applicator that comes with the shoe polish. Be careful around small edges. You may use a Q-tip or a make-up sponge to get into small areas and crevices.
When you are satisfied, leave the sneakers in a warm, dry place. Allow to completely dry and set. Do not place them in direct sunlight. Remove the newspaper when the sneakers are completely dry. Read more....
Saucony is a brand that is known for its running shoes. And when it comes to running shoes, getting the right fit is essential. While wearing shoes around the house that are the wrong size may be uncomfortable, running with shoes that are the wrong size can cause blisters and even serious injuries. Sizing your Saucony shoes is more than just determining the length of your feet, however. Its also about the arch of your feet, their width and how your feet change when you are running.
Determine the arch of your feet before you go shopping for your new pair of Saucony running shoes. To do this, get each of your bare feet wet. Then, step down onto a dry paper bag. A high-arched foot with leave a print where your heel and forefoot are barely connected. A flat-arched foot, on the other hand, will leave a print of the entire bottom of your foot. Most people are somewhere in the middle. But if you have a high or flat arch, you will need a special type of Saucony running shoe designed specifically for that.
Visit a shoe store that sells Saucony running shoes. Even if you plan to buy your shoes online, its a good idea to try them on in a store first. Ask the attendant to measure your foot with the Braddock device, which determines the length and the width of your foot.
Try on shoes that are a half- or full-size bigger than you need. When you run, your feet swell, and this extra room can help prevent blisters down the road. A good way to tell if shoes are the right fit is if theres the width of your thumb between your toe and the end of the shoe.
Run with the shoes on before you buy them. Stores that specialize in running shoes are used to customers jogging back and forth, making sure that their feet feel comfortable doing the activity that the shoes are designed to do.
Order your running shoes from the Saucony website, listed as a Resource below, if you need a unique-sized shoe that is difficult to find in stores. For example, if you need a size 14 shoe with a high arch, the website will probably be the easiest way to go. Read more....
While tennis shoes may once have been used exclusively for tennis, theyre now considered to be appropriate all-purpose footwear. You may find a man, woman or child in tennis shoes pursuing almost any activityshopping at the mall, running outside, doing workout videos at home or enjoying a vacation. It only takes a few minutes to design your own version of this comfortable, versatile footwear.
Draw the basic outline of your tennis shoes on a piece of paper. Show a top view and a view from each side. You should include a view from the back, too, if you want to put any special designs on the heel of your specially designed tennis shoe.
Choose a basic color for the body or upper part of your tennis shoe. Make a note of the color and also what sort of fabric or other material (leather, vinyl or mesh, for example) youd like for the upper part of the shoe.
Select colors for the rubber sole of your shoe and its lining. Also draw in the lacing pattern. Make a note of what color the tennis-shoe laces should be, and of what material they should be constructedfor example, cotton, nylon or waxed.
Add in any extra logos or patterns youd like to see on the shoe. Examples include your name, a team name or even a sponsor message. Make a note of what color or colors each item should be.
Evaluate the design as a whole. If youre happy with how it looks, youre done. If not, you can start from scratch or make changes to your existing design. Read more....
Nike initially made Air Jordan sneakers often simply called Jordans for Michael Jordan, one of the best-known American basketball players. Nike launched the first Air Jordan design in 1984, and has produced a new design every year since. Unlike other Nike shoes, Jordans are the only ones that don´t bear the Nike swoosh logo. Instead they have the Jumpman logo.
In 1984, Nike wanted to get into the basketball market, but professional and amateur players associated the Nike brand with running sneakers. The company spotted Michael Jordan and saw his potential as the face of a new brand. The new Air Jordan brand was given its own logo. Initially, the shoes had a Wings logo, which showed a basketball lifted by wings. This logo appears on Air Jordan styles I and II. The logo then changed to the Jumpman, showing a jumping basketball player within a circle. This appears on every Air Jordan design from Jordan III onward.
Each Air Jordan style is followed by a Roman numeral, starting with the launch of Air Jordan I, in 1984. The design that appeared in 1995 was Air Jordan XI. This changed in 2009, with the introduction of Air Jordan 2009, also called 2K9. The last Air Jordan with a Roman numeral was the Jordan XXIII (23), which corresponded to Michael Jordans jersey number.
Michael Jordan wore the first Air Jordan shoes at a basketball match in November 1984. The NBA fined him $5,000 for wearing shoes that contravened the NBAs dress code for shoes. At the time, most shoes were white, but the Jordan design was black and red the Chicago Bull colors. But Michael Jordan kept wearing the shoes, and he had such a great season, the NBA named him Rookie of the Year. This ensured the success of Air Jordan I.
The Air Jordan III represented a turning point for the brand and was the first design where Michael Jordan influenced the design. This was the first time an athlete had ever been consulted for any type of sports shoe. This made the Air Jordan III perhaps the most popular sports shoe ever, according to Jordan fans.
The enduring popularity of the Jordan brand is due to the technology Nike uses to produce the shoes. Such is the brand´s popularity that some of the classic Jordan designs are rereleased as Jordan Retros. Nike has retro versions for every year up to 2010. Occasionally, the retro design may have slight modifications or offer new colors. Read more....
You will want to keep your new pair of suede shoes looking just as fantastic as they were on the shelf. Because you cannot clean suede with ordinary leather cleaners or liquids, leather companies supply the enthusiast with suede brushes, erasers and other specialty care products. But if most of your money went toward the shoes, you can substitute some of these products with materials you may already have at home.
Refresh the look of your suede shoes by holding them over a pot or kettle full of boiling water. Over time, the nap of your suede shoes may begin to mat. The steam from the boiling pot or kettle will help to loosen the nap.
After steaming, rub your suede shoes with a clean, dry sponge or toothbrush, working in one direction only. These items act like a suede brush in restoring the nap, as well as removing excess dust and grime.
Use an art gum eraser to remove minor stains. Rub the eraser over the stained area until it has disappeared. Likewise, use an emery board to remove scuff marks. Read more....
The PlayStation 3s NBA Live 08 is Electronic Arts 2008 iteration of their long-running pro basketball sports simulation series. The game features a roster of pro basketball players taken from the 2008 ranks of the NBA. However, due to the series focus on currently-drafted ball players, one basketball legend is missing from the games roster: Michael Jordan. If you want to bring Jordan into the 2008 game, do so through the Create a Player feature.
Select Create-a-Player mode from the main menu of NBA Live 08.
Set the players name to Michael Jordan. Jordans height and weight during his pro basketball days were 66 and 216 lbs respectively, so enter these figures into the relevant sections.
Set Jordans College to the University of North Carolina, and leave his Handedness set to Right.
Enter the facial editor and choose Face #14 with Facial Hair #3 for a convincing likeness of Jordan.
Allocate the players strengths to mirror Jordans. Give a high priority to Dunks and Jumps as these were Jordans signature play. Dribbling, Field Goals and Off Awareness should be high also; take points out of 3 Pointers, Off Rebounds and Blocking, areas in which Jordans proficiency was less noted.
Choose Save Player. When it comes time to assign Jordan, draft him to the Chicago Bulls, jersey #23. Read more....
