Oi Polloi + Reebok | Magical Mystery Trainers

It's an interesting way to launch a trainer, not to give away a single detail - but that's exactly what the guys at Oi Polloi are doing.

For their latest collaboration there's no pictures, no details, just a silhouette of a shoe and a list of sizes. The shoe in question looks like a Stan Smith, but this time they're collaborating with Reebok, rather that adidas (although granted, Reebok are owned by adidas - so no harm there, surely).

Oi Polloi are planning a fairly exclusive launch party to reveal these trainers to the world. For your chance to win an invite, drop your email address on their site here.

Good luck!

Sneakers | A longing for PF Flyers

Longing (adverb)

“a strong desire especially for something unobtainable”.

We’ve all felt it. As children it can be for almost anything, like those brightly-coloured sweets promising untold pleasures. But your pocket money has run out and your parents won’t treat you. “This is a valuable lesson", they say. You lie face-down on the pavement and pound the floor with your tiny, helpless fists.

As a teenager, the girl next door creates such longing you think your heart will break in two unless she notices you, returns a smile, or laughs at your immature jokes. Then she moves to Lancashire and leaves you singularly alone.

For adults, longing is more abstract. We’re cynical creatures, protecting ourselves from unrealistic fantasies by a lifetime of emotional armour.

Sometimes we yearn for simple things like a lie-in at the weekend, or a week of winter sun. But there is deeper longing too: for the youth which was wasted on us at the time, or hardest of all, for the one that got away.

PF Flyers know longing. Their designs hark back to a simpler time, referencing classic baseball and basketball styles. Their catalogue features archival reissues of the shoes which made the brand so popular in the 1950s and 60s, and this heritage appeals to anyone wanting an alternative to the ubiquitous Converse All Stars.

In American baseball nostalgia-fest, The Sandlot (1993), PF Flyers are imbued with almost mystical properties; “shoes guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher” – which comes in handy at the film's climax. The Center Hi Sandlot Edition is an all-black colourway available in celebration of that rose-tinted coming-of-age movie. But not only does the brand continue to honour its roots with its vintage styles and authentic detailing, it collaborates with contemporary designers, artists and trend-setters, knowing that nostalgia will be around for a while.

I've worn PFs almost exclusively for 10 years. I love the combination of classic silhouettes and contemporary touches. And they are the most comfortable sneakers I've ever owned.

Sadly, it's hard to find them in the UK these days. They're owned by New Balance – a brand that's been having its own renaissance in recent years – so PFs are not regularly distributed or marketed here. I have imported several pairs from the States, but it's a costly business. I long for a time when I could buy them in little independent stores in Soho, but, like all of us, I long for many things I can't have.

- Adam. Designer.

You can find Adam on Twitter and at Street and Two Veg.

What's your route? Nike + Glenmuir

Runners seem to be creatures of habit - I know I am. Favourite shorts, favourite t-shirt, favourite socks, favourite trainers, favourite route. All the favourites.

It probably won't come as a surprise that my favourite running shoes are Nikes. Well, they didn't use to be. I was more of an Asics man, but trying out some Lunar Flyknits has changed my preference. They're incredibly light, yet solid enough to provide some support on the endless concrete, stone, and asphalt I pound along in London.

Pound. Ha ha. As if I go that fast! I counted at least five people who overtook me on the way home tonight.

That's my most travelled route. The run home from a client's office - when I'm there. It's a great run. Shoreditch, to the City, over the bridge at St Paul's, and then a long home stretch along the South Bank.

A few small ups, a few small downs, and plenty of tourists to dodge in the summer. Distraction comes from the brilliance of London. The different views, different landmarks, different running surfaces. Perfect.

Aside from that, I try my best to mix things up. A loop around Westminster is a particular favourite, but I'm starting to explore a bit further by running along tube line or two and catching the train back.

I'm sure the other folks on the tube are happy with that! Although, I'm usually well dressed - donning Glenmuir base layers. They're good in the cold and the warm. Wicking away the sweat or holding in the warmth.

Anyway, that's my route (or two) what about yours?

Boris Becker + PUMA Court Star Emboss Pack

I love Boris Becker, me. He’s a cool guy - cooler than me, cooler than you, and cooler than the sport he found fame in.

Well that’s my opinion anyway.

I’m not a huge lover of tennis, I don’t mind it, but I just don’t love it. “Der Boom”, as his friends call him made my first tennis experience ten times better, so if The B Man is going to endorse a brand then the chances are I’ll stand up and listen.

Becker was often seen gracing the green square in a pair of Puma sneakers  - the clean stripe down the side, perforated details and subtle grid detail on the new updated PUMA Court Star Emboss Pack might not be a direct replica of what we would have worn back in the 80s, but they look pretty fresh for 2015.

I’d wear them, and I’d like to think B Dawg would do to. Remember, he’s a very cool man indeed, so he’s probably even too cool for tennis these days. As I type this he’s probably sipping super-strength Columbian espresso from a porcelain cup, while being dapped down by a host of beauties in the sun some place, planning his next cool-guy adventure.

Meanwhile, I’m in Lancashire, drinking Robinsons Peach Cordial, wearing four layers and a wool hat, planning for what time I’m going to make it down to the Tesco’s clearance aisle to bag some out-of-date carrots.

What’s the connection? Well, me and B Bizzle could both be wearing a pair of PUMA Court Star, looking as cool as a pair of overly chilled cucumbers. He doesn’t even know how important that clearance aisle is…and he’s probably not bothered.

Be as cool as the Beckmeister. The PUMA Court Star Emboss Pack is available in three colours, black, navy and white at Size?, Hanon, and 5 Pointz this April.

- Mat. Editor of Buckets and Spades.

You can find Mat on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest
(or down the clearance aisle in Tesco)

Making my Nike iDs

I've been lucky recently, to say the least. About a year ago, I owned a single pair of Nikes (Nike Free 5.0 in black, if you're asking). Now, I own five.

Now there's a well worn pair of trainers!

Yep, that's right, five pairs. One for each day of the week and a pair of slippers for the weekend. I'm getting old.

Three of my pairs are iDs, with the fourth a 'thank you' present for an NFL training session at Wembley (Nike 5.0 Trainers, if you're asking).

The iD process is simple, the actual undertaking is not. Log-in, choose your shoes, and then spend an age agonising about exactly how they're to look.

Don't forget, these are a pair of shoes that define you - as you're the one who made them!

Left to my own devices, I choose the conservative option. My Lunar Flyknits and my Free Flyknits, both black. But I've tried my best to push my own creativity and go for some bold colours. The Lunars are orange, while the Frees glow in the dark - honest, they do!

The third pair - the first iDs I ever made - are a little different. Working with Pendleton, we were convinced / persuaded / encouraged to push the boat out a little. So they're green, grey, and red, with a large white sole.

A very different pair, I worried for weeks that they'd look terrible, and that's the 'problem' (read: fun) of iDs - the panic over what the trainers will look like in the end.

I needn't have worried and I don't care what anyone else thinks, these are without doubt my favourite pair of trainers. Hopefully they'll last me a few more years before I'm back on the Nike iD website yet again.

Universal Works x Walsh: City Runner Project

Bolton. Not a town you'd associated with trainers. More likely Peter Kay, Championship football, and a town gradually being swallowed by Manchester.

But you should, you really should, as that's where Walsh are based.

While other trainer brands trip over themselves in the search for a history, Walsh have it in spades.

Starting as a manufacturer of athletics and fell running shoes - that's right, fell running (check that grip!) - they stepped into the everyday sneaker market with their range of casual trainers and have now gone a stride further, collaborating with Universal Works on the City Runner Project.

If you don't know Universal Works, you should do. Pay them a visit online or at one of their stores in Soho or on Lamb's Conduit Street.

Together, the Walsh and Universal Works collaboration brings us a UK designed, UK made trainer, available in three colours, named after three cities: London, Tokyo, and Paris.

It's a stylish trainer, but don't take my word for it - see the sneakers in action, modelled on the streets of their namesakes.

We were luckily enough to be invited to the launch (lets play spot the dork!). A couple of beers, a sculpture made from shoe boxes, and a discussion about blueberry yoghurt - a standard product launch, to be honest.

Based on the success of the launch alone, I'll be surprised if Walsh and Universal Works aren't thinking of the next trainer as we speak...

Images: Universal Works and Walsh.

Sneakers: The Trump Card Game

This is just for fun really. A quick post that I thought sneaker (trainer) fans might be interested in.

Sneakers: The Trump Card Game, sounds geeky and is geeky. But who doesn't need something to keep them busy on a long car journey - especially when you've ventured so far from London that the 4G no longer works.

They might come in handy soon, actually. The Buckets and Spades team are planning a European adventure for 2015. We already have a few sponsors on-board (including a car company!), but there's still a space for a brand to sponsor the in-car entertainment.

Either that or we'll just record endless podcasts as we drive through Northern Europe - and no-one wants that!

Pendleton x NikeiDs x ASOS

When I was a kid, designing your own trainers involved colouring them in with felt-pen. Honestly, there was a trainer you could buy made specifically for the purpose. Totally white, with some (probably poisonous) luminous pens that would stain your sneakers, fingers, sofa, and walls.

Oh well, I'm sure it's done me no harm. If I even had a pair, that is.

NikeiDs take this ace idea and do it properly.

From their website, you can customise your trainers however you like - and I do mean HOWEVER you like. The choice of options is ridiculous. From the eyelets, to the laces, to the colours of the specks on the sole, everything is up for grabs, even the name on the back (or tongue)!

We were lucky enough to get some help with the design. Some of Nike's finest folks to guide us throw the process, a beer, and a donut, all served up at ASOS HQ in North London. The one stipulation, or rather encouragement, was that we used Pendleton fabrics.

I know what you're thinking. Nike, ASOS, and now Pendleton? How many brands does one trainer need? And who are Pendleton?

The first answer is yes, the second three, and the third, check out Pendleton's history here.

Pendleton are a brand that Americans know very well, but hasn't had much in the way of exposure over here. It's a shame. We're really missing out. Their shirts are brilliant and fit right in with my love of Levi's and Red Wing. Basically, a classic American workwear brand. Perfect!

Anyway, being given some fabrics to play with in the design of the trainer was actually quite fun, rather than restraining. At least it gave me somewhere to start, rather than the completely blank slate available to anyone visiting the NikeiD website.

We're back at that felt-pen training again or perhaps I'm just someone who needs a helping hand when it comes to creativity.

Either way, I'm very pleased with my trainers, so much so I'm making another pair...more on that soon.

Image: My Instagram (mostly).

Win a Year's Supply of adidas Originals

Mat Pike of Buckets and Spades introduces a competition you can't say no to...

Would you like to win a year’s supply of adidas Originals trainers? That’s a rhetorical question, as we all know the answer.

As a kid you’d hear, “win a year’s supply of cereal…win a year’s supply of cat food” - but what does that really mean?

Well, our friends at Mainline Clothing are offering one lucky so-and-so the chance to win a fresh pair of adidas Originals trainers every month for 12 months. So that’s a box-fresh pair of classic streetwear every four weeks - your mates will be thinking you've starting working for good old Adi Dassler or something!

From training to street, beach to festival, adidas has become synonymous with today’s fast-paced modern culture, and the person who is lucky enough to win this competition will find themselves right at the top of their game.

Superstar, Stan Smith, Gazzelle, Topanga, Spezial, Beckenbauer, Hamburg, ZX Flux, Adilette….count this as your brand new starting line-up for your already packed out trainer cupboard. Room for 12 more?

To be in with a chance of winning a year’s supply of adidas Original trainers head over to Mainline Menswear.

- Mat (@mat_buckets)

Images: Taken from our Pinterest Sneakers & Shoes wall.

Sneaker Watch | Nike Free Trainer 3.0

Some people get very excited about the technology behind trainers. The materials, techniques, and devices used in their construction.

That's cool.

Part of me wishes I could understand more about intricacies of trainer design. Who knows, perhaps I will, one day.

For now, I'll appreciate their look and take the slightly conservative approach that if a brand's product has worked for me in the past, it'll work for me in the future. A limited outlook, I know, but one that hasn't seen me too far wrong.

I'm the proud owner of two pairs of Nikes (that's right, two whole pairs!) - one, a pair of black Nike Free 5.0; the other, a pair of Nike Free Trainer 5.0 that Nike were kind enough to give me for attending an NFL training session at Wembley, for Buckets and Spades.

I'm always looking to add to that meagre collection, as Nike are a brand who get their trainers right.

A strange thing to say, but there is never a press release I receive from Nike and wince at - a lot of other brands, who do produce some great stuff, regularly produce a dud.

These Nike Free Trainer 3.0 are exactly what I mean. Click the link and admire.

Read the tech specs if you like, but I'm already wearing these (in my head) to the gym, for a run, or on the walk to the climbing wall. So good, so Nike.

Pictures: Nike.

Like Nike? Like Running? Check this piece on running shoes and this one on running in London.